When will Chicago + Suburbs exceed 100 breweries?

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by RabidWeasal, Mar 5, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 1 of 2
  1. RabidWeasal

    RabidWeasal Aspirant (265) Sep 7, 2010 Illinois

    Another thread on new Chicago area breweries got me looking into new brewery openings and I was surprised at the number of breweries already open/soon to open in the Chicago area. I took a few minutes to come up with this list of current + in planning breweries from exiting lists and forum conversations. It is clear that the Chicago area will soon exceed 100 breweries. The list goes out about 60 miles and has 126 breweries. Some may be closed or never open or be Pabst, but the numbers are impressive.

    Chicago breweries

    5 Rabbit Cerveceria Chicago
    Ale Syndicate Chicago
    Aleman Brewing Chicago
    Arcade Chicago
    Argus Brewery Chicago
    Atlas Brewing Company Chicago
    Baderbräu Brewing Company Chicago
    Begyle Brewing Company Chicago
    Berghoff Brewery Chicago
    Big Chicago Brewing Company Chicago
    Big Shoulders Beer Company Chicago
    Birreria Eataly Chicago Chicago
    Blue Nose Chicago
    Breakroom Chicago
    Broad Shoulders Chicago
    Cahoot's Brewing Chicago
    Chicago Beer Company Chicago
    DryHop Brewers Chicago
    Empirical Chicago
    Finch's Beer Co. Chicago
    Forbidden Roots Chicago
    Goose Island Beer Co. Chicago
    Goose Island Clybourn Chicago
    Goose Island Wrigleyville Chicago
    Greyskull Chicago
    Half Acre Beer Company Chicago
    Hamburger Mary's Rec Room Chicago
    Haymarket Pub & Brewery Chicago
    Hopothesis Beer Company Chicago
    Horse Thief Hollow Chicago
    Knight & Gunner Chicago
    Lagunitas Chicago
    Last Bay Beer Company Chicago
    Lake Effect Brewing Co. Chicago
    Local Option Chicago
    Marz Brewing Chicago
    Mercenary Chicago
    Metropolitan Brewing Chicago
    Middle Brow Chicago
    Moody Tongue Chicago
    Moxee / Mad Mouse Brewing Chicago
    Moonshine Chicago
    Off Color Brewing Chicago
    Panic Brewing Chicago
    Piece Brewery & Pizzeria Chicago
    Pipeworks Brewing Company Chicago
    Revolution Brewing Company - Brewpub Chicago
    Revolution Brewing Company - Kedzie Brewery Chicago
    Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery Chicago
    Schlafly's Chicago
    SlapShot Brewing Co. Chicago
    South Loop Brewing Chicago
    Spiteful Brewing Chicago
    Stanley Stawski Distributing Chicago
    Strange Pelican Chicago
    Uncommon Ground
    Une Année Chicago
    Veteran Beer Company Chicago
    Vice District Chicago

    Suburbs

    350 Brewing Tinley Park
    BlueNose Brewery Justice, IL
    Brewhounds Lemont
    BuckleDown Brewing Lyons
    Chain O’Lakes Brewing Company McHenry
    Church Street Brewing Company Itasca
    Crystal Lake Beer Company Crystal Lake
    Emmett's Brewing Company West Dundee
    Emmett's Brewing Company Downers Grove
    Emmett's Brewing Company Palantine
    Flapjack Berwyn
    Flesk Brewing Company Lombard
    Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery Flossmoor
    Gordon Biersch Brewery & Restaurant Bolingbrook
    Hailstorm Tinley Park
    Hofbräuhaus Chicago Rosemont
    Hopvine Brewing Company Aurora
    Imperial Oak Willow Springs
    JOS. Schlitz Brewing Co. (Pabst) Woodridge
    Lake Bluff Brewing Company Lake Bluff
    Light the Lamp Brewery Garyslake
    Lunar Brewing Villa Park
    Mickey Finn's Brewery Libertyville
    My Three Sons
    Nevin's Brewing Company Plainfield
    One Trick Pony Lansing
    Onion Pub & Brewery / Wild Onion Brewing Co. Lake Barrington
    Only Child Brewing Company Northbrook
    Peckish Pig Evanston
    Penrose Brewing Geneva
    Pizza Beer Company Saint Charles
    Pollyanna Brewing Company Lemont
    Ram Restaurant & Brewery Wheeling
    Ram Restaurant & Brewery Schaumburg
    Ram Restaurant & Brewery Rosemont
    Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery Orland Park
    Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery Warrenville
    Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery Lombard
    Scorched Earth Algonquin
    Small Town Brewery Wauconda
    Smylie Bros. Evanston
    Solemn Oath Brewery Naperville
    Stockholm's Geneva
    Temperance Beer Co. Evanston
    Ten Ninety Brewing Company Zion
    The Lucky Monk South Barrington
    Three Angels Brewing Yorkville
    Tighthead Brewing Company Mundelein
    Transient Artisan Ales ??
    Two Brothers Brewing Company Warrenville
    Urban Legend Brewing Company Westmont
    Village Vintner Winery & Brewery Algonquin
    ZumBier Waukegan

    Northern Indiana

    18th Street Brewery Gary
    Bulldog Brewing Company Whiting
    Hammond Station Restaurant and Brewery Hammond
    Hunter's Brewing Chesterton
    Crown Brewing Crown Point
    Figure 8 Brewing Valparaiso
    Porko Brewing Co. Griffith
    Wildrose Brewing Co Griffith
    New Oberpfalz Brewing Griffith
    Devils Trumpet Brewing Co Merrillville
    Ironwood Brewing Co. Valparaiso
    Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub Munster
    Four Fathers Brewing Valparaiso
     
    #1 RabidWeasal, Mar 5, 2014
  2. ravot

    ravot Initiate (0) Mar 20, 2012 Illinois

    #2 ravot, Mar 5, 2014
  3. RabidWeasal

    RabidWeasal Aspirant (265) Sep 7, 2010 Illinois

    #3 RabidWeasal, Mar 5, 2014
  4. incubuscience

    incubuscience Initiate (0) Jul 26, 2012 Illinois

    Hate to sound like a hater, but I bet 80% of these are gone in 2 years.
     
