I'll be in your city for business in a few Weeks and sadly I'm not as familiar withe the Midwest scene as I should be. Can anyone give me some tips on bars, and bottle shops I should look out for? Little breweries I should know about? Thanks in advance guys.
When I am looking at where to head in a city, I check the directory and sort the list by the "beer average" to discover breweries and then work my way down the list. I will usually check out a place if it has high ratings and a healthy number of them. Click this to see how it looks. For everything else I sort by "ratings" and work my way down. With a big city like Chicago though, seeking out advice is definitely a good idea if you are unfamiliar with the city (or even if you are).
Ignore those guys above, they're all probably from Chicago. What part of Chicago will you be visiting, and will you have a car? You can also check out: https://www.beermenus.com/
Chicagoland is pretty big. Depends on where in the city or suburbs you will be. But here are some suggestions Breweries you should already know about Three Floyds Revolution Little Breweries worth checking out 18th Street (Gary, IN) Haymarket Imperial Oak Hailstorm Bottle Shops: Binnys (30 locations allover area) Westlakeview liquors Beer Temple Beer Cellar (glen ellyn)
Would you recommend any of those restaurants for just grabbing a drink? We're staying in the loop and want to try and get into one neighborhood for 3-4 stops + dinner if possible (to limit transportation time/costs). I noticed Au Cheval and The Publican are pretty close to each other.
Au Cheval, The Publican, and Green Street Smoked Meats are all within two blocks of one another, and an easy walk from most anywhere in the Loop. Like davey mentioned, Haymarket Brewery is also right across the street from Au Cheval, and additionally, Kasier Tiger is a 10min walk west down Randolph. The Publican isn't exactly a "pop in for drinks" place, but has arguably the best food of those listed... and a damn fine beer menu. Au Cheval and Green Street Smoked Meats are more casual, and you could certainly "pop in for drinks", but still have fantastic food to go with a solid beer menus. (just dont freak out when you see the bathtub beer selection at Green Street, stay calm and go to the bar) Haymarket and Kasier Tiger I would recommend as "pop in for drinks" locations, both with fairly expansive beer lists. And if you are staying downtown, with no desire to stray too far, but still want to hit a retail location, try the Binnys on Grand in River North.
In don't think anyone mentioned half acre. Amazing beer and prob the best taproom in the city. Hopleaf is a stellar beer bar on the north side. You def need to make the 30mile trek to muenster for the FFF experience. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to go on a day where ZD is available to-go
