I remember just happening on the old Andersonville location one day wandering while visiting a friend and being blown away by the taplist.
Village Tap in Roscoe Village neighborhood is a good craft bar that goes under the radar. Fantastic pub food (cheese curds!) & beer garden to boot. Bitter Pops taproom/bottle shop & Green Lady craft bar are nearby as well. Great nearby suggestions! Small correction, both are in North Center; Irving Park neighborhood is west of there. Somehow I’ve never been to Resi’s Bierstube, always end up at Laschet’s Inn… Might have to check out that beer garden at Resi’s after Dovetail Maifest next weekend!
North Center (Thursday) I’d start w lagers & wild ales at Dovetail, grab ba stout at Begyle, then end at Hop Butcher for ipa’s, etc. Agree that Hop Butcher & Dovetail should be the priority, but Begyle isn’t that bad... It’s true they never got too into the hype styles, but I’ve always enjoyed their ba stouts. It’s right next to Dovetail, so might as well at least grab a ba stout there before heading up to Hop Butcher to get your haze fix… Koval craft distillery tasting room is just north of Dovetail. I concur on the Bad Apple & Laschet’s Inn rec’s. Bad Apple has long been a go-to for post brewery hopping; solid taplist, good food, known for burgers. Draft list on website seems outdated, but can find current list here- https://www.beermenus.com/places/60582-the-bad-apple-north-center Lately, I’ve been ending up at Laschet’s Inn for their German food & large selection of euro lagers. Was gonna also suggest wisconsin burger joint Culver’s & their awesome cheese curds, but I see that’s where you’re from… lol Could start out with a meal at Old Irving brewpub in Irving Park before heading over to North Center. One of the more underrated breweries, they also have excellent food, wood-fired grill, great wings. River North / Downtown (Friday) Centennial craft bar is great. Around corner, Clark Street Ale House has a beer garden & solid taplist. Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap, known for their wings, has decent craft options. Maybe start w a meal at Jake’s, head to Clark’s for patio beers, end up at Centennial. Other options- Portillo’s chicago hotdog, burger, italian beef joint; malted milkshakes, baked mostaccioli (Barnelli’s), chicken bacon chopped salad [I suppose MKE has Portillo’s locations now, so might prefer somewhere you don’t have back home] Crushed by Giants brewpub Hopsmith craft bar, vintage bcs bottles solid tap lists: Franklin Tap First Draft Industry Ales Brewpub: -opened April 2024; head brewer Michael Gretz Jr. from Moody Tongue; chef Steven Kowaleski from Revolution brewpub -been meaning to check this place out -2Twenty2 Tavern next door might be worth checking out as well -per fb 3.17.2026, “temporarily closed due to water main emergency” -per fb 4.29.2026, “we can’t wait to see you all very soon!” -apparently, still closed as of today Miller’s Pub has craft options Potter’s Bar for old fashioned South Loop: Duneyrr brewery Moody Tongue brewery Fatpour craft bar, vintage bcs bottles, same ownership as Hopsmith
Haha, nice! @MilwaukeeBeerMaker All the different deep dish pizza options are great in their own way… Lou Malnati’s, Pizzeria Uno/Due, Gino’s East, & Giordano’s are all near the downtown mag mile Marriott. (Pequod’s up in Lincoln Park is the other contender for best Chicago deep dish). If hitting up Lou’s, def request the ‘buttercrust’ when ordering! The Pizzeria Uno & Due spots are the actual original deep dish pizza inventors & their pizza is way better/different than the pizza you get at the national franchises. If getting thin crust (‘tavern-style’), Gino’s East was always my preference of the deep dish spots; Giordano’s has decent tavern-style as well.
Thanks to all for the suggestions; lots of things to think about. Hop Butcher will certainly go on the maybe list; not big into the IPA style but I am well aware that style is their wheelhouse so if anyone does it right perhaps I should stop in and check them out. Hoping for a little more advice for a slightly different area. I'm a big saison fan and a buddy of mine went to Off Color this weekend and said I need to get there. It looks like I could start at GI Salt Shed for some lunch and then walk over to the Mousetrap. What would be a good third stop in a walkable distance; could be either another brewery or just a place with a nice tap list. Thanks again and hopefully my wife's plans hold and don't get cancelled as I'm excited for my mini-visit to the area. Cheers!
