Visiting Chicagoland Resource Thread (Autumn/Winter 2018)

I cant believe I forgot Bavarian Lodge in Lisle (next town over). Amazing German food and one of the best taplists in the state usually.

 

Everything AOD77 said. Solemn Oath, Bavarian Lodge, Empire.

 

For breweries:
Solemn Oath, Naperville: pretty standard selection of pretty good beers. NE IPAs, regular IPA, etc. There's also a cider place in the same industrial space.
Alter, Downers Grove(10 min away): beautiful taproom, above average to very good beer overall.
Penrose, Geneva: more Belgian style and wild ales. Geneva is a bit out of the way however from Naperville.
~Depending on how far you're willing to go, you can easily get to places like Noon Whistle, More, Mikerphone etc. All are 30-45 mintues from Naperville.

Bars:
Naperville:
-Jimmy's and Jackson Ave Pub probably have the best selection of beer downtown. You'll find mainly local beers (Solemn Oath, Half Acre, Revolution etc) plus some of the more well known larger breweries (Lagunitas, Maine Beer Co., Founders).
-Empire: pretty similar selection to Jimmys and Jackson Ave.. The rooftop bar is really popular so if the weather is nice, it's a good spot to have a beer at.
-World of Beer: a chain, yes, but 50 taps so theres always something you'll enjoy
-Standard Market: this is not a joke but this grocery store has a killer selection both on tap and in bottles. You can just buy a bomber and open it there. I seriously find myself hanging out here more than most bars. Whole Foods in Wheaton (next town north of Naperville) is also a good place to go.

Lisle:
-Bavarian Lodge: this is one of the best beer bars in the wester suburbs. Right now they're focused on marzen/oktoberfest styles but they do have 36 taps and beermenus is always up to date.

There are many other spots, but this could keep you busy for a few days!

 

Depends on traffic. It can take you about an hour to get to Mikerphone from Naperville during rush hour.

 

*cough*

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whole-...ts-ft-jester-king-brewery-tickets-50195986547

 

Is excitement afoot? Anker-love?

 

Has anyone tried Band of Bohemia, about a mile north of Dovetail? They have a rating of 3.7 on here, but they're also evidently the first brewpub to receive a Michelin star. And yet they didn't even make the cut for this thread. Are they worth a visit?

 

I know @Quilentro has been, and IIRC, it's a great spot for food, that just happens to have their own beer that is ok.

 

Food - yes
Beer - no. very hard no.

 

Food is incredible. I recommend the crab and shrimp plate to start with.

Beer is nothing special, but does pair well with food. Ask your server for recommendations.

 

Go for the food. Tasting menu is great. Beer matches well. Wouldn’t get the beer solo - not bad, but also not amazing. Also, not trendy styles.

Fairly pricey, depending what you get. Decor is great.

 

+1 to the "Food = Yes, Beer = No" post above. Not discounting any opinions, but keep in mind this thread is completely subjective. On BA's weighted list of Chicago breweries they're #44 out of 50. Several reviews of Band of Bohemia are here.

 

Can I suggest that Beer on Central in Evanston be added to the retail list? They are a beer focused store with eight taps and a small bar. Huge cooler. Lots of single cans. They regularly get the latest releases from Hop Butcher, Energy City, Une Annee, Marz and many other local and regional breweries that you might not find at alot of places. Their selection is very well curated. Staff is super cool. Tastings on weekends.

Not quite at Beer Temple level of course; they seem to aspire to that. Id place them a half notch below Bottles and Cans because they dont carry Transient, Jester King and a few of the whales like that but still a very very good beer store.

 

So what are the odds of trying some bourbon county variants anywhere early next week? I'll be making my first visit to Chicago for a work event. It looks like the Fulton St. tap room may have cellar beers available, but it sounds too good to be true. Especially if Double Barrel is on deck to tap.

 

Cellar beers are regularly available, and are refreshed each week. Clybourn is tapping a variant every Friday (regal rye tonight)

At Fulton, Double Barrel says “on deck,” but when I asked about it on Wednesday (or Thursday? Idk) the female bartender said “no it is not.” I mentioned it was “on deck.” She said I was wrong. I asked who maintained their untappd, and she said they all did. She suggested that I was mistaking Fulton with Clybourn (where I had been the day prior). It was very weird and unnecessarily combative!

/end of non-story

 

So we arrived to find out Fulton St is closed until Wednesday and we missed Mikerphone by 10 minutes who are also closed tomorrow. Tonight was kind of a bust, but is there anywhere we could find any BCBS or Vanillanoize tomorrow or early Wednesday?

 

I’ll be staying in Rosemont next weekend for the phish shows. Any bottle shops that are recommended? I’ll have a car but will most likely use public transportation while I’m there. BCBS would be a nice find being that Michigan barely gets any.

 

Vanillanoize, no - unless someone knows of a special tapping (MoRE taps stuff randomly sometimes, and this was a collab...)

BCBS regular you should be able to find. I think Clybourn had it on when they put regal on a couple days ago, so it may still be around.

If you’re just jonesing for good stouts, and don’t mind high prices or a chance of speed metal, BA Jones Dog May still be on at Local Option. And Beer Temple’s tap room looks like it has a solid list right now.

Good luck!

 

I had 2012 BCBS a few weeks ago at Sugar Skull (a major dive) out near Ohare. They may still have it.
It was great btw

 

Also, if you go to Clybourn, they frequently have bottles available and stuff on tap that isn’t listed on any menu. Confusing, but true!