Chicago highlights!

Goose Island Clybourn would be a good start as well as their Fulton St. location.

Otherwise:
Half Acre
Revolution
Lagunitas
18th St.
3 Floyd's

It all depends on how much you want to drive and how much traffic you want to sit in to get to those places. GI Clybourn is the best of the bunch IMHO and the food is pretty good as well.

 

Local Option always has a hell of a tap list.

 

Agreed with both of the above. Half Acre released one of their best beers of the year today, Beer Hates Astronauts, so if you're in town today, I'd swing by there and give it a shot. GI Clybourn is probably my favorite based on a combination of factors, and the proximity to the Binny's flagship (across the street) make it a great choice. Binny's also has a nice little taproom, and you can drink while you shop (which is both great and terrible).

Revolution has two locations depending on your mood: Brewpub (will be crowded but has good food and obviously beer) and taproom/brewery (less crowded, BYOF, chill atmosphere).

You can also check out the Goose Island Taproom on Fulton if you're in the mood (check their site though, because their hours are weird). They've usually got some good stuff on for the weekend.

Local Option is one of the better beer bars in the city, and it's like 5 or 10 minutes' drive from GI Clybourn/Binny's.

Also, if you're in Lakeview, checkout The Green Lady, Northdown Taproom and Bitter Pops (all 3 are on Lincoln within 2 blocks of each other). The first two are two of the best beer bars in the city (Northdown will typically have something from FFF on tap, TGL has a large tap/bottle list), the 3rd is a brand new beer shop with a taproom; 5 oz. pours for...$3, I think, and a 16 oz. mini-pitcher for $7 (which is a steal).


ALSO

I'm a huge fan of Haymarket, which I think is criminally underrated. Some top notch beers, and excellent food. It's across the street from Au Cheval, which has the most-hyped burger in the universe (mostly deserving), so that probably has something to do with it. You could make a circuit of Lone Wolf, Haymarket and Au Cheval (wait for a table there can be two hours, so you drink at LW and Hay, then eat when they call your table), which would be a good way to kill 4 hours.

 

I'd agree with the above. If you're not from around here, Chicago is an overwhelming large area and places are fairly spaced out...and traffic sucks. If you plan to stay in the city around the tourist areas I'd echo Haymarket since it's very close to those areas.

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-trip-apologies-for-the-overlap.423013/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/best-chicago-beer-bars.413208/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-trip-questions.410150/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-beercation-questions.399297/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/downtown-chicago-help-needed.396421/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-bottle-shops.394946/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-bachelor-party.377454/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...chicago-next-week-any-recommendations.375593/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/advice-on-some-brewery-visits-chicago.362546/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-trip.352726/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/looking-for-a-great-bottle-shop-in-chicago.352467/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/breweries-in-chicago.351007/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-chicago-need-suggestions.342572/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-trip-advice.339394/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-recommendations.337960/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chicago-visit.335643/

 

Seek out Pipeworks even though most will be packaged and not as available on draft. Go to Half Acre and Revolution. Skip GI because do you really want to go to a thriving beer community and devote your time/money to AB InBev?

 

I'll disagree with this (at least the skipping GI part). Don't forget who kickstarted this thriving beer community. They still do a great job, especially at the brewpub.

I love craft beer, but if you don't want your money to go to a big corporation, get offline right now, take all your money out of a bank and stuff it under your mattress.

 

If you are thinking of stopping at Half Acre then other great bars/taverns in the area to stop in at are Bad apple, Fountain Head, and Hop Leaf. My favorite watering hole now is Little Bad Wolf but I'm not telling anyone about it

 

Agree with this completely. GI Clybourn is the OG in Chicago. Yea they are AB now, but they still produce the same way they did before. Great brews, good food, service is good. Definitely recommend this place.

Also, I'm going to back Bitter Pops 100%. Amazing new place on Lincoln avenue. Best staff you will find in Chicago.

 

I'm heading to Chicago for the first time end of June. I'll be staying in wicker park across from a high school. Thank you all for the great info.

Do you guys have lyft out there or only uber? I'm guessing the trains will be my best bet to get around the city in search of delicious brews. I've done some research and came up with a list like this:

Longman
Nicks beer garden
Green eye lounge
Millers pub
Howells and hood
Maria's
First draft
Parlor pizza
These seem like ok places to hit. Please advise.

 

We have lyft out here as well.

As for your list, I would switch out Millers Pub for Monk's Tavern.

 

Nick's is fine, but not a place I would seek out if I were visiting from out of town, FWIW. If I were in Wicker/Bucktown, I would much rather hit up the Map Room.

 

Those places may all be fine, but I will say that I've never been to any of them. I would have suggested places like Local Option, Links, and Hopleaf, among others. That being said, you're really not going to get much else from this thread than what has already been said in the links shown in post #6 above, so if you've gone through those threads and come up with those options, then that sounds like you've done the research to fit your trip and what you want to do.

 

That's the plan!

 

Local Option was great with their tap list today for their anniversary party, but I'm damn near deaf from their death metal played at 150 db.! Not much parking in the area either. There's still some '15 bottles of BCBS floating around Clybourn.

 

Maria's and Lognman are the only 2 places I wound definitely recommend. And longman not for. Just because it's a great bar with good food.

Otherwise, every place on the list is pretty much a just a bar. Nothing special about them at all.

If you're gonna be in Wicker Park, Fat Pour, Map Room, Links Taproom, and Bangers and Lace are far superior bars to anything listed. However, you'll have no issues finding a place to drink/eat. All youngster to do is walk Milwaukee Avenue and Division Acenue.

 

A bit off topic, but I'm a huge history buff as well as cocktail lover. Any historical bars that I should hit? Any mobster shit?

 

Howells and Hood has no soul, but it's in a great location at the foot of the Magnificent Mile.

Millers Pub is an old-school Chicago place (tons of old celebrity pictures and a shrine to White Sox owner Bill Veeck, who used to hang out there). It has a good beer list and is close to the Art Institute, if that's on your itinerary. Otherwise, I'd go somewhere outside the Loop.