Pollyanna Brewing Company

Brewery, Bar, Beer-to-go

431 Talcott Ave
Lemont, Illinois, 60439-3744
United States | map
pollyannabrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.88
Beers:
164
Ratings:
1,476
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.04
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
45
pDev:
13.37%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by eppie82:
Photo of eppie82
Reviewed by eppie82 from Illinois

3.86/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25
Came here with my wife in summer '19. Was a very quiet day in the middle of a work day, so there may have been 5-6 other people in the place. It has a good amount of indoor seating, with some outdoor seating in the back. Nothing fancy about the decor or theme or anything. Just a solid neighborhood brewery feel. Quality goes along with the neighborhood brewery comment. Nothing sticks out as NOT being quality, but don't expect it to come across as a trendy spot either. Service was good, but the selection was perhaps the highlights. Wide variety of brews in a number of styles. For someone like my wife who prefers lots of options, this was great. For myself it was nice to be able to try something really specific.

Not a bad spot with descent beers. It's maybe a bit of the beaten path, if you're thinking Chicagoland, but I'll return here again.
Jul 15, 2020
More User Ratings:
Photo of smbslt
Reviewed by smbslt from Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Great set-up with inside area overlooking the brew works and outside patio area next to the I&M canal. An adequate number of attentive but not hovering or pushy servers. Good support from the local crowd. The pride in their beers shows in the attention to detail in proper glassware and treatment thereof. Focus on beer not food so plan accordingly.
Jun 26, 2021
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Rated by Hondo from Nevada

3.86/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
It’s a brewery “in between” boutique and wanna be. Not a good position for a review. Still, this beer is a 4.0. No better. No worse.
Feb 01, 2020
 
Rated: 3.71 by dexterk1 from Illinois

Apr 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.48 by kidzord from Illinois

Sep 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4.14 by Dkloubec from Illinois

Jul 10, 2018
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Rated by SWChi from Illinois

3.42/5  rDev -15.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
Beer was good, always have a great time at their fests.
May 02, 2018
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Rated by beermeee from Illinois

3.89/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Great place to hang out in the summer; great patio. Beer is good overall. Service can be hit or miss. Dog friendly if you want to bring Fido.
Mar 12, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by Sparky44 from Illinois

Mar 03, 2018
 
Rated: 3.8 by CPAles from Illinois

Sep 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.09 by REVZEB from Illinois

Apr 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.21 by Dankacheese from Illinois

Apr 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.68 by Wiz77 from Illinois

Jan 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.17 by qcbrewer from North Carolina

Oct 26, 2016
 
Rated: 4.53 by aussiebeer from Illinois

Aug 26, 2016
Photo of krome
Reviewed by krome from Illinois

3.86/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75
Nicely repurposed old building. Brewing operation looks well run. Limited seating. No food service. Staff is pleasant. Beer is decent. The selection ranges is middling.
Apr 23, 2016
Photo of Bearshawks85
Reviewed by Bearshawks85 from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
Great taproom, with an awesome outside patio area for the summer. No food but can bring your own or they have food trucks on weekends. Solid beers with a decent selection.
Apr 18, 2016
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Reviewed by GrumpyGas from Illinois

4.44/5  rDev +9.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Hoppin' place. Room for lots (46) of people at tables, the bar, and standing.
They brew several great beers here and the tasting room does a brisk business.
Great location and the design provides a fantastic view. A few tv's allow you to tune out your companions and the beer is good.

Growler fills don't require a branded vessel. I love this because I'm running out of storage room for all the brewers' proprietary vessels.
Update. They are getting better and bigger. Great light summer beers released recently. The announcement of a fermentarium in Roselle for brewing sours. I have had nothing but a great time every visit. Events and releases are smoothly run. A fine example of a good business and we are the beneficiaries of their hard work.
Apr 02, 2016
Photo of ChiCubs78
Reviewed by ChiCubs78 from Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
Beautiful brewpub with 2 levels . Top level has the bar and some seating that overlooks the brewery and some seating below. Helpful staff and two different sizes of growlers for the road.
Mar 08, 2016
Photo of Azpittil57
Rated by Azpittil57 from Arizona

4.36/5  rDev +7.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Bright airy interior overlooking the brewery. Great outdoor space. Good location - restaurants, bars, shops nearby.
Nov 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.78 by scootercrabb from Illinois

Sep 08, 2015
Photo of 1000lbgrizzly
Reviewed by 1000lbgrizzly from Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.5
-Good vibe, tons of natural light. Decor is 'comfortable industrial', could also be described as minimalist. Clean. Awesome view of the brewing area, barrels included. Outdoor seating is available, as well as a party room.
-No kitchen, but outside food is welcome, and they sometimes have food trucks.
-Only their beers are available on draft, which are all good. Flights are available, and they have a cool placemat with a spot for each beer and a brief description of it. Good range of styles available. There might have been a few outside beers available in bottle/can.
-Growlers/howlers available, but none of their packaged stuff. Merchandise available as well.
-They also name all of their fermenters and explain them in the menu, which is like a mini history lesson. You can tell they want to make it fun for the public, and themselves.
-Great service, they can chat if you want to chat, or can just sit back and enjoy watching people enjoying their beer- non-intrusive.
-Good value, too. I remember doing a double-take at how low our bill was.
-TVs, but not annoying.
-Bonus, there is a beer/wine place next door if you want a bigger selection to bring home.

