I want to make a stop at Jackie O's (coming from Chicago) but hate to drive all that way for one place, are there any other worthwhile brewery stops from Chicago to there?
If you come through Columbus - Hoof Hearted, Seventh Son, and Wolf's Ridge are all worth a visit and close to each other.
If you're making that drive make sure to hit both Jackie O's locations (Brewery and Brewpub). Little Fish is also in Athens and I've heard is great if you're into saisons and funky stuff. As Tjames said, Hoof, 7th Son, and Wolf's Ridge are a great Columbus stop. Plenty of other good ones and bottle shops around too.
No brewery, in my mind, is worth that kind of trip just to visit. If you have other business in that area, fine, but driving that long would be a little wild. Just my $.02 If you do visit, you could stop in Indy, Dayton, Columbus, and then Athens. In Indy I would stop at Deviate Brewing (not out of the way at all) as well as Sun King. Dayton I would stop at Toxic Brewing Company, Dayton Beer Company, and/or Warped Wing Brewing Company. Yellow Springs Brewery is really good, but out of the way. Columbus: 7th Son and Elevator are the only two I have been to, but Wolf's Ridge and Hoof Hearted get tons of praise around here. You could stop at Rockmill Brewery on your way from Columbus to Athens to hit Jackie O's and Little Fish.
My fiance loves road trips, so we do different areas from time to time. But I do have to admit, I do think one brewery can be worth a long visit. I fly to Portland just for de Garde!
Sun King would be a good pit stop in Indianapolis if you haven't been there. Not sure how many stops you want to make but Dayton is a growing brewery community. Warped Wing has a cool spot, Toxic has a large selection of beers in a very laid back atmosphere, and Eudora seems to be putting out some good stuff. Seventh Son would be my number 1 priority in Columbus. Wolf's Ridge has a wide variety of beers and variants, I think they have a solid line up and I also enjoyed my one visit to Four String. After those three, since CBC doesn't have a tap room yet, I would visit a good beer bar in Columbus if you have some extra time. The Hocking Hills is on your way down to Athens which has excellent hiking, canoeing, zip lines, and lakes. If it's a road trip with camping you could make a day/night in the Hocking Hills. I haven't been to Jackie O's pub since the fire but they also seem to have a lot of interesting beers on tap but the atmosphere is nothing special although they usually have live music going on the weekends. I have heard good things about the production facility tap room. Other breweries in Athens include Little Fish and Devil's Kettle. If you are staying in Athens you can drink and bar hop all day/night.
As is Devil's Kettle. Might as well hit Weasel Boy in Zanesville if you're going to drive that damn far for a brwery.
I drove, twice, from Columbus to Dogfish Head just to visit their brewery. No shame in road tripping for fun or making a pilgrimage to a favorite destination.
