any decent brew shops in Bloomington-Normal IL?

Personally, I have really enjoyed Destihl Brewery and Pub in Bloomington. Great beers and great food.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/list?city=Bloomington&c_id=US&s_id=IL
http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/list?city=Normal&c_id=US&s_id=IL

Peoria is about 45 min. away too: http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/list?city=Peoria&c_id=US&s_id=IL

This place is also worth a trip out to:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25227

 

+1 to emerge.
Friar Tuck is the closest central IL equivalent to Binny's, they will get everything availible in IL south of I-80.
Destihl (brewpub) is completely awesome: fantastic food, nearly every style availible throughout the year, and there is usually a soured style and gluten free option on.
Medici is great too, wide variety of taps and usually several rarities on tap.
I'd be a little wary of the Illinois Brewing Company. It's in downtown Bloomington near the stadium (so you might be down there anyway). Last I was in there they had terribly watery beginner homebrew and white trash townie clientel. Fun if you are looking for that sort of thing, but not for finer brew

 

destihl is awesome. ibc sucks. kellehers in peoria is great. once here there is a couple places in springfield, rolling meadows brewery and obed and isaacs, for craft beer. and there is a newly opened binnys in champaign for a wider and sometimes fresher variety than friar tucks has.

 

would also add that over by destihl there is a pizza joint that usually has a good tap list, joes station house pizza, they had hop slam on tap all winter long, made me happy.

 

Just stumbled upon this thread and it prompted me to join Beeradvocate after lurking around for years.

Destihl is a beautiful gastropub with truly some of the best food in the area. I really, really want to adore their beer, but I've always been deeply disappointed when I try. Over the past several years I've gone there about five times and effectively ordered a custom sampler of all but the traditionally blandest style of beers. This is standard practice for me at a microbrewery and when I find my favorite I'll order a full pint. Sometimes the beer isn't good enough to order a full pint, and this is what has happened to me every time at Destihl. The beers have been off-style, grassy, astringent, sour (in a non-sour style), cloyingly sweet, and/or just plain funky tasting. That being said, I am incredibly picky about my beer having been immersed in the San Francisco area beer scene for over five years. I'm truly glad that some people like the beer here. (If there is a change in the head brewer or brewing over the past six months someone speak up!)

Since Medici open in "Uptown" Normal, it has had the best restaurant beer selection in the area. They have taps with rotating handles upstairs and down and a good selection of bottled beers. I've been very pleasantly surprised at some of the beers they get on tap. If you want to get in with the beer crowd in the area I would suggest going on Wednesday night. Some draft beers are on special that night and (last I knew) those who enjoy good beer congregate there amongst others.

Fat Jack's in downtown Bloomington has historically had a good selection of beers on tap and in bottles. The place definitely changes in atmosphere depending on what night and time you go though. On the weekends this bar effectively turns into a nightclub. Jack's has a special on tap beer on Tuesday nights and I was told by the bartender once that there is a gathering of beer connoisseurs every month on Tuesday. (I can't remember which Tuesday now.)

Perhaps the Illinois Brewing Company in downtown Bloomington was good at one time, but alas no more as Jips mentioned. Last time I went was over a year ago and they didn't even have a brewer on staff. I had a surprisingly good IPA brewed by a volunteer brewer, but I didn't anticipate the consistency to last. The place was filled with crude townies that I don't think cared what they were drinking. People were smoking, even though there is a ban, and I even witnessed a fight breaking out.

Flinger's Pizza and Pub in Downtown Bloomington usually has good brew on tap for variety. (If you go to eat you should try a "flinger roll" as well.) Again, like Fat Jack's I'm sure the atmosphere changes late on the weekends as downtown Bloomington is where the university students come to "party". Summer break is here though so I'm sure every place is tamer.

Maggie Miley's is the local "irish pub" and sometimes has usually has some decent beers on tap. They don't seem to have as wide a selection or rotate handles as much, but it is good for something different.

Rosie's Pub in downtown Bloomington normally has a decent brew or two. (I'm not sure who created that website, it doesn't convey the "feel" of their pub at all.) Rosie's is effectively a dark, intimate pub attached to a fine dining restaurant. The food is good just don't expect a huge selection of beer. It is just a nice place to pop into now and then.

As mentioned, Friar Tuck on the east side of town has the best selection of beer for sale over the counter by far. They also have a good selection of wine, liquor, and craft soda if you are ever in the mood for something different.

I'm not as familiar with the Peoria beer scene as some of the posters above. There definitely are some great places to go in Champaign (though it is an hour away.) If you are interested in information on good restaurants, "culture", or general geek activities (RPGs, boardgaming) let me know.

Welcome to BloNo!