Heading to Bloomington/Normal IL.

Definitely hit up Binny's and or Friar Tuck for liquor stores, they are your best bets. Giant warehouse style booze wonderlands. Don't know of any quality smaller ones.

For breweries/bars definitely hit up Destihl, usually have a barrel-aged sour style in addition to a wide variety of styles. Not crazy about any of their regulars, but the limiteds/seasonals are usually excellent. Had a gluten-free beer there that I would order again on its own merits; it's not just 'good for gluten-free.' Oh their food is excellent (gastropubby). Locally sourced and whatnot.

Other good bars are Medici (nicer dining place, most expansive taps in the area, all are super quality/limiteds also) and Fat Jack's (never been, heard they do craft beer right, also have expansive taps). Firehouse Pizza also has really good selection for a pizza place, they seem to get a lot of Left Hand rarities (like brewpub only).

Don't go to Illinois Brewing Company unless you want to try some green-ass homebrew.

 

Fuck Binnys and Friar Tuck, I found King Henry and BCBS in super-small shops last year.

 

Care to mention some for the soon-to-be visitor?

 

I just want to forewarn - these stores are very hit or miss as far as selection goes, but their customer base isn't rabid beer geeks, it's frat bros picking up kegs of Miller Lite, hence why sought after beers can slip through the cracks.. I'd also hesitate to call these places "craft beer stores", but they're not as picked over as Binnys or Friar Tuck, which is how I ended up striking gold there a couple years in a row when home for the holidays.

-Budget Liquors
-Famous Liquors

I hope you luck out and find something cool there - when I was home for Thanksgiving, Famous had 10+ cases of BCBS in stock, yet Friar Tuck didn't have any (Binnys wasn't open yet)

BONUS TIP - Some bars down there that surprisingly are rich with good beers - Firehouse Pizza & Pub, Fat Jacks, and Flingers can be goldmines as well... had Speedway Stout at Fat Jacks last month for $4 a pint, and I know for a fact that they get a keg of KBS every year... so keep your eyes peeled there. Firehouse has BCBS and Founder's BS on tap often. Love that place and the staff there! (just saw that these were mentioned above and I echo that sentiment. Flingers always surprises me with what they have on tap).

Destihl is hit or miss for me, some of their beers are really good, some are lackluster. And AVOID Illinois Brewing Company at ALL COSTS... their bartenders and servers don't even recommend their in-house beers, which says a lot.

 

In addition to everything already mentioned, Lunker's in Normal usually has a decent bottle selection, and they've got solid bar food. 707 Liquors near ISU's campus was a gem until recently--I don't know whether they've just been reorganizing or what, but they've been very BMC lately. Might be worth a quick stop.