Chicago

[rappinduke]

Hey, anybody have any beer, bar, or brewery recommendations to check out in Chicago. I'll be going for a few days at the end of the month. Was planning on checking out half acre and lagunitas.

 

[mongoose33]

One of the very best beers I've ever tasted came from Metropolitan Brewing. It's Arc Welder, a Dunkel Rye.

I've never been there but it's on my list.

http://metrobrewing.com/

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Metropolitan has some decent beers. I wouldn't say they are anything uber special as a whole, but nothing here is really sticking out to me currently. If you do go to Half Acre, Metroplitan is a short (10 min) uber away. Half Acre is worth going to, though they don't have food. There are plenty of take out places right in that neighborhood though.

If you are in a place where you can find Pipeworks, I'd highly recommend it. They don't have a tap room but put out some great bottled stuff.

In terms of beer bars, one of my favorites is Hop Leaf - they have an extensive list (over 100) of beers from everywhere, usually including Zombie Dust as well as some specialty Belgians. Their food is pretty delicious too.

 

[rappinduke]

Is Zombie Dust hard to find in beer stores? How about other 3 floyds brews? I've had a couple of beers from pipeworks that I dug so I'll keep an eye out for them. That Dunkel rye sounds interesting too.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Is Zombie Dust hard to find in beer stores? How about other 3 floyds brews? I've had a couple of beers from pipeworks that I dug so I'll keep an eye out for them. That Dunkel rye sounds interesting too.

Yeah the good ones at least. You can find Alpha King and sometimes Gumball head. Those will run about 11 and 13 dollars .but Zombie Dust is pretty tough to find.

 

[Shawn0522]

There is probably a Binnys near wherever you go and they have a great beer selection. Pipeworks (lizard king and ninjas vs unicorns are amazing) , Off color brewing is awesome, daisy cutter by half acre is good.

 

[Quadrupled]

Revolution Brewery - https://revbrew.com.

Since your looking for zombie dust, try Citra Antihero - frigging awesome.
Anti Hero itself is great too.

 

[Quadrupled]

Also the beer shops I go to, which carry Zombie Dust, get their 3 floyds delivery on Tuesday. Your lucky to find it after Wednesday.

Search Beer Menus for Chicago. Binny's (which is great!) does not show beer availability on Beer Menus. https://www.beermenus.com/beers/9797-three-floyds-zombie-dust

 

[Homercidal]

Spending the weekend there myself. Not sure what my agenda is yet, but I might be able to visit one or two places. I've had pretty good luck with breweries in the Chicago area previously. Unfortunately it's a fair drive from where we are staying to get to the good ones.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Unfortunately it's a fair drive from where we are staying to get to the good ones.

Where are you staying?

Chicago is huge, so recommendations are hard without geography. If you are staying downtown then some places are going to be more accessible to others, but if you're staying in the near- or far-suburbs, it is a different story.

My recommendations are generally as follows:
-Two Brothers (but their tap house is in Warrenville, which is "in Chicago" in only the vaguest sense of the word). Should be available everywhere. Tap house food is great and their brewery tour was fun.
Off Color Brewing - should be available most places. Tooth & Claw (dry-hopped lager)is nice, as is Apex Predator (farmhouse). Troublesome is a nice gose if you like mild sours. If you happen to see any of Half Acre's Galactic Double Daisy Cutter, you are in for a hoppy treat (and the regular Daisy Cutter is pretty nice too).

One thing to note is that a lot of the breweries in the city are going to cater to hipster crowds. Gentrification is hitting a lot of the neighborhoods like a sledgehammer. In other words, the places where an hour wait is a draw instead of a turn-off. (Yeah, I know - "Get off my lawn!")

Revolution makes good beer but I would not step foot there after 4pm. A lot of the same can be said for Lagunitas, Goose Island (they brew 312, which is named after a Chicago area code, in NY . . .), Half Acre, and others. Dovetail has been getting a lot of good press but I have not been there personally. The Baderbrau beers I have tried have not been memorable.

 

[rappinduke]

Thanks for the replies guys. Think I got a bit to work with here. I'll be staying in the loop area which is sorta far from a lot of the breweries but I'll have some time to kill a couple of the days. Also I guess I'll try my luck Tuesday to see if I can track down any zombie dust. Any recommendations on where to get a good deep dish pie? Cheers.

 

[steveoatley]

http://www.delilahschicago.com/




Steve

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Any recommendations on where to get a good deep dish pie? Cheers.

That's kind of a loaded question, sort of like asking if secondary ferm is needed. You'll have people that say don't bother - it sucks and only tourists eat it (the majority Chicagoans). Then you'll have people (the tourists) who will tell you to go to Giordanos.

