Friday 24th of July 2009 12:39:10 PM

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This was about the last place I expected to find myself, but I had some time to kill, and didn't want to sit in the airport.

Walked in, no one at the host station, I peered around the corner and located the bar. To quote rhoadsrage from BA: "The bar is a giant Omega shaped aluminum that was enhanced by someone with an angle grinder." Haha. Giant 4-quadrant projection screen wall with multiple excessive flatscreens flanking. Do you care to watch fútbol in color or black & white? They have both. Also pro-wrestling, which must have been at the request of the blue shirt khaki clones I saw high-fiving each other. So your atmosphere is a large space with high ceilings, bathed in the glow of neon and television. Kind of loud with top 40 music playing.

Beer was kind of a mixed bag, as expected. Luckily there was a few seasonals, Lotsahops Imperial IPA, a Witbier, and "Summer Time". The porter was passable, as was the IIPA, Big Red IPA, Hefe, and '71 Pale Ale. The rest were forgettable.

The tall bartender was very helpful and attentive. She explained what their seasonals were, and how much growler prices were ($5 growler + $5.50 for a DIPA refill on fri/sat special?? Holy crap that's dirt cheap. Special also valid daily through the end of July 2009.) She came around several times and didn't mind chatting about beer.

The buffalo wings were the very same you can find in the freezer section at the grocery store, and small to boot. Not sure i'd return for the food here, but it's probably better than your hotel's room service.

If you're staying at O'Hare and are looking for something to take back to your room, consider a growler here. The liquor store across the street has Two Hearted, Orval, Sam Smith, and a few other basic craft items, but stick to the coolers, it was about 80º in there :(

Sunday 7th of September 2008 11:28:28 PM

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I will have to give here a three-star rating. But it is a *solid* three stars.
I am reviewing it under the "restaurant" classification because although Ram is a 'brewpub', _this specific location does not do any brewing_. The house beers on draft here are brewed at the location in Wheeling and trucked in here.
I was here initially for the Yelp NW Suburban Economic Stimulus Dinner.
Astoundingly, I wound up at a table with Daniel T. and two females whose names have escaped from my memory. Please remind me who you were.
Daniel T. ordered the same entree as I. (The Garlic Swiss burger. I had the Ram chips. He had fries. I got to eat some of his fries afterward. Next time: I'll order the fries. I also finished off some other diners' pickle chips, as well as mine.)
I ordered the burger "medium". I surmise "medium" here equates to "medium rare". It was pink in the interior (just like all of us), but still good. I didn't have to add any seasonings to it. Note this. [Did our server {Mike} *ever* bring salt and pepper?]
Service is a bit spotty. I'm not someone who generally notices this. I think we wound up having fifteen Yelpers present at some point during the evening. The rest of the venue filled up, but it had space, and there was patron turnover; so if anybody *was* waiting for a spot at the bar, or a table for two or four, he | she likely got it.
I took notes on the beers. I distinctly recommend you have its beers even here, despite that they are not brewed on-premise. All of these beers are served quite cold. I urge you to let it warm up for three minutes before you begin drinking it.

Maibock = This is a poor contender for best Maibock at a metropolitan Chicago brewpub. Rock Bottom Chicago's is head, shoulders, and hips better than this. This would be better classified as a Dortmunder Export. The malt was insufficient to carry the bulk of the taste which is the trait of a Maibock. If I put a blindfold on you, and gave you a glass of this, and then a glass of [regular] Berghoff; I doubt you would taste a difference. (Berghoff has won medals at the Great American Beer Festival(tm) in the Dortmunder Export category.) Just the same, this is a very nice beer to drink.

71 Pale Ale = This is brewed with five different hop styles. Even when cold, my nose detected the aroma of hops. A small amount of malted rye is part of the grain bill. I detected this. This is an ok beer. You could sit here and drink four or five of these over the course of a few hours. Do not expect something along the lines of a Sierra Nevada or a Three Floyds.

Premium Pilsner = Ram has a 'training wheels' beer. This is not it. But what this beer is is a spot-on example of a middle-of-the-road Pils. Compare it to a fresh bottle of Beck's (or Warnesgruner - if you shop at Aldi).
Add +1 star for $2.00 20 oz. pours of beers on Tuesday! [Which is how this is 'solid'. It is not enough to push it into four stars, but it certainly does not deserve only two stars.]
I concur with our reviewer who mentioned this venue's proximity to the business hotels in the O'Hare area. This is where to go where you don't have to worry about your expense account being scrutinized when you get back to the headquarters. There is both open air parking and a covered parking garage on the premises; both of which are free.

Transit options: You are six blocks from the Blue Line "L"'s Rosemont station. Pace route #223 runs from that station to here until 1:05 am on weeknights, 12:30 am on Saturday, & 11:30 pm on Sunday. Going back east: Until 1:35 am on weeknights, 1:11 am on Saturday, & 12:11 am on Sunday. Weekend headways are 60 minutes; weekdays in the evenings every 30-40 minutes.

