Visiting Chicagoland Resource Thread (Autumn/Winter 2018)

Nice!

Also, for out-of-towners, keep your eyes open for these gypsy brewer can releases:

• Hop Butcher
• Saint Errant

 

This suggestion is more of a niche pick with it being fall/Oktoberfest season...Huettenbar. One of my faves for a no-frills bar offering German brews.

Should also suggest Laschet's Inn which isn't too far from Huettenbar. They're a restaurant along with a good German beer selection if you want to pair your beer with a Hendl or a Schweinshaxe

Though, Chicago currently lacks a German-centric beer hall/garden type place that I've experienced in the East Coast.

 

Was there discussion about removing West Lakeview Liquors? Not sure if it was discussed in the prior "seasonal" thread, but I think there may have been a separate thread.

Depending on Roger's success at Maplewood, they may need to get bumped up...although complaints about the taproom size & waits could deter that. I still have yet to visit there myself.

 

I’m guessing these have been mentioned in the other Chicago resource thread, but I’d say Beermiscuous is at least as great as Bitter Pops and Bottles and Cans. Also, IMO Whiner makes great beer and ought to be on the category for other recommended breweries in the city proper, especially since it’s pretty close to Marz. Anybody have an opinion on this?

 

Whiner should definitely be in the "Recommended" area, but not the "Must-Hit."

Agree on Beermiscuous, too, even if the pricing is just a touch high for me.

 

Laschet's and Huettenbar are two of my favorite bars in the city. The Radler is another. I think all three are deserving of a mention. Laschet's also has some of the best food in the city as well as probably the best German import taplist (a rarity in itself).

 

anything cool happening Sept 11 or 12? Besides COMVEC18 lol

 

I agree about Whiner not being an absolute must. My girlfriend thinks it’s the best place in Illinois. I love that beermiscuous let’s you buy a single beer to go, and it’s refrigerated. The points system there is sweet too

 

Definitely. Maplewood is a “must” if it’s a weekday, otherwise it’s just too busy. Hopefully they find some way to expand

 

Heading in to town and staying near Forbidden Root from Thurs-Sun (9/13-9/16). Going to be with some guys that want to watch college football on saturday... are there any breweries with setups that would be conducive to that? If not, then any bars that are craft centric that would fit the bill? Not looking for a raucous crowd, just a place that's comfortable and would have games on. Thanks guys.

Also, any events during those days would be great too.

 

I feel like we're

I:d pretty much say no to breweries, although one place I can think of with a decent amount of TVs is Old Iriving Brewing (no idea if they show a bunch of different games, but they showed a handful of different kids shows during brunch ).

As for craft-centric bars, MOST of them aren't really good for sports watching. There are a few, but as @FBarber mentions, lots of bars cater to a certain team, so it might be good if you let us know if you're looking to see (or NOT see) a particular crowd. The spots that come to mind are Timothy O'Toole's, Sheffield's, Jake Melnick's and Fatpour. I know Fatpour is a Wisconsin bar, but not sure of the others.

 

We'll primarily be wanting to watch the Kentucky game but I know with the afternoon/evening games, we'll all be somewhat interested in whatever marquee games that are on. I don't guess I need a sports bar setup per se, just a few TV's that would have the big games on.

 

Nobody said we wanted to watch GOOD football....

I'll check that out. Thanks for the link.

 

@croush pretty much named all the bars that I was about to suggest. You could add Haymarket Brewery as a brewpub to watch sports (I love their back room). I went to Old Irving Brewing 3 Wednesdays ago, in the evening, and they had sports on all their TVs (baseball). Old Irving has an old school Chicago bar vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I'd describe it as more of a restaurant/bar that brews their own beer as opposed to your modern craft brewpub you see popping up everywhere. Felt like most patrons were there to grab drinks & dinner at a bar, maybe watch some baseball, as opposed to seeking out a brewery. Wings & Mac n cheese were great, and their beer is really underrated imo.

Fatpour definitely has one of the best sports viewing setups of any craft bar I know & it's 0.8 mile from Forbidden Root. Perfect place to post up for a college football Saturday. They have an upper level, which I prefer for day drinking. Great taplist (huge), solid bar food; you can't go wrong. I love their club sandwich, great burgers as well. It's not a straight up beer nerd crowd, people go for the food and/or sports, so it's a nice mix of people. Pro-tip: their gimmick is the 22oz "fatpour," but often it's a cheaper $/oz just to get the regular pint- always found that so weird.

Also (for other visitors who may view this thread), Fatpour is in one of those restaurant groups where a lot of their other bars have the same "craft sports bar" concept. So, you could check out the list on their website for bars in other neighborhoods. For example, you could grab deep dish pizza at Pequods & go to Derby after (one of Fatpour's sister bars). Could also go while you wait for a table, but there are bars right next door for that.

All those other sports bars @croush listed are good spots, but given your area, Fatpour is easily the best option. Jake Melnick's has decent setup & atmosphere (best wings in town!), but it's in River North- as is the main Timothy O'Toole's location. And honestly, most bars in Chicago have decent selection of craft beer these days, so you'll have options most places you go.

Don't know of any beer events that weekend- but of course I know of things going on the next 4 weekends...

I concur that On Tour is worth checking out, they often have free live music & it's walkable (0.5 mile) from Forbidden Root. Then you could continue walking on to Goose Island Brewhouse, and Great Central for a solid brewery crawl. fyi- Finch Beer Co is right there, but taproom hasn't opened yet. All Rise is near as well, but it's more of a music venue than beer scene- it's part of Cobra Lounge which has a separate area for live shows that you pay cover/buy tickets to see. It wasn't my kind of vibe (at least not for brewery hopping), but to each their own.

And mad respect for caring about your school's other sports, I can relate! Last weekend, was all excited for UNC's big national game vs Cal on Fox... until it started lol. Oh yea, and my Heels are playing your Cats in basketball at the United Center in December- prepare to be annihilated =P

 

It's about a mile from Forbidden Root but my go-to the past couple years for watching games has been the Links Taproom. Always a great beer list, good food though not as extensive a menu as somewhere like Haymarket. Lots of TV's and it's never been raucous when I was there.

 

Piece Brewing/Pizza is great for sports, but usually packed to the gills. I'm a fan of the Roots Pizza in Lincoln Square/Ravenswood for watching games because it is laid back. Pull up a seat at the bar, good rotating beer selection and pizza and never mind that the clientele at the tables is more likely neighborhood families with their small children grabbing dinner and not their to watch. Would imagine the Roots over on Division would be a similar vibe.

 

It’s been a couple years since I went there while a game was on that I wanted to watch, but Links is a place I’d never suggest. It was work trying to get them to turn on an NCAA game during the afternoon on a Sunday.