Personally, if I'm doing deep dish I go to Lou Malnatis.

If you want to go to an excellent brewery which also is a pizza place with fantastic pies, try Piece.

But if you want truly genuine Neoplitan pizza (the best I've had, even better than when I was in Naples/Amalfi), I highly suggest Spacca Napoli, which conveniently isn't too far from Half Acre.

Another brewery recommendation, if you're staying in the loop is Haymarket, which is west loop. Good food, good beers. Someone else mentioned Revolution, which is also top notch in my opinion for both food and beer. Particularly beer.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Thanks for the replies guys. Think I got a bit to work with here. I'll be staying in the loop area [...] . Any recommendations on where to get a good deep dish pie? Cheers.

If you are near the Loop, I would skip Giordano's and Lou Malnati's and go to Pizzeria Uno or Due. It's not that Giordano's or Lou's is bad pizza - far from it - but they are chains that have grown a bit and they lack a certain je ne sais quoi. Uno and Due are legit, "been in the same location since the dawn of time". Also, any restaurant that opens another restaurant across the street from itself tells you something.

If you are cool with public transit, the L will get you to most of the breweries on the cheap and relatively quick - and a whole lot better than driving. The blue line will take you to Revolution in half an hour, the brown line to Metropolitan in about an hour from the loop.

 

[Mainer]

I dig anything by Off-Color Brewing.
I also recommend God Damned Pigeon Porter (and its multiple variants) by Spiteful Brewing.

 

[Kent88]

Want to "troll" you with some kind of snarky, made-up brew called "Cutler's Tears", but he's gone now, and I'm not creative enough to actually finish the joke to my satisfaction.

 

[rhoadsrage]

The Map room is a great beer bar, equal to the hopleaf but very different focuses and vibes and it has free pretzel rods but cash only. If you are staying in the loop. Vice Disctrict is a nice place to hang out in the south loop. There is a Binny's southloop store that gets good stuff in but gets picked over very quickly. Warehouse liquors is in Printer's Row (in the middle of the loop) and it is often over looked (smaller than Binny's) but more expensive. They usually have Zombie Dust after others are sold out.

My favorite deepdish pizza is Art of Pizza. It is on the way to 1/2 Acre from the loop. They have pizza by the slice and are very low key, but have won awards.

If you are hopping around the North side I would suggest:
1/2 Acre (note the bar and brewery are 2 different locations) I would vote brewery but both are nice. There is a taco place north of the half acre bar (on Montrose) that has great tacos, and the bartenders will know it.
Dovetail Brewery is great hidden gem, that is newish. They do some great German beers but have a whole storeroom of crazy fermenting wild ales barrels and a Kolschip. If they are giving a tour of the brewery take it. They have amazing equipment, and stories to go with it.
Then Hopleaf is further north and they have good food too. Try the frites if nothing else. Then you can check the bottle shop across the street for Zombie Dust.
That should round out a nice afternoon beer goodness.

If you are heading other directions let me know.

 

[Homercidal]

We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency near the airport. Wife and family have been going to the Supernatural (tv show) convention the past few years. I typically plan to visit several brewies, and Pappers and Mrs. Pappers have been gracious enough in the past to chauffeur me to a couple of nice places. I don't want to impose, and would really like to visit some of those or somewhere new, maybe, if I can force myself to. Usually I just lounge around the hotel all weekend and never get the ambition to drive myself. I might this time. I'm getting kind of bored of the convention scene, and the Celebrities don't hold much interest to me to begin with, even with the closeness you can sometimes randomly encounter at this event.

In the past I've been to Haymarket, Dryhop, and I think Half-Acre. They are a bit of a drive from where I'll be staying, but previous searches didn't reveal anything close that i thought I wanted to visit. I may be more interested in driving this time, as I say, if the place is quaint, or has REALLY good beer or ambiance. Or if someone wanted to meet up. In the past when we've stayed near the shoreline, it was easier to consider a city transit, but this far out, I'm not sure. I'm all small town, so I don't know anything about mass transit. I'm willing to learn as long as there is a small chance of being mugged.

I will note that I am not a fan of tart, or sour beers. I even spent an entire afternoon at the NHC ONLY drinking those beers, to make sure I really don't' like them, and I can honestly say I'm not a fan. That said, I'd love to check out a "local" of neighborhood place. I find them to be the most interesting. Large breweries are usually too impersonal for me.

I do like Revolution's Anti-Hero, though.

 

[Homercidal]

Lots of good options in the replies, guys. I'm a fan of Giordano's, but I'm very willing to try some other deep dish pizzas. Thanks. My wife would insist I go out to the breweries if I will be coming back with some good pizza! She likes my hobby because most breweries have some very decent food as well.