    #4 incubuscience, Mar 5, 2014
    PDZ, dedbeer, JohnnyHopps and 1 other person like this.
  5. kodt

    kodt Pooh-Bah (2,286) Mar 6, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    We are already there:

    https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=znO8H61UYv2o.kh51fKW7Lha0

    Good list you have though, a few of those do not have physical locations yet so are not listed on the map above.

    Key for the map:

    Black = production facility
    Blue = taproom
    Green = brewpub
    Gray = contract brewer / office location
    White = future site of brewery
    Purple = beer bar that brews/contract brews
     
    #5 kodt, Mar 5, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2014
    maxcoinage and beelzebubbles like this.
  6. nickMB

    nickMB Savant (1,130) Nov 17, 2009 Illinois
    Trader

    wowzer, that does seem insane (hey look, I'm on the list!). Anyone know what portland or those other giant brew towns like southern california are like? Either way, laffler was right when he said this is the year local craft brew cannibalizes itself.
     
    #6 nickMB, Mar 5, 2014
  7. Anitrak

    Anitrak Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2007 Indiana

    I had no idea it was that many. I've known about the big ones but I always thought there was a lot of red tape for brewers in Chicago.
     
    #7 Anitrak, Mar 5, 2014
  8. Vav

    Vav Savant (1,049) Jul 27, 2008 Illinois

    If only someone made a beer that tasted like pizza...
     
    #8 Vav, Mar 5, 2014
    Duff27, ravot and funhog like this.
  9. teledeluxe

    teledeluxe Initiate (0) Nov 21, 2013 Illinois

    I know you are being sarcastic, but I wanted to post this for those that don't know of it's existance: Mamma Mia! Pizza Beer
     
    #9 teledeluxe, Mar 5, 2014
  10. Vav

    Vav Savant (1,049) Jul 27, 2008 Illinois

    I said one that tastes like pizza.
     
    #10 Vav, Mar 5, 2014
    forrestbetts, incubuscience, mychalg9 and 2 others like this.
  11. mdomask

    mdomask Initiate (0) May 27, 2012 Illinois

    Can't you just mix Shorts Bloody Beer with something brewed with lots of oregano? Maybe add a splash of Ham on Rye for the meat?
     
    #11 mdomask, Mar 5, 2014
  12. nickMB

    nickMB Savant (1,130) Nov 17, 2009 Illinois
    Trader

    guys its in the above list - Pizza Beer Company Saint Charles.

    And I seriously have an autographed bottle I bought at Sams in Downers 7 years ago that sits next to my rare in my basement. I think on that beer selling website it probably will fetch between a blabaer & a new glarus R&D kriek.
     
    #12 nickMB, Mar 5, 2014
  13. RabidWeasal

    RabidWeasal Aspirant (265) Sep 7, 2010 Illinois

    #13 RabidWeasal, Mar 6, 2014
  14. JohnnyHopps

    JohnnyHopps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,380) Jun 15, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I would say this is literally market saturation. Many are bad and will soon disappear.
     
    #14 JohnnyHopps, Mar 6, 2014
    forrestbetts and incubuscience like this.
  15. stephenieman

    stephenieman Zealot (552) Oct 14, 2011 Illinois

    Where there's a Finch's there's a way.
     
    #15 stephenieman, Mar 6, 2014
    PDZ, Davihaw, gill897 and 3 others like this.
  16. Redrover

    Redrover Grand Pooh-Bah (3,676) Jan 18, 2003 Illinois
    Society Pooh-Bah

    #16 Redrover, Mar 6, 2014
  17. JohnnyHopps

    JohnnyHopps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,380) Jun 15, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    What may be even more telling is how many of these are open and have few or no beer reviews.
     
    #17 JohnnyHopps, Mar 6, 2014
  18. RabidWeasal

    RabidWeasal Aspirant (265) Sep 7, 2010 Illinois

    I don't think it is as saturated as it seems. There is room for a large number of brewpubs, brew pizza joints, bars with their own contract brewed brands and the like. But it seems a lot of the new breweries are opening with big business plans, big capacities, and big expectations. There is only so much space on even Binny's shelves, or sufficient turnover at stores for so many brands.
     
    #18 RabidWeasal, Mar 7, 2014
    MostlyNorwegian likes this.
  19. crossovert

    crossovert Initiate (0) Mar 29, 2009 Illinois

    the brewpubs for the most part should be stable, the production breweries are where the problems start. But if we can take the germany model and just have sporadic distro and ditch the distributors these smaller production brands can survive. Germany is a good place to look for distro ideas for chi breweries Be all over your home territory then sporadically after that and you will succeed still...
     
    #19 crossovert, Mar 7, 2014
  20. beergurujr

    beergurujr Initiate (0) Oct 27, 2003 Illinois

    I think the cut-off point is at about one brewery of all types for every 40,000 people. Given that there are 8 million in the metro area, that's 200 breweries.
     
    #20 beergurujr, Mar 7, 2014
    mychalg9 likes this.
Page 1 of 2
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.