5 days in Chicago. Am I missing anything?

Added my editorial below. Add hopleaf to your list. And maybe bangers and lace, and Links? Check recent post in other thread - @prior2two wrote a good sample itinerary:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-chicago.534815/#post-5621196

 

I would definitely get a map and group those out and then narrow it down. I've lived here 2.5 years and have been to a little over half those places. I had a slow day yesterday and decided to drive from the city to More at noon and got about halfway there before I was like wtf was I thinking. If you do go to More, you may as well hit Noon Whistle. Some people here that have a better knowledge of the city and burbs can possibly help with the logistics.

 

that's very ambitious. i'd suggest ranking them based on your desire to visit because even to go from some place on one end of the city to the other can be 45 minutes. I personally would not want to burn too much daylight just driving around. I'd start with the distance from where you're staying to each, and as anothe post mentioned, see if you can knock out 2-3 pretty easily within 2 hrs. Everything you listed is great and you can't go wrong..but do you want to just walk in and out of 10 places, or sit and enjoy 4-5 places. That is the question

 

Kuma's(original on Belmont) is a must stop

 

Great to see Imperial Oak on your list and their Oak-toberfest is the 30th, but don't go all that way for just one place.
You could think of adding maybe Blue Nose, BuckleDown, Pollyanna, Miskatonic, and Skeleton Key. You could probably hit and quit all of those in under 6 hours with a flight at each. However, none of them have food, unless a truck hits that day, or like the case of IO they are having a party with food. Or just enjoy the day at IO it will be a great time.
For pubs with good food and beer options in that general area look at Chuck's or 3 Corners Tap.
Have a great time whatever you do.

 

Publican

And an often overlooked/underrated option...

Pub Royale
Amazing Indian food and a well curated tap list with some pretty rare/bizarre beers. All available in small pours.

 

And after pub royale, you can put on your dancing shoes and create a sweaty night filled with regret at InnJoy, drinking PBR tall boys and having strangers buy you shots of fireball.

 

More and Mikerphone are a solid drive from the rest of the list. Definitely budget a lot of driving time, though they're both worth the trip.

Half Acre/Dovetail/Begyle is a must that's pretty easy. That's been my Saturday a few times. Bad Apple is right there too. However, I would go to Beer Temple from there and hit Kumas as darktain said.

There's a ton of food options around Cruz Blanca and Haymarket. I would see which place has the shortest wait between The Publican, Au Cheval and Little Goat (might be tough to get in the main place). My other favorite in that area is Green Street Smoked Meats (awesome BBQ, though pricey). There's probably 9 other places I'm forgetting too.

 

I have no idea where you are staying, but assume you're here on work so staying downtown. Getting to the burbs from downtown is a major pain. Totally possible, but will test your patience for sure. Would help us out if you posted where you are staying. Just FYI.....I work downtown, but live in suburbs. I take the train every day of my life. No way in hell I would ever drive it.

 

No disrespect to any of these places, but given the amount you want to try and the time limit you have, I would cross out Begyle, Motor Row, Kinslagher, and Haymarket. Drinks at Map Room, Forbidden Root, and food/beer at Piece. I think all three open very early. So do that as early as possible and then make your way up to Half Acre, Dovetail, and Bad Apple for the night time. There is your six in one day. Plus I would add links taproom to that itinerary.

 

Your list is solid. I've been to maybe 2/3rds of those places in my trips to Chicago.

I will echo the love for the Begyle/Dovetail/Half Acre grouping. I find myself doing that stretch on a lot of my trips. I also spend a lot of time at Piece and Links for what its worth.

Someone mentioned passing on Motor Row, and I might agree. I've been there, but the room is small, not really close to anything else yet (tho the area is getting better), and nothing super unique about their offerings.

Easily overlooked is the tasting room at the North/Clybourn Binny's. The room is amazing and they usually have some good stuff on tap, plus you can roam the rest of the store drinking a beer if you'd like.

One brewery taproom that didn't make your list is Hopewell. It is in Logan Square, a bit further out on Milwaukee than Rev. Their offerings aren't worth a special trip, but the room and vibe are cool, and I don't think they do any retail yet.

 

I would argue that nothing is worth it in the burbs if you are downtown but that is just me. We have everything right here. Its the greatest city for a reason so take advantage of it!

 

I'm assuming you're going to visit 18th on the same day you're hitting up 3 Floyds? Since you're already going to be in NW Indiana, I would include New Oberpfalz in Griffith on that swing - go to Floyds, stop in at NO (just about 15 minutes from Floyds), and then go to 18th in Hammond, and then back to downtown. And I would recommend going to Floyds on Monday - Thursday (and Tuesday afternoon is my preferred day). Also, NO is closed on Monday. (yeah - and check your itinerary, because a lot of places are closed here on Monday)

And if you're staying downtown, hitting up Imperial Oak on that same trip to NW Indiana doesn't add up for me. I would recommend that if you are indeed going to hit up More and Noon Whistle, and get your NE IPA face on, then you could swing by Imperial Oak on the circle back towards downtown.

And I didn't see Revolution on your list? Serious omission, imo, but if you are hitting up the Beer Temple, then you should stop in there, too.

Your initial list was way too ambitious, but I appreciate your desire!

 

If you're driving, you could get to villa park in 25 min if you leave between 11 and 1.

However, right now, More is having some production issues. Last week, they only had 3 beers on tap. At this point, it's an easy pass in my eyes.

Honestly, the only "suburban" place worth a special trip in my mind Floyds. It's awesome, and always worth it. More/Mikerphone/Noonwhistle, etc are all perfectly nice places, but you can have much more fun doing other things in the city, beer related or not.

Also, I'm in the Wicker Park area, so if you wanna do that route, I'll gladly meet you for a beer somewhere along it.

 

Check out Lagunitas just south of Ogden at Washtenaw. It's magical.
Good food.
And if you do hit Motor Row, Baderbrau is right around the corner and will be a fun place around that time. Food and beer is already German influenced.

 

Aggressive list I like it. knowing me id end up finding the first place I enjoy and stay the rest of my trip. lol.

my two cents would be to avoid wasting your time driving to the burbs. and i know, blasphemy but that includes 3Floyds. There are so many great spots in town that you can check out and I personally would rather be walking or cabbing around rather than on the expressway in traffic after a small amount of beer to be under legal BAC.

I would certainly hit up the Corridor/dovetail/begyle/half acre. all pretty close (short cabs/uber) Long room, bad apple, heck even Kumas are not all that far away as far as bars go too. Do not miss Bitter Pops if you decide to do this mini crawl, best newish package shop in the neighborhood. Piece and Links is aso hard to beat 1-2 punch if you ask me.

have fun, be safe and let us know how the trip goes.