I'm half-thinking about checking out the Museum of Science and Industry as well. We went a few years ago, and I loved it. I'm sure they have some new exhibits by now.

Ok, I'm thinking about going out, but I realized that I can't drive myself if I'm going to be going to breweries. I'll want to sample until I shouldn't drive back.

What's the options for public transportation?

Oh, and I apologize if I've hijacked this thread. If I need create a new one, please feel free to kick me out.

 

[rhoadsrage]

You should hop on the CTA blue line. There are definitely bars for all different likes on this tour but they will all have decent beers, and some good food at a few. Besides taking the CTA is always entertaining in itself. The Maproom is also on the blue line and that would be a good stop to end on or start on. If you go early it has a great local feel, if you go after 6:00pm it gets very crowded.
http://thehopreview.com/blog/2014/3/24/chicago-craft-crawl-3-blue-line-north-branch

 

[Gravity]

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears

Beers:
Burnt City Brewery on Lincoln - amazing beer and food
5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Bedford Park; This is a Randy Mosher collaboration - Amazing Beer, limited food
Piece Brewery & Pizzeria - best of both worlds
Moody Tongue Brewery - Fantastic beer, limited food
Lagunitas Brewery - good beer, small menu
Revolution Brewery - Solid beer and good food

Pizza
Gino's East (Deep Dish)
Pequod's
Art of Pizza
Nick and Vitos
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co
Any mom and pop pizza shop in Chicago

Transport
Uber
Lyft
The "L"

Personal Preferences: Revolution (5 Rabbits is far from things to do, otherwise it would get the nod), Gino's East and Uber if you're drinking

 

[Homercidal]

We are staying in Rosemont, at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Right now, I am planning on taking some public transportation, maybe the Blue Line, as mentioned in this thread. It will be an interesting adventure, I suppose. I haven't had much time to plan with work being busy and stuff to do at home, but I plan to look at it again tonight and see what's where.

I like Hipster stuff. I find it quaint and amusing. I would not be mistaken for one, though.

My first look at the public transportation makes me think it's going to go something like this:

Find train station
Buy Card
Put money onto card
Ride train to each stop
Drink
Get back on train
Repeat.

I could hike through the woods in any direction for miles no problem, but I've never used a city transit system before.

 

[Homercidal]

Anyone familiar with Short Fuse? It's right by our hotel!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I like Hipster stuff. I find it quaint and amusing.

Then you'll love everything along the Blue line If you think you'll ride more than 3 times, it's worth it in my opion to get a day pas for $10. Unlimited bus and train rides for 24 hrs, and you don't have to worry about loosing any money on the card, or having to reload it.

The trains here are pretty easy to figure out. The main thing is, when you get to a station just know if you're headed toward Forest Park or O'hare (on the blue line), get on the train correlating to one of those sides of the tracks, and take it from there. They have maps on most train cars above the doors as well.

Quite a few cool places off the Damen and Western Blue line stops. You can also catch a bus east to hit up some places off the brown/red lines. You can take the blue line downtown to the Loop but there's not a lot going on there on the weekends (like, nothing). If you go there though, you can transfer to the red or brown lines.

With google maps, everything is so easy. When I moved here I didn't have a smart phone - I don't know how I got anywhere. On the bright side, sometimes that's the fun part - not having a clue where you're going and just stumbling into festivals or neighborhoods.

 

[Quadrupled]

Anyone familiar with Short Fuse? It's right by our hotel!

It's right down the street from where I work but I haven't been there.

If you're at one of the Rosemont Hyatts you are also within walking distance of Hofbrauhaus. There is also indoor skydiving next door.

 

[Homercidal]

Walked to Short Fuse. Actually walked to McDonald's in the other direction, then to Short Fuse. Beer was OK, but the flight I had was a bit one-directional. I love their Schwag, thought, so I picked up some stickers, a tulip glass, and a growler.

The bitterness was similar across several distinct beers, and a similar hop flavor. They are new, though, so I would expect them to improve as they continue to brew, and I didn't notice any obvious flaws beyond style indiscretion. And that doesn't bother me much as long as the beer tastes good.

 

[Homercidal]

Thinking about going to a Sox game Sat or Sun. I'd prefer Cubs, but they are out of town this weekend.

 

[TallDan]

Mikerphone, yo!

http://www.mikerphonebrewing.com/

 

[Homercidal]

Mikerphone, yo!

http://www.mikerphonebrewing.com/

Shoot dang, that place looks fun! It's in the opposite direction, but maybe I check​ it out, then head to the other places I had on my list.

 

[TallDan]

Shoot dang, that place looks fun! It's in the opposite direction, but maybe I check​ it out, then head to the other places I had on my list.

@randar likes it. That should be enough of an excuse to skip it and go to the other places on your list.