Going up to Chicago for the weekend. Wondering what kind of good sour or funky beers I can find up there. Looking to stop at one brewery if I can find the time. Thinking about Half Acre, Revolution, or Pipeworks (suggestions wanted). Any good bottle shops too? Would love to bring something back home. Cheers!
I would personally stop at half acre AND revolution as they are literally minutes apart on foot. I don't think they make any sours though (I could be wrong). I also don't think pipeworks new tap room is open yet. As for finding sours in bottle shops around here, that shouldn't be an issue. Almanac and Cascade just started distribution here and I believe there are a lot of locals doing sours as well. I am told that Hailstorm has a sour farmhouse with apricots that is supposed to be very good and I believe mikerphone just dropped blue hash mich (Berliner with blueberries). Those should be some local gems that fit the bill pretty well. Good luck hunting!
Lake effect's Brett series, off color corybantic and une annee xellensis are some good wild ales available on shelves right now if you want something brewed in chicago. Penrose also doed some sour and Brett beers- they may be available on draft at their tap room but aren't bottled very often. There is also transient but most of their stuff is sold via a reserve society.
Penrose and Noon Whistle are doing the best sour style beers in the Chicago area IMO. Both breweries are in the burbs though. Honorable mention to Off Color for their recent Yuzu Fierce.
Pipeworks is not open to the public, you can't stop there. Local sours/brett beers you can find on the shelf: Lake Effect Brett Cerise, and Brett Framboise, Veille Blonde Off Color Yuzu Fierce Hailstorm Sour Farmhose with Apricots Une Anne Esquisse Mikerphone Blue Hash Mich Marz Duchess Du Bridgeport, Bubbly Creek with Yuzu, Ruby Tears Goose Island Lolita, Madame Rose Non local sours you can find on the shelf: Almanac Dogpatch Sour, Farmers Reserve Citrus, Citra Sour, Pumpkin Sour, Golden Gate Gose (might find a few other Farmers Reserve as well) Cascade Strawberry Sour, Raspberry (possibly others) Avery Tectum et Elix, Insula multos Collibus, and Fortuna, might find Raspberry Sour around still. Bruery Sour in the Rye, Tart of Darkness, Rueuze New Belgium La Folie, Transatlantic Kreik Desthil bunch of stuff the Wild Sour cans and the St Dekkera Resrve 500ml bottles Oceanside Ale Works Daliesque Allagash Golden Brett Jolly Pumpkin whatever you find not everything is sour of course Green Bench Saison De Banc Vert, Saison De Banc Noir Logsdon not sours, but several of their brett saisons are available Unita 21st Anniversary Sour New Holland Incorrigible Great Divide 21st Anniversary Sour Ale Then of course this is a good amount of import stuff like Boon, Petrus, Oud Beersel, Mikkeller Spontan.. beers, Liefmans, BFM etc.. If you want the best selection of Belgian or import sours go to the Beer Temple and West Lakeview Liquors, and then also Lincoln Park Binny's, those are probably the best bottle shops in town. If you go to Half Acre, Bottles & Cans is a great shop down the street. Also the guy who said Half Acre and Revolution are minutes apart on foot is full of it. It would take an hour to walk from Half Acre to Revolution, but only 20 minutes by cab.
Thank you for catching that. I meant minutes apart by car don't know why I wrote foot. Not quite full of it, just an honest mistake.
