Both of my daughters went to Northwestern and I spent a good amount of time in Evanston over the years. HOWEVER, I've not been there for about 6-7 years. (Where did the time go??) The last time I was in Evanston I don't think there were any breweries but there were a couple of good bottle shops. What's it like now? Anyway, please, what are the quintessential "must try" bottle shops and breweries in the area? I have very limited time there. The person who gives me the best recommendation that I use and that I like gets a bottle of Cellador Ales (my choice). I've done this before and I get great recommendations and I'm always happy to send out a bottle or two of beer for good advice. Thanks in advance.
I think all the breweries are below average (Temperance, Smylie Bros., Sketchbook, Peckish Pig). However, Beer On Central is an excellent bottle shop that has most of the "trendy" Chicagoland beers...they haven't quite figured out the Bottles & Cans business plan of letting everything be available to be broken up into singles, but they're close, as about 50% of the inventory is available as a single. I live in Rogers Park, and if they ever break through to let people buy singles of whatever they want, they'll have 90% of my business. Until then, I can certainly recommend them as the cream of the Evanston bottle shop crop. If you want to feel ripped off, feel free to visit Evanston 1st Liquors.
Thank you! Surprised at your conclusion that all of the breweries are below average but I certainly have no facts to conclude otherwise. I DO remember Evanston 1st which was around years ago. And, yes....I remember that they were a bit "dear" on their pricing. Thanks for the heads up on "Beer on Central;" I'll definitely try it.
As mentioned, Beer on Central has been a very welcome addition to Evanston. If you are really limited on time, there's also a Binnys now that opened on Chicago Ave south of Dempster. If you go that way, it would be easy to stop at Sketchbook, which I think is a very solid brewery, and Wine Goddess, which has a surprisingly good beer selection. If you have more time and the weather permits, Temperance is worth visiting, in my opinion. Both Sketchbook and Temperance would be options to bring your own food.
@GuyFawkes gave you the rundown of everything in the city limits of Evanston, so all I can add is my opinion. I typically think of Smylie for their food (barbecue) and the beer is an afterthought for me. And Sketchbook is fairly ordinary, though I believe FEW is nearby if you are into spirits. I like Temperance the best of the options (never been to Peckish Pig), but they don't jump out at me as a must-stop. If you are willing to venture a little further out, then you have the dynamic duo of Half Acre Balmoral and Spiteful, which would be my suggestions within a small radius of Evanston.
I'm a big fan of Sketchbook and Temperance there's no reason not to stop there if you're in the area.
Bangers & Lace has a location there and they have a great taplist. There is also a World of Beer in Evanston now. I would also say that Temperance makes very good beer.
World of Beer is no longer World of Beer. https://evanstonnow.com/story/busin...890/change-of-name-for-downtown-watering-hole
People already hit the 3 spots I would recommend. Temperance is your larger must hit taproom. It's basically the Revolution Brewing of Evanston. Sketchbook was an acclaimed up and coming nano-brewery that kind of peaked before they opened their physical location and doesn't get much notice since. Good beer, on the smaller side for size. Bangers and Lace would be the beer bar I would hit for food. Both breweries make good beer, I think when comparing them to our favorite Chicago spots it puts them in the "average" category which in this day and age is still an enjoyable experience.
And sadly The Keg has been gone for about 6 years as well Such a sh*thole but we went there all the time.
I encourage you to try all Evanston has to offer, since it has changed much since you were last there. Yes Evanston is pretty close to Half Acre, Une Annee and alot of other places that have flourished since you were here, but lets help you focus on Evanston. Here's my $0.02 as a 30 year resident of E-Town. Bangers and Lace and then Beer on Central are the best things to happen to Evanston. Bangers has a killer tap list and is gorgeous and a plus for you is it took over the space where the awful Keg was. The staff is amazing. The food is fantastic. Go there. Beer on Central is an essential shop and Brian sources all the key new releases from Hop Butcher, Phase Three, Une Annee, Saint Errant, Energy City, etc. The once a month after hours Sunday bottle shares are epic. They have a bunch of taps too. Its almost up there with the Beer Temple and Bottles and Cans. It's my number two UT checkin place after my house. Love this place. I feel that Temperance is the "top" brewery in town, what with their GABF award for Gatecrasher. Its taproom and outdoor deck have a very cool vibe when there arent too many kids around! Hey if you have kids youll love it. They dont make a ton of one offs but what they offer is solid. The barrel aged Might Meets Right and variants are outstanding. They collaborate with SPACE, a new music venue in town on a bunch of big outdoor concerts every summer which are very fun. Its pretty much as hip as Evanston gets. Sketchbook is a few blocks from my house and Im the top ticker there on UT. They arent a world class brewery by any stretch but I feel like they have grown and learned over the years and they put out some very solid things like Insufficient Clearance Hazy IPA and a few others. Unlike Temperance they are always releasing new beers and one offs. You cant argue with the fact that the founder won the Sam Adams national homebrew contest. They are undergoing a major expansion of their taproom. They contract brew out of a place in Itasca too and are selling a ton of beer and are obviously doing some things right. Smylie is a huge beautiful place that makes great food. The beers arent that great but they did win multiple GABF awards for their Purple Line Blueberry Wheat. They seem to realize that their homebrewed things arent that great because they feature an interesting Guest taplist. They have a great outdoor patio. Peckish Pig has real good food but their beer is pretty bad in my opinion. Let's be honest, this place isnt a serious beer maker but their back patio is huge and a nice place to hang, if its in a sketchy part of town.
Luckily, the Fish Keg is still there for you on the city of Chicago side of Howard Ave!!! http://www.thefishkeg.com/
Beautiful Saturday weather (Under 80 F!!!) so wife and I biked up to Smylie. A wonderful bike ride and enjoyable meal. Wife and I nearly ordered their whole draft list by each getting flights. The Belgian Saison and Mosaic IPA were really good. The lager was solid. Everything else was fine. Would definitely go again.
Shout out to Smylie Brothers in Evanston...I needed to stop by the post office across the street from them recently, so I checked on-line to see what they had. I ordered a 16oz crowler of their barrel aged barleywine (I Want To Ride My Kviek-Cycle) and another of their Applewood Porter. I'm having the barleywine now, and it's damn good...leather, caramel, raisin, fig, oak & mild bourbon heat. Looks like they used Woodford Reserve barrels (I'm no bourbon expert, no idea if that's a good thing or not). I'm pleasantly surprised, and looking forward to the porter!
Kviek is a fickle yeast. Don’t think I’ve ever had it in a barleywine before, and I could imagine it working out well, especially with barrel aging.
Nice - the porter was always my favorite of their regular beers. BW sounds interesting, maybe I’ll have to figure out a carryout option for dinner soon.
Smylie Bros. continues to impress me. I picked up a crowler of Fabricated Stories, described as "American Strong Ale aged in Blaum Brothers Rye Whiskey barrels". I know nothing of Blaum Brothers...but I know nothing about spirits in general so that's not surprising. It's got real nice English barleywine vibes; it's not going to make you forget about Straight Jacket, but it's about 10 times better than the recent Surly barrel aged barleywine (Fourteen). It's a BIT thin and a BIT too "hot", but it's got great notes of caramel, banana & oak that surely make it worth the $6 per 12oz crowler they are charging. My knee jerk description of Smylie Bros. as "mediocre" somewhere up this thread is looking dumber by the crowler...I grabbed their Belgian Strong Dark Ale too, can't wait to crack that one!
