The Beer Temple

 

Great place to drink and pick up hard to find beers. Food seems ok. Can’t wait to go back

I hadn't really done a place crawl in Chicago since I moved to North Illinois (that's Wisconsin to the rest of us) five years back, and I think back and wonder why it took so long? Sure, I visited a few places between then and now, but whether you want to bring up corona-chan restrictions, dealing with Chicago traffic, the high sales tax in the city, or that I was happy with what I already had in the land of New Glarus, I found an opportunity to explore a few places while I waited for my girlfriend to finish at the convention. A combination of bottle shop and taproom, The Beer Temple could very well be the best place for beer in Chicago. While the neighborhood is not as hip or alive as other neighborhoods closer to the lake on the North Side, The Beer Temple attempts to make that up with the interior taking an abbey theme; Dutch rennaissance paintings on the walls, big booths with seats which made me comfortable just by looking at them, lots of natural sunlight coming through the windows without being blinded by the light. Large format bottles greeting you at the windows as you walk past them outside. I arrived just as The Beer Temple opened and slowly a few more patrons would follow in the proceeding hour and a half I stayed.

I went to sit at the bar first. 20 taps pouring plus a cask, two cocktails pouring from tap as well. Nearly every tap was unique; beers you wouldn't find on-tap often or at all. The staff was ecstatic about finally securing a keg of De Ranke Simplex. Three Beachwood beers (Citraholic, Snapback Session, Oat Monster) brought me back to my previous life of freqent visits to Beachwood Brewing in California. Oud Vieux Lambiek, Maine Another One, Scratch Historic Porter, Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela, plus a cask of Art History Ditering Idiot also pouring. Beer can also be purchased by the half pour, and the beer menu above the bar lists the beer's ABV alongside the price and pour size.

As I drank along, I conversed with a welcoming, hospitable staff. I asked many questions and made positive remarks of The Beer Temple, praising how fresh the inventory of the bottle shop was; I don't think I've seen a bottle shop with so many fresh imports. Nothing was even close to being out of date. Staff brought to me that they limit how much they bring it and watch meticulously the dates of the beer. Why don't more shops do that? Product freshness at this top-notch level alone makes me want to return, let alone one with so many choices as imports, from Chicagoland, or the rest of the US. There's a 12 foot space filled with nothing but gueuze from breweries like from Girardin, 3 Fonteinen, Boon, Tilquin. If one room for bottles wasn't enough, there's a second room which is chilled and filled with more beer. It's easy to spend over $100 here because of how appetizing everything looks, and how exclusive and expensive some of the bottles can be, such as Xyauyu. At the register of the bottle shop, there's a space where you could dip you room temperature bottle for three minutes to cool and presto! it's chilled, which I suspect would be for bottle purchased consumed inside the taproom.

I get a text from my girlfriend and she is ready to be picked up. Well, I'm 30 minutes away. Time to finish my Grandpa Plank's Weissbier, take some bottles with me, and go. I could spend much more time in here; every moment I had at The Beer Temple was well worth the wait and a must-stop in Chicago.

Went here on a Sunday afternoon on my own. Had a beer and shopped a bit.

Tap list is good. Shelves are amazing. Keep in mind, I'm coming from Seattle area and the distro is very different, so you might think it's totally normal. But, for me, tons of breweries I've never seen or heard of, tons of beers I've never seen from breweries I have heard of.

I had a fairly long and in-depth conversation with one staff-member about beer available at the store and the general beer scene.

Would totally recommend. One of my servers in earlier in the day said sometimes the bartenders at Beer Temple are assholes, but I saw no sign of that.

World class beer bar in Chicago. Always a great balance of strong locals, classics from around America and some great beer from around the world. Add in the bottle shop, and this is about as good as it gets. A gem.

One of the best beer bars I've ever been in...the selection is inclusive but clever... the service is impeccable... knowledgeable barkeeps that really know their stuff...there are no "filler" offerings on this menu...they also offer a special cask beer that's usually something you wouldn't expect....

This is a must stop in Chicago...

 

Taproom only, store was closed, but from the door the store looked like it contained a lot of nice retail options.

Taproom had a wide variety of styles and brewers on tap in multiple pour sizes. Had local, regional and import options on tap.

A ton of limited and cellared bottle options were available for purchase to drink onsite.

Comfortable taproom with friendly bartender. Knowledgeable. Had a couple TV's playing football games.

