Heading to Chicago for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 17th around noon and will only be there a little over 24 hours. If anyone has any recommendations on the best 3-4 breweries and also the best bottle shop with good locals. I have planned on Half Acre and Revolution so far, but would like to add in some other spots. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
I like both of those, and would add Goose Island Brewpub on Clybourn - lots of non-distributed original beers there. And it happens to be right across the street from the biggest Binny's in the city. Besides that Binny's, I would recommend The Beer Temple and Bottles & Cans (which is just a couple blocks away from Half Acre). Enjoy!
Goose Clybourn Lincoln Park binnys (across from goose, and they also have a tap room - $12 pours of Lot B also if you're interested) Revolution Taproom on kedzie, much less crowded than the brewpub, and it's the same beers more or less. Beer Temple (bottle shop) - half a mile from revolution taproom. Easy top 2 or 3 in city. Half Acre Bottles and Cans (bottle shop) - a few blocks from half acre.
Thanks for the info! Judging by the FB pics, Beer Temple seems to have a better selection of bombers and such? Would you say they have more selection of locals compared to Bottles and Cans?
It's really 6 in one, half dozen the other. I like beer temple a tad bit more because it's closer to me and the prices are a little cheaper (less expensive neighborhood), but you can't go wrong with either. I do feel like beer temple might have some ultra small breweries that bottles and cans won't, but it's doubtful you would even buy that.
Hopping on this thread instead of starting another. I'll be in town the week after Thanksgiving. I have been looking at the BA Place guide for Chicago, and general searches online but had a few questions. Instead of clicking on all the links I figured I would ask here. What breweries are open to the public with tap rooms? I have heard that many are not. (which are do not miss?) What are the best beer bars with the greatest selection of local brews? I have looked at websites of lots on the BA Chicago Beer Guide, looks like a ton of great options, but looking for a little insight from local BA's. I think I'll go to Binny's and The Beer Temple. Any specific brews I should look out for that may be under the radar/not talked about a lot by non-locals? Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. I'll be staying in "The Loop" section of the city right by the Monk's Pub.
Just my preference: 1. Taprooms: Half Acre is one of the best. I'd also suggest Haymarket which will be about a 15 minute walk west of you. Lagunitas is pretty fun to check out as well. 2. Bars: Monk's Pub is solid. Check out Stocks and Blondes which will be about 2 blocks south of Monks Pub for something very close(they'll have Pipeworks, Half Acre on tap). Local Option always has many Chicago breweries on tap as well. ~I"m in the western suburbs so I'm not of too much help for hidden gems in the city, but if you're out in the western suburbs send me a message and I'll offer options out there.
If you're going to Binny's, and are clearly going up to the north side, just go to Binny's in Lincoln Park. It has the best selection of any of the Binny'seseses and you can go across the street to Goose Island. They've got good food, and there's a good chance they'll have something barrel-aged on top (this is the time of year for it), especially on Fridays. About a 10 or 15 minute walk from there is a bar called Local Option, which is one of the best beer bars in the city: http://localoptionbier.com/on-tap/ (solid taplist, right?) In the Loop itself (or near), I'd go to Halsted (West Loop) and check out Au Cheval for the burger (decent taplist), Haymarket for the food and beer (they brew their own, and their BA stuff is fantastic if it's on tap) and maybe Lone Wolf if you're a Three Floyds fan. As WilliamN says below, Half Acre is a great stop, and if you're not in the mood for one of their burritos, Bad Apple across the street has excellent food as well. In terms of under-the-radar beers, I'm not sure we have too much in that category; the hype train picks up very quick in Chicago. You might want to head over the NE IPA thread if you're an IPA guy, because we're discussing a lot of the latest/hottest ones in the city there. I work right near Stocks, and yeah, it's kind of a dive, but it has a decent taplist, so it's not a bad choice.
Favorite Bars by Neighborhood: Wicker Park: Bangers and Lace (also an Evanston location if you go to the burbs), Links Taproom (has a live-updated tap list so you can always see what they have. They had Surly Darkness on last time I checked) Lincoln Park: Local Option Northside (not sure technically what neighborhood this is... Andersonville?): Hopleaf -- maybe my favorite one, but a little bit of a trek from downtown West Loop: Haymarket A couple other notes -- not sure if they will keep them on after the release, but the GI Taproom has had Bourbon County (and variants) quite a bit lately leading up to Black Friday; Sheffields had a pretty nice selection of BCBS variants in their vintage cooler the last time I was there, although they were kinda spendy.
Dependes what you are trying to do. As someone mentioned Beer Temple is a little cheaper but Bottles and Cans will let you break up any 4 or 6 pack so its a good chance to try alot of local stuff
Thanks! Great ideas. I was planning on the Binny's across from GI. Will be a great time of year to hit up the taproom. I'll have access to transportation via shuttles and can get to most of the "regions" of the city. Other than that I'll walk or Uber to hit the best places. Its a work trip, but evenings will all be free to explore the beer scene.
Great info guys. I'll be in Chicago Thanksgiving. I love Off Color beers. Is their brewery/bottle shop worth visiting? I'll be staying downtown in the loop.
Hell, stop in the Binny's taproom as well. Good bourbon list, and you can drink while you shop at Binny's. Another nice little triangle is Bitter Pops/The Green Lady/Northdown Taproom on Lincoln. Bitter Pops is a hybrid beer shop/taproom with a small but excellently-priced taplist (8 beers at all times, usually $3 for 5 oz., $7 for 16 oz. mini pitcher), and The Green Lady and Northdown are two of the best beer bars in the city. All within a block or two of each other.
Great info on here. I can vouch for Beer Temple, they have a nice selection of locals and other goods. I scooped up some fresh Zombie Dust (1 six pack pp) and some a surly cans last night after hitting Half Acre and Revolution. Wish I had more time in Chicago, really enjoyed it. If you guys are ever in Richmond, VA hit me up! Cheers!
Have anyone ever mentioned First Draft and Chicago Villains in the south loop? They are right by each other. Chicago Villains has more imported unique stuff and excellent vintage menu. I had their '13 Cantillon Classic Gueuze in bottle for my birthday a couple months ago. First Draft is an excellent sports bar with tons of big TVs. Good number of FFF beers on tap, including Zombie Dust. They have many other good choices.
Stocks was my Loop spot when I was working downtown last year(the other being Franklin Tap, which was alright as well). Yeah, it was kinda a dive but it always had some solid beers and good pricing. I'd usually have a couple after work on a Friday, then grab a tall boy for the train home.
