Illinois Brewing Company

 

 

 

The IBC occupies a glassed-in corner of a larger building, with lots of macro neons in the window, strangely enough. No parking lot, we had to circle the one way streets to jockey a spot in front.

Inside it was pretty spacious but a bit dank and dusty. Obviously a place meant to be seen under the cover of darkness and after a few beers. There were a few games and pool tables up front, and a mirrored view of the brewkettles below (a macabre scene like a mad scientist's lair). Random six pack holders were tacked around the walls, with a few breweriana signs too. Paint was peeling off the ceiling. Lights were dimmed in the back, where I assume live bands play on weekends.

Beer sampler was hit and miss, the highlights being the Big Beaver brown ale and Colonel Harrington's IPA. Others were undrinkable like the infected "Trendy" cream ale and pale ale that had an off flavor of soap/sanitizer. There were a few quality craft guest taps like Gnarlywine, Oberon, and Cold Hop. Bottle selection in the cooler was random and macro dominated. The bartender was nice, but she ran the glasses against the drip tray under the taps to dump the foam, and held the glasses by the rim. Not the most sanitary of practices.

Not a place i'd return to. Destihl across town put IBC's infected beer to shame. They really seem to be phoning it in here...

I had a hard time finding this pub. Center Street twists and turns in the downtown, but just look for the local civic center and walk across the street.

The bar itself is a random collection of beer stuff and bikini clad posters, wood floors, and a wrap around bar with a long mirror the far wall. Feels a bit like an overused college bar. Service was good with a very nice and good looking waitress with a tatto covering much of her back, who was the highlight of the stop.

The beer was mediocre with teh Big Beaver Brown Ale being the best in my opinion but still a bit thin for being a Brown Ale. The Killer Bee Cream Ale had a bitter, astringent taste that was off for the style. Overall, the set of beers is on the ligheter end--the brown and an IPA the strongest of the beers. Also, the guest beer was PBR and the guy beside me was drinking Miller Lite from the bottle, so guessing the style selection serves the customer base.

Overall, an ok stop since I was there and wanting to find a brewpub. The pizza was fine, though a bit like tostino's, and the conversation was good. Place has a real hole in the wall feel, including a range of customers from middle aged dead end to borderline goth to hipsters hitting a few shots before going clubing. I was there early, so maybe it changes later on with music. The downtown area, and Bloomington/Normal are on the edgy side even though near the university (and I lived in LA for six years), especially my motel in Normal that came equiped with it's on local police on bicycles. An interesting stop that I haven't quite figured out yet.

Went to this place about a month ago for the first time. My buddy and I had to go to Bloomington one Friday and thought we would check it out. Had a hard time finding a place to park, but after the 2 block trip, we made it to the front door. The outside looked inviting, and once you were in you noticed the several TV's. Place is kind of dark and there were only a couple of people there at the time so plenty of places to sit at the bar. They had a selection of 8 different brews on tap, I had three different ones that were pretty good and the others okay. I did like the IPA enough to get a growler to take home. Did manage to talk to the owner of the joint and seemed like a nice guy. In the back they do have a room that has beer making supplies for sale, and me being the homebrewer that I am, I grabbed my glass to check it out. There was a few things to get for basic brewing but most of the stuff he had was really old and looked outdated! Place does have potential I think if they had a better menu and possibly lighten up the place. Overall a good place to try and I will go there again with my empty growler!

This is more of a bar than most brewpubs. The menu is limited and it is not a place to have dinner. The owner is his own brewmaster. He has tried a couple of other brewmasters but he told me that they left because they wanted "real money". Recently, I tried several beers and Colonel Harrington's IPA was very good and hoppy. Alaskan Amber was good. McGuire's Irish Red was a bit off. He usually has a lot of his own beers on tap. I have been to the place maybe a dozen times and have rarely ran into off beers such as the McGuire's Irish Red. But it can happen. Also, a beer might have the same name but be significantly different in different batches. The Pilsner was very hoppy on one occasion but fairly mild on another. It might be a good idea to ask for a taste before ordering a pint of anything. I do recommend the place. It is a nice neighborhood bar type; a refreshing change from the many Bennigan's type brewpubs.

Must be hard to run a brewpub in a university town, because all the frat boys want is Bud Light or PBR. Otherwise, the brewers here could run some more brews and improve their quality. I sampled all the beer they had on tap, and most of it was yeasty and cidery. The Brown Ale was okay, though. I think they know what they're doing, since they also had a homebrew shop, but I think they need to work out some kinks yet. I arrived just as they were opening, so there was no food yet, but when in Bloomington, you must at least have Beer Nuts. They get extra points for having guest taps, one of which was serving Two Brothers Domain DuPage. Still, I encourage you to check them out.

The Illinois Brewing Company located in downtown Bloomington is a brewpub/homebrew shop. They also host bands on weekend nights and have pool tables and darts. The high ceilings & dark green and wood interior makes this establishment appealing to the eye. The best time to go there is during the afternoon to enjoy a pint. On Friday and Saturday nights the place gets loud with live music and college kids (not that there is anything wrong with that) swilling Bud Lights. The beers offered are very touch and go. BE SURE TO ASK FOR A SAMPLE BEFORE ORDERING A WHOLE PINT. My experience has been that their beer gets infected easliy and almost all selections will taste sour. Sadly this has happened to me too many times at IBC. When the beer is not sour, it is quite decent. I know that they offer a decent IPA, stout, brown ale, light lager, honey ale, and more. The food at IBC is standard bar fare.

The homebrew shop is a small room in the back. While they do not carry a full line of supplies, there is enough there for a
homebrewer to stock up or a beginner to get the absolute basics.

For me, when the beer is tasting okay and it is not overly loud, I enjoy the IBC.