Hello all Chicago/Great Lakes family! I am heading to Chicago for the weekend of June 24th and I'm looking to grab some great beer while I'm there. My family and I have zeroed in on a 3 Floyds tour on Saturday but I would also like to snare some awesome beer while I'm in the area. If anyone is bored and wants to help, I would be looking for the best way to grab some of the regional favorites. I have access to some Pipeworks and Half Acre out here in NYC but I want to bring back others. I appreciate your help!
There are a decent number of threads covering a lot of this, but it will be easier for us to be more specific regarding your trip if you give us a little more information. Where are you staying and what other plans do you have?
I plan on combing your threads for sure but I'm glad to outline some thing. Friday --> Arrive in the early afternoon. Staying downtown. Saturday --> FFF Brew Tour, Boat Architecture Tour, drinks, dinner downtown something nice(ish) Sunday --> Golf but dunno where. Likely taking an evening flight. Quick trip but should be fun. Happy to jump around if I can find some cans/bottles to pack home.
Best places for bottles/cans to take back home IMO are Binny's Lincoln Park (right across the street from Goose Island Brewpub...not the Brewery taproom) and The Beer Temple. Those are both a bit north but easily accessible by train (Binny's) or Uber (both are about a 10-15 minute drive from downtown...which really isn't very far at all for driving in the city). I'd recommend going up there on Friday, and hitting up a brewery like GI Brewpub, Revolution or Half Acre. You could do dinner at one of them (GI & Revolution brewpub both have solid food) as well. If you're only interested in staying downtown, there is Binny's on Grand, Warehouse, and Printer's Row Wine Shoppe. None of them are nearly as good as the aforementioned options, though.
Croush nailed it. Harborside is a great course, fyi. "Downtown" is fairly large and to non-Chicagoans can mean a lot of things. I will add on to croush's post a bit with some potential bar options. If you want to head to the West Loop, Au Cheval has a great burger. While you wait (because it will be a long wait), you can check out Haymarket or Kaiser Tiger for some brews. Haymarket brews their own stuff and much of it is very solid. Parlor Pizza usually has a nice tap list and they have an amazing patio. If you're a little further south (South Loop), some bars with decent taps: First Draft, Hackney's, Flo & Santos. In the loop itself, Monk's is probably your best bet.
Really appreciate the help, gents! If anyone is interested I could bring some Grimm/OH/Singlecut for a quick IP trade. Cheers!
If you check out Haymarket, I highly recommend The Girl & The Goat for dinner (right next door). It's a fairly upscale place, but prices aren't bad. That's one of my favorite dinner spots in the city. Otherwise if you want good food plus exceptional beer selection, everybody here will recommend Local Option of Hop Leaf. Make sure you have some Chicago-style pizza. Piece is one of the best. I have a thing for Lou Malnati's deep dish. Some other recommendations: There are a few beer arcades around town. Good beer and free old-school arcade games. It's a good time if you grew up with the retro stuff. If you want to give your family something colorful, take them to Wiener Circle. It's more fun when you're drunk, but if you have somebody that doesn't handle confrontation well, it's fun to throw them in the shark tank.
I was told Pequods or Lou Malnati's are the places to visit. Will certainly be grabbing a pie or two while I'm out there. Now to figure out how to get my hands on some ZD
If you head to the West loop are, Lone Wolf is spitting distance from Haymarket and has Zombie quite often. Have fun.
