Heading to Chicago this weekend- Need Advice

Use the search function. There's a TON of threads about Chicago.

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Haymarket & Au Cheval are super close to where you are staying. You should go to both. Lone Wolf next to Au Cheval usually has Zombie Dust on tap as well (go while you are waiting for a table at Au Cheval)

Use beermenus.com to find specific beers on tap.

Monday is probably less busy at Three Floyds. It's usually a good idea to get there 30min before they open if you want to get in for lunch without too much of a wait. Weekdays are probably better.

 

take the time to search on Chicago and you'll find the info you need and then some. There are probably 17,432 posts about this general topic regarding many major cities.

 

This is my usual response to these threads. Hope this helps:

Here is a list of my favorite places in Chicago. I listed them in terms of my preference although everything I listed is fantastic.

Not sure if you are staying the night but a frequent tour of mine with friends is - Half acre -> Bad apple/Fountainhead -> Goose island -> Binnys LP -> Piece -> Revolution -> Bed
Far from an optimized tour, but really fun and gets us through the city.


Beer stores:

• Binnys Lincoln Park - Biggest selection in Chicago and has an sweet tap room (thats never full for some reason)
• West Lakeview Liquors - fantastic selection of imports and locals
• South loop Binnys - not as big as LP, but fatastic selection also has a good taproom, list is just as good but space is not as nice as LP binnys
• Beer Temple - Everything here is super fresh and it has a great all around selection, I just find it out of the way

Breweries/Brewpubs:

• Half Acre - Just taproom and store but my favorite taproom. Usually pretty chill even when crowded.
• Piece Brewing - Brewpub with AMAZING pizza and great beer. Love this place.
• Revolution - Taproom and Brewpub (Great food)
• Solemn Oath - In napperville, but if you can get there its a cool place with good beer.
• Goose Island Clybourn- Brewpub (Right next to Binnys LP) Has good food and a large taplist of GI beers.
• Begyle - Has a new taproom with pretty good beer and is a few blocks from half Acre

Bars/Restaurants:

• Hopleaf - Easily my favorite place in Chicago. Fantastic beer list, both tap and bottle, and great food, especially the muscles and fries.
• Piece Brewing - Brewpub with AMAZING pizza
• Maria's Packaged goods - on the south side, but has a great bar and decent bottle shop. Doesn't have food, but immediately next door is a great pot pie place (Pleasant House Bakery) that you can order into the bar.
• Bad apple - Pretty good tap list with fantastic burgers.
• Jerry's Sandwiches - Huge taplist AND sandwich list. Close to hopleaf.
• Foutainhead - Close to half acre. Good tap list and good food although I am never blown away.

Other places I have yet to go to but have a great reputation

• Publican
• Kumas corner
• Map room
• Local Option
• Haymarket
• Dryhop

 

Some good combination places to add to the list above me:

Kuma's Corner (burgers) and The Beer Temple are about 2 blocks apart, and kuma's has a small but solid draft list
Half Acre and Bad Apple (food/bar) are also right across the street from each from each other.

In regards to 3 floyds, i'd personally go on Monday. Their carry list tends to get depleted by Sunday, not that Monday is usually anything too special. (zombie dust tends to be on Thursdays if you were looking for that in particular bottled, but it's always on tap at the pub)

 

I would recommend visiting FFF on Monday as it becomes VERY busy on the weekends!

 

You should add Half Acre and Off Color to your list of offerings.

Happy Hunting!

 

I would recommend skipping FFF altogether. Chances are you'll find plenty on tap around Chicago, and it will give you a chance to visit more of the Chicago breweries listed earlier in this thread.

Don't miss Hopleaf. Andersonville Liquor is nearby and does a decent job, and Revolution and Half Acre are close by too.

 

Be aware that Woodman's is Cash or PIN Debit only, they do not accept Credit Cards... The kenosha location continues to expand their selection. They also have a very large single bottle selection where you can mix and match between a least 200 different beers..