Reason for Visit: I travel to Chicago frequently on business and have been to most of the breweries and brewpubs in the city and its suburbs over the years. Piece Brewery & Pizzeria in the Wicker Park neighborhood was one of my favorites.
Google Maps Street View: Here is the latest image of Piece Brewery & Pizzeria from the Google Maps Street View. If the building looks a bit like a garage, that's because it actually served as a garage for a roofing company before being reborn as a brewery restaurant. This entire area has undergone extensive redevelopment. Many times I've ridden on the CTA between O'Hare and downtown Chicago, passing within feet of the neighborhoods on the elevated portions of the tracks. This is one of them! Stop at the historic Damen Station which dates to the opening of the "L" in 1895. Piece is just around the corner on W. North Avenue. Enjoy the ambiance.
Coaster - Front: Piece is an interesting name for a brewpub but a look at the logo on the coaster makes perfect sense. It's a pizzeria so notice the image and the name clicks: it refers to a "piece" of pizza. However there might be something else working here to provide some playful ambiguity. Draw a vertical line through the middle of that logo and it becomes a peace sign; a homonym - same word but different spelling.
I learned another interesting fact about Piece when I spotted a five-neck guitar hanging on one of the walls on display. There's only one person I know who uses a 5-neck guitar as his signature instrument. Yup, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is one of the Piece co-owners.
Coaster - Back: The back of the coaster for Piece Brewery & Pizzeria features its very impressive list of brewery awards including a slew from the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. Piece was named the 2006 Champion - Small Brewpub and Brewmaster, which is amazingly impressive. The beers are great and so is the pizza, all at a reasonable price.
Sample list of beers produced by Piece Brewery & Pizzeria
Worryin Ale - Rye Beer
Golden Arm - German-style Kolsch Bier
Wingnut - Imperial/Double IPA
Dysfunctionale - American-style Strong Pale Ale
Top Heavy Hefeweizen - South German-style Hefeweizen
Fornicator - Bock
Full Frontal Pale Ale - Ameican-style Pale Ale
Dark-n-Curvy Dunkelweizen - German-style Wheat Ale
Items featured on these breweriana pages are personal souvenirs of my visits to these locations, and an expression of the events and travels leading to their collection. They are not for sale or for trade.