Tuesday 23rd of October 2007 01:00:13 PM

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The first thing I noticed when I walked into this Ram location was that I there was no brewing equipment. I looked all over the restaurant and bar area and could not find anything. I am assuming that they get their beers sent over from Ram-Schaumburg since this doesn't appear to be a brewing location.

This is more sports bar than brew pub. There is nothing wrong with tvs, but when it is the focus of the resturant then I think it lessens the atmosphere. It could bring in a clientle that is there for the ballgame and the beer is an added plus.

There were around 8-10 beers on tap. I had the IPA and the Disorder Porter. The IPA tasted more like a Pale Ale, but maybe that was because the beer was too cold to have much taste. The glasses were frozen and I couldn't see where they had any that were not. I suspect that the Porter would have been a very nice one, but again I could taste it due to the temperature and ice floating on top. It never warmed up.

The other patrons at the bar were only there to watch the 10 football games being broadcast around the area. There was a huge cooler at the back of the bar overflowing with every domestic (lite and regular). That was quite disappointing. Though most people appeared to be drinking house beers.

The food menu was extensive and what I would expect from a chain restaurant. Solid, but not exceptional. I had a Hot Crab and Artichoke sandwich, which is basically crab and artichoke dip on toast (really the crab and artichoke dip is on the menu as an appetizer). It was tasty, but very, very greasy.

The service was fine, nothing to write home about. The bartendress was friendly but not extremely attentive. If I was staying in an area hotel, I would definitely stop here for food and a drink, but I wouldn't search it out. This location made me feel that the beer was secondary. This is just a chain restaurant that happens to have house beers.

Sunday 21st of October 2007 04:36:37 PM

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This location feels almost exactly like the Ram in Schaumburg. The bars are both horseshoe and the atmosphere seems very similar. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just pretty obvious that they are sister restaurants after a visit to both.

The beer list seemed a bit more interesting at Ram Rosemont, but I couldn't find the brewing equipment. I did not walk through every corner of the restaurant so I could be wrong, but I did do a tour around the outside of the building and I didn't see any signs of where a brewery could be.

The beers were pretty good, and all of our food was good. The service was good too, but the beers here are served in frozen pint like glasses and because of this the beers were served way too cold with ice floating on top.

It appears that they sell a lot of bud miller coors at this establishment because there is a huge ice chest filled with light beers, coronas and assorted mass produced products here. There is a decent sized parking lot and a semi large outdoor seating area available when the weather is nice.

Saturday 22nd of September 2007 10:53:13 AM

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At it's core, RAM is a restaurant chain. If you keep this in mind before walking in, you can really enjoy yourself here. You'll no longer be offended by the warnings of, "You know, that tastes really bitter," when you order the IPA. Or hearing a confirmation that, "That tastes like a Newcastle, is that okay?" when you order a brown ale.

RAM usually has about five standard beers on tap: a light lager, a hefeweizen, an amber, an IPA, and a porter. They offer occasional seasonals, and a few have actually been pretty good. Don't expect to find something really unique, though -- mostly something along the lines of an Oktoberfest Märzen.

But as mentioned at the beginning of this review, it is a chain. The food will consist of typical bar appetizers, burgers, and a few "healthy" menu items like chicken wraps.

The best part about RAM is that their weekday specials currently offer a lot of beer (18 to 24 oz pints) for fairly cheap ($2-$3). You can sample a ton of their beer for almost nothing. Just make sure to book a room at the hotel across the parking lot.

Wednesday 13th of June 2007 08:43:08 PM

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This location might be a little tricky to find but is certain to please. Look for the free parking in the garage behind the brewpub (2nd floor ramp is free). As you enter, the host at the greeting counter will point out the bar to your right.

The Ram Rosemont's food was excellent and above typical brewpub eats and starters. Sitting at the bar, you will find the service to be quick, top notch and accurate. The BBQ chicken quasedias order is nice for a smaller dinner. Also really tasty are the nachos petite order and of coarse, the rueben sandwich. They also have a really good chili which is good with a dark beer.

If you visit both this location and the Ram brewpub in Shaumburg, you will notice that they both have similar layouts of TV's near the bar; one huge projector TV in the center and 4 other smaller flat screen TV's. Oddly enough I also noticed that the top left flat screen TV was playing a Motocross Freestyle show at both locations.

The beers by the Ram are tasty and super affordable for their 16 ounce size. The ambiance, layout and general feel of this location was much less formal than the Ram in Shaumburg with more stools around pedistle tables and far less large booths for formal seating.

Smoking is a permitted at the bar and your server will gladly grab and ash tray for you. Menu items were a bit above moderately priced. Overall a nice location with great beers, friendly patrons and enjoyable service.