If you're not into hazy IPA, don't feel bad about skipping Hop Butcher. I personally have never cared for that particular taproom, even when it was occupied by Half Acre. The atmosphere could be different these days, but it always struck me as too loud. And as others have said, Begyle is fine but it isn't going to impress most people. It's a nice option to have if you live in the neighborhood, but not worth going out of your way for. 200% recommend Off Color if you can pull it off, although the walk from the Salt Shed isn't going to be a nice one. However, if saisons are your thing and the Dovetail visit is still on your itinerary you might consider Is/Was Brewing, a little over a mile north. Good atmosphere, and the big advantage is that you'll then be very close to the world-renowned Hopleaf, which I'm fairly confident will have a tap list that will impress.
What isn't nice about the walk from Salt Shed to Off Color? On the map it looks like a nice and easy less than a mile walk; is there something out there I'm not privy to not being a local? Is/Was is another one I've heard I'd enjoy as a saison lover; guess it will depend where I end up and whatever else people can tell me about the Off Color area. Thanks!
If you choose Is/Was, you can also hit Spiteful and Half Acre. And Hopleaf if you're down for a little walk.
Yeah, exactly this. I'm actually sort of fond of the area, but it's not what I would describe as fun.
Following along here. Been to the area several times and will be again this Wednesday and Thursday. Hopleaf, half acre, is/was and maybe Resi’s is the plan Wednesday. Then starting Thursday with hop butcher and dovetail before heading into the suburbs to be closer to a work meeting for my wife Friday morning. Anyone know anything about the Chicago waffles in Lincoln square? Was planning on hitting it for breakfast Thursday since it’s a stones throw from our Airbnb.
Like others said, nothing particularly dangerous, just grungy, industrial, and not really pedestrian-friendly until you're east of the river. Even then, walking along North Ave isn't real pleasant due to the traffic. On the plus side, precisely because of that traffic walking could very well get you there faster than a car ride.
Appreciate the insight from all; I would definitely go on foot from Salt Shed to Off Color. Are there any other worthwhile walkable stops in that area; otherwise I'm leaning more towards the Dovetail/Begyle/IsWas/Hopleaf layout for the day? Cheers!
I think the Lincoln Park Binny’s has taps. I’ve never seen them, as I’m usually running the can aisles like it’s grocery wars. If it’s one or the other, my suggestion is North Center/Ravenswood. That’s such a beautiful stroll with so many beer payoffs. BTW: check the Hop Butcher tap list when you’re close to the day. Sometimes they’ll have a bunch of lagers, and they’re real good. It’s just never a certainty though.
My favorites for breakfast are Irene's and Savanna. Irene's is more upscale diner food and Savanna is Mexican/American. For a quicker/more casual option, Spoken carries NY Bagel and Bialy bagels (the goat in Chicago) and they make great breakfast sandwiches. Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club is also very good, but usually crowded and quite pricey.
Wife got her conference officially booked so I will be running wild in the City on 7/23 and 7/24. Still plenty of time to fine tune the plan if something better pops up but I'm going for stuff in the same relative area so I can go by foot other than the ride to/from my lodging. Thursday Breakfast at either Irene's or Savana Hop Butcher (love 11am open breweries) Dovetail Is/Was Hopleaf for dinner and some pours Friday Jake Melnicks or Crushed by Giants for lunch & beers Patio drinking at Centennial Patio drinking at Clark Street w/ the wife Critiques certainly still welcome or if there's another spot in those areas I should sub in instead, advice appreciated. Pretty sure I don't "know" anybody in this thread but not opposed to meet some BAs and perhaps split some of those high end bottles at Hopleaf is they are still sticking around when I get down there. Cheers!
Don't forget that, if at some point you get tired of walking, you can also just tap a credit card to pay for the bus or 'L' -- one place this would make sense is to get from Dovetail to Is/Was (walk to Damen Avenue and take the #50 bus northbound to Foster & Ravenswood, which is about a block from Is/Was).
Thanks for the tip! Odds are I will hoof it between all the brewery stops so I can get some movement in my day since I'll be sitting around drinking most of the day; but good to know and I'll surely note that in my itinerary for the day as an option!
