Chicago beercation questions.

1. Yes. Search places>chicago right at the top of this page. Most reviews are solid. Half Acre, Haymarket, Goose Island, 3 Floyds, Revolution, Piece, countless other small breweries would all make for a great time. Local Option, Maria's, Links, Hopleaf, countless other are all awesome beer bars. Binny's and many other options for to go beers.
2. No. All gone. You may be able to line up a trade or find a friendly person who will hook you up though.
3. Yes, you can get to many nearby cities and breweries with a car (Indiana and Michigan breweries are plentiful and awesome, 1-4 hours one way trip) or to Milwaukee via train. You can drink beers from most of these breweries in Chicago though.
4. That is what trip advisor is for.

Chicago has everything you could possibly want all at your fingertips. If your looking for plentiful amounts of beer choices in a small geographical area, this is a great choice. Pacific Northwest would also be an awesome beercation, as would the Northeast. There would be quite a bit more driving in the Northeast to get from place to place though. i would narrow your choice to Chicago or somewhere int the PNW. Colorado's great too but a bit more spread out. My few cents.

 

2. If you're coming from south Korea to chicago to drink beer I'll give you a bottle of regular bourbon county. That's awesome

 

1.Is there any great/nice breweries that you guys can recommend in Chicago? Yes! Many good ones. Pipeworks, HA, GI, Three Floyds (close enough) ect.

2.If I go to Chicago, can I get Bourbon County bottles? I heard it got pretty easy to get BC in the States, so are there any benefits getting those bottles in Chicago? Not a chance.

3.My beercation will be 2 for weeks, can I get to other close Great Lakes cities easily, and is there any other nice beer cities near? Yes

4.I'll look up Tripadvisor and other stuffs, but it would be nice if you guys can introduce me some nice touristic places(attractions), museums, or other nice places. Any of the city museums are worth a stop. I would also catch a ball game at Wrigley.

The other question is are you set on Chicago? Dont get me wrong I love Chicago and I wouldnt choose to live anywhere else but if I was traveling half way around the world to drink beer Chicago would not be my number one stop. If your main interest is beer I would highly recomend doing the north east or the coast of California over Chicago. Chicago is a great place but there are areas of the country making better beer right now.

 

If you are coming to the United States strictly for a beercation there are many better spots in the States for beer. Now, if you were coming for a vacation in a major American city with a lot of things to do plus beer then you should have a great time.

You would have a chance at Bourbon County if you came in the fall, closer to our Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Others are saying there is no chance you'd get Bourbon County, but that's not necessarily true. There are still spots that have it now, granted at somewhat inflated prices (a place by me actually has a sign up advertising that they have it, and they've had it in since right after Black Friday). Now, whether there will be any around in the summer is another matter. I wouldn't be surprised if another shipment comes through between now and then, but it'd probably be scooped up right away. I would say that trading for it is probably your best option, though.

I'm assuming you're not focused just on beer for a whole two weeks, so I think Chicago is a great choice. Besides Chicago, you can easily access Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan breweries. However, there certainly are plenty of areas in the country making great beer with lots of other activities as well (California, Oregon, and greater New England come to mind).

 

From a strictly brewery-perspective, Chicago might not be the best choice, but given that it has one of the best distros in the US and is an amazing summer city (it has to be; we've only got a few months to get all our partying in!), it's a fine choice.

In terms of bottles of Bourbon County, it might not be easy, but it's been in on tap pretty steadily since November, so I don't think it's a completely crazy goal.

 

Yeah, I read another post by the OP looking for overall suggestions and the usual places came up-VT, Bay Area, Sand Diego, Portland(ME and OR)- but he was also looking for a major city too with all the museums etc but would not have a car. In a number of other cities the breweries are on the fringe of the city if not well outside..Not trying to be a homer, but I think it's a "beer plus major city" trip.

 

That's my argument, too. There are plenty of other great choices, but many are not nearly as self-contained and/or don't have as easy access to as much to do.

 

Heck, the GI Tap Room seems to have it on in some variation on most Fridays, so there's certainly a decent chance of finding it on tap somewhere, even if bottles are scarce.

 

I remember that thread. Yeah, the "lack of a car" issue makes Chicago appealing in my mind. It's easy to get around and Megabus has routes to Milwaukee & Grand Rapids for like $15 round-trip. There's also Greyhound & Amtrak if you want something a little less sketchy. Point being that there are easy ways to get out of the city for a few days and check out another spot.

 

Beer related and touristic - the Field Museum in Chicago. They've just released an ancient Peruvian, chicha inspired beer.

And while I would seriously consider San Diego, Portland, or a VT/New England based trip if it was solely beer, it's hard to argue with Chicago as far as local beers and the chance to try a wide variety of regional beers. Throw in world class dining, entertainment, and sporting events and you could certainly keep yourself occupied for 2 weeks easily. Add in a quick trip to Michigan or WI via train or Indiana via train/cab, and it makes the area even more appealing. About the only area where I think Chicago falls short when compared with the other areas I mentioned is natural beauty. While there are outdoor options, they pail in comparison to other areas of the country, in my opinion.

 

Burger Bar Chicago has a selection of Bourbon County bottles available for service. Sadly, most of them are barleywine and coffee from this year (so you're taking a chance with those), but they have some 2013 barleywine at $25 a bottle that, while expensive, will be delicious.

Otherwise, set up a trade with someone for some of your international brews.

 

#3 - You can take an Amtrak train to either Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo, although it is a different route for each city and you can't do both from the same train. Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids is 3 blocks from the train station, and Bell's Brewing in Kalamazoo is also 3 blocks away from that station. Both breweries have world class ratings. And both cities have other breweries within reasonable walking distance of the train station.

 

He could also take Amtrak to either GR/Kzoo, then take a bus (either Greyhound or Indian Trails) to the other. That way, he's hitting both places with one trip. Just for fun, I priced out the whole trip on Greyhound and it's not that bad if you're traveling midweek:
Chicago - Kalamazoo $15
Kzoo - Grand Rapids $11
GR - Chicago $30
Figure another $10-15 in fees and service charges and you're still coming in around $70.

 

Man, after seeing all these ideas makes me realize I need to go downtown more...

 

One of those, not sure which, stops in New Buffalo, and that's a good time, although no breweries there (as of ten minutes ago). There's also the South Shore, but not a lot of breweries within walking distance to most stations (except 18th in Gary), but it gets you within Uber range of a lot of great breweries.

 

Its true Milwaukee and Chicago over lap in distro for the most part but at the same time he can get New Glarus, Karben 4, Black Husky, Toppling Goliath, O'so, and generally some pretty cool stuff central waters doesn't send to chicago, plus its a short train ride. Between Milwaukee and Chicago it could be a pretty sweet vacation if he decides to come here. Now I wouldn't recommended coming in the winter and its not necessarily the best place in the US to beercation but its not a bad choice by any means.

 

I like downtown Milwaukee. I know I may take a little grief on this, but I love the Rock Bottom right here on the river. And there are some really good places on that street that starts with a K..Kinnectenec or something.(sorry!)

 

Ale Asylum just opened a restaurant on the river as well in downtown Milwaukee which I would recommend. Also a super chic Hinterland Gastropub in the 3rd Ward.