The name is fitting as this truly is a sacred place for beer in chicago. Plenty of fun events with rare tastings, especially my beloved lambics! Bottle selection is very well manicured, getting unique brews. No lactose bombs here, rather thoughtful and artful is emphasized. My scratch brewing supplier, should tell you all you need to know! Service knows their beer, loves to have beer conversations and gives good recommendations. Chill vibe in a smaller space that is welcoming. Always love venturing here to see what fun things they have on tap when in the city

Update: become my go to place in the city. The staff is amazing. Beer rarities are fantastic

They have a very nicely micro-targeted collection of very small brewery and small batch beer for the ultra-geek, as well as some more widely known craft and Euro options. It really is pretty impressive, particularly in such a large city, with an additional walk in cooler that has plenty of space for browsing.

The cherry on top is the surprisingly large bar area with a moderate sized bar top and a number of tables to sit at. The taplist mirrors the bottle list in that it is very focused on unique, hard to find brews, whether there's hype behind them or not is secondary. Cool place overall.

5/13/19 (Chicago): Not sure why it took so long to reach The Beer Temple beyond the location, but well worth my first visit and can't wait to go back. Started in the tap room, over 20 draft pours including an ongoing cask conditioned handle, they offer a wide variety of brewers and styles at reasonable prices, especially considering the quality and availability of their offerings. Bartender was friendly, knowledgeable and provided great service to one and all. Bar and table areas nice and accommodating. Bottles also offered, either from the taproom or bottle shop, which is extensive in terms of styles and quality of offerings, including non beer offerings such as meads and whiskey. In addition to the four (two more than I originally planned on going in), I brought additional offerings home (new offerings and old favorites),with a second and third trip list of additional offerings I plan on snagging in future trips. Friendly and knowledgeable service and selection, I look forward to many future trips to the Beer Temple!

 

I've known Chris and Margaret since before they had a store. Chris is very knowledgable. The staff give good suggestions. The tap list always has something new and/or interesting. You can find hidden gems in the bottle shop. This place is great! Support this small business with a great selection of beer, cider and specialty liquors. Why go anywhere else?

 

Excellent little bottle shop and tap room. Broad and great selections worldwide. Expert advice from team.
Perfect for loading up the Beer Safari suitcase.
Will check out on line service soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Online order, nice selection. Super fast shipping. Finding it easier to order beer online than trading. Will use again in future.

 

 

 

 

10/27/17 since my original review, I've probably gone to The Beer Temple 10 times. All good.
But it is time for everyone to update the reviews because 7 weeks ago, Beer Temple moved across the alley to their combined taproom and bottleshop. The taproom is very well done, pleasant. It has at least two dozen beers and ciders on tap and many more in bottles ("The Beer Bible" is the list.) Almost everything else below holds the same. But you should visit the taproom.

original review from 3/23/16
This is 1.5 miles from home and been open for over 3 years and today is the first time I walked in.
(I guess I'm lazy about hunting, or try to maximize the yield by going to the big stores.)
I knew the associate from another store. Big-time knowledgeable. I met the owner doing an informal tasting.
I bought enough to stuff my tennis backpack. (The store needs a bike rack.)
I went home and went on their website. Placed an order. Impressive for a small store.
I will go there again shortly.

Great little store with helpful staff. Were pouring some really tasty out of distro beers as samples
Great sour and Belgian selection.
Prices are reasonable given that they are small and don't have the buying power of binnys - perhaps 50c or $1 more per bomber than the discount places, but the selection makes up for it.

Best selection in the city. Not only is the inventory well thought out, it is highly combed through. I have never had a beer that was too old or past it's best by date. Nick always provides outstanding customer service and awesome recommendations every time I am in. This place is what a craft beer shop should be. Impressive.

 

Chris Quinn has created something great. All the reviews below say enough. Truly a world class establishment run by a staff that truly strives to provide the best craft beer experience they can.
Bottle shops like this will never go out of style.

 

 

 

 

Down the road from Revolution, Beer Temple was my second beery stop in Chicago. What an incredible store! The neighborhood is a little rundown and not a place where you’d expect to find one of the best beer jawns in Chicagoland. They have some wine, bourbon and ciders from Spain, but you’re here for the beer.

They have a ton of cool stuff here, so I'll tell you about the kind of high-ABV stuff I like: Samael, Eclipse variants, barrel-aged Ovila, Belgians galore, Jolly Pumpkin bottles I’ve never seen (Rojzilla), Telegraph, 3 Sheeps, Bruery, Mikkeller...

Don’t miss the Chicago selection: Pipeworks, Spiteful, Mikerphone and every single Chitown brew you can imagine. Most beer is room temp, but the place is kept cool, and the IPA’s are in the cooler. The beer guy working the store was knowledgeable beyond belief, and fun to chat with. Can’t recommend Beer Temple enough!

One of the best bottle shops I have ever been to, hands down. Small but still offers a world-class selection, friendly staff that goes above and beyond, and some of the most honest pricing in Chicago.