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With 72 options on tap, Roselle's Bulldog Ale House offers a bounty of beer

Part of a mini-chain of sports bars, including Wild Bull Bar & Grill in Schaumburg and another location in Carol Stream, Bulldog Ale House in Roselle has been successfully drawing in sports fans since 2011 with plenty of TVs and a massive selection of craft brews.

Motif: The large space at 394 Irving Park Road features big booths around the perimeter and some longer tables for groups. The 50 TVs spread throughout the bar show all the local games along with college sports, golf and soccer. Caged light bulbs hang overhead, and an impressive number of bottles of Patron and Grey Goose are displayed on a shelf above the bar. A tucked-away game room offers pool, Golden Tee, a boxing game and darts. If the weather isn't too chilly, you can hang out around the outside fire pit.

Crowd: You'll find a wide age range of sports fans wearing their favorite teams' gear whenever a game's on. Local businesspeople come in for lunch and after work; dinner draws plenty of families; and a younger crowd comes in later.

Liquid consumption: This location offers more than double the drafts you'll find at its Carol Stream sibling, with 72 on tap, including plenty of options from local craft breweries such as Goose Island, Three Floyds and Two Brothers. They also have several varieties of beer made exclusively for the bar that are $3 for a 23-ounce draft on Saturdays. All drafts are $2 on Thursday, a deal that draws in plenty of drinkers.

Food: The food here comes out fast. We got off to a disappointing start with the nachos. Big crispy chips — neatly arranged around the plate instead of in a pile — come loaded with beans, cheese, diced tomato, black olives and sliced jalapeño, but the salsa and guacamole they're served with are both bland. The chili, made with ground beef, kidney beans, green peppers and tomato, could have used more spice as well.

The best thing we tried was the pot roast, a giant portion of very tender meat covered in a mushroom-heavy sauce and served with broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes.

If you're looking to eat on the cheap and don't mind crowds with the same idea, you can come Monday for $1 burgers or Wednesday for half-price pizza.

Service: Our server had extensive knowledge of the beer list and offered us a taster of a more unusual option. She was also very helpful with making food recommendations and explaining the specials.

Parking: There are plenty of spots in a free parking lot.

Overall: Bulldog Ale House has enough good beer to try that you can be drinking something new all season long.

  The hot wings make a spicy starter at Bulldog Ale House in Roselle. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Bulldog Ale House in Roselle caters to a mix of beer lovers, sports fans and families. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Julie Waite of Elk Grove Village, left, and Karlee Quaritsch enjoy a beer at Bulldog Ale House in Roselle. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Bulldog Ale House in Roselle has 72 beers on tap, plus plenty of other drink options. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Ana Villegas taps at beer at Bulldog Ale House in Roselle. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Bulldog Ale House in Roselle has lots of TVs tuned to sports. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com

Bulldog Ale House

394 Irving Park Road, Roselle, (630) 529-0333, <a href="http://bulldogalehouse.com">bulldogalehouse.com</a>

<b>Hours:</b> 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

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