Great place to grab a beer, especially in the daytime (I love how beer looks in natural light, and daydrinking). It's somewhat remote, but worth an out-of-the-way visit.
Aug 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by twelveone from Illinois

Aug 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.29 by Ryannel24 from Illinois

Aug 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by kylehay2004 from Illinois

Aug 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.11 by Duff27 from Illinois

Jul 31, 2015
 
Rated: 4.17 by bowzer4birdie from Illinois

Jul 26, 2015
Photo of MarkFrankosek
Rated by MarkFrankosek from Illinois

4.29/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
Just came here for the 1st time on July 18th and definitely will be coming back. Solid beer selection in downtown lemont!
Jul 20, 2015
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Reviewed by RossiDaMan from Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4
Went on a Friday at 3:30 PM shortly after they opened for the day. Initially sat on the patio but the 90 degree plus temps moved us inside. The vibe is OK, pretty basic with a few big screen TV's and decent background music that wasn't difficult to talk over. We polished off 10 samplers between the 2 of us then ordered 13 ouncers (Acclamation Belgian Strong Pale Ale for my buddy and Eleanor Porter for me). We nursed the 13 ouncers for a good 30 minutes. Place got a little busier but if there were 10 tables, maybe 4 had customers. The service was decent but nothing over the top. There wasn't too much sincerity or even a "thanks for coming in" when we left but overall, it was a nice place to spend 2 hours with a beer drinking buddy and be able to carry on a nice conversation without crazy noise levels or distractions.
Jul 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by egrace84 from Illinois

Jul 13, 2015
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Reviewed by sefus12 from Massachusetts

4.56/5  rDev +12.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
I'm going to have a hard time describing how much I enjoyed my trip to Pollyanna. In full disclosure, one of the owners is a long-time trading buddy of mine. Even knowing that (and trying some of his homebrews he used to home the Pollyanna year-round line-up) this place blew me away. First off it's one of the most picturesque taprooms you'll ever see. The bar is located on a loft above the beautiful, Illinois-made brewing system and there's a large wrap-around deck with many tables outside. I spoke with two of the other owners and they were nothing less than abnormally accommodating and took more than their share of time to talk shop with me. The beer itself was fantastic as well. Their IPA is a standard bearer for American IPAs, the two Berliner Weiss's were dead on style, and the Raspberry Wheat was a perfect summer beer. But the Nitro Eleanor Porter is what really stood out. Eleanor on her own is an amazing Porter, but the nitro treatment took it a step further, truly enhancing an already fabulous beer. I highly recommend any folks in the Chicago area or those visiting (as I am) to make the trip out to Lemont to check Pollyanna out. You won't be disappointed.
Jun 28, 2015
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Reviewed by BlackBeerPirate from Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Smaller bar but the brewer Brian is very easy to find, and he often serves the beer with the staff. His stout and Porters are complex. There is a downstairs area I have not visited. Location is in old downtown Lemont IL.
Jun 16, 2015
 
Rated: 3.86 by myuncle from Illinois

Jun 14, 2015
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Reviewed by Maryobeerian from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
I've been here twice -- once with a busload of beer geeks, another just a couple of friends. Light and airy upstairs, though could be a bit cozier/comfortable and a better selection of eats. Friendly staff happy to talk about beer or hockey and I imagine other things. Pristine brewery. Really good beer, I especially enjoyed Ocular. Happy to go back.
May 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.73 by Kevin_Young from Illinois

Apr 15, 2015
 
Rated: 4.1 by BeerOps from Illinois

Mar 21, 2015
Photo of NickyPogs
Reviewed by NickyPogs from Illinois

4.32/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
The building and location of Pollyanna is awesome. I love the open atmosphere and layout of where their fermenting tanks are and how the upstairs drinking area over looks everything. I also think it's really cool that they have different food trucks come in to provide different eats every day.

The one drawback I have about the brewery is the bar. I don't think it's long enough and the upstairs area is a little cramped. It's tough in the winter because everyone is crammed inside. In the summer, they do have a great outdoor patio and it the patrons are always in good spirits. It is a great addition to the downtown Lemont area.

In terms of beer, if they have Personal Chain Letter or Lexical Gap on, I suggest trying those first. Brian is a great brewer with a bit of a throwback mentality. I think his beers are very well crafted in a very balanced way. Nothing has really shocked me as being so different or unique, but I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I've tried by them.
Mar 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.6 by KC9LDB from Illinois

Jan 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.07 by Inglewood from Illinois

Jan 16, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Mxsluis from Michigan

Nov 28, 2014
Pollyanna Brewing Company in Lemont, IL
Brewery rating: 3.88 out of 5 with 1476 ratings