Come October the Kenyans will be upset in the great Chicago marathon by yours truly. I am looking forward to some post race beers. I've been training and have put off beer drinking for the time being. Chicago beer is the carrot on the end of the stick. Any of you familiar with Chitown and where should I go besides Goose Island?
Beer in Chicago
- Thread starter Kenny Orange Powers
- Start date
Anodyne is definitely your man for the Chicago area.
Some I'd recommend are: Half Acre, Begyle, Empirical, Revolution.
When I'm there I like to grab Three Floyd's even though it is from Indiana, that's the only city I get to on a regular basis that carries it so I go wild. Love the Zombiedust.
I finally had this a few months ago and it lives up to the hype. Fantastic beer!
I'm usually up there for a music festival, so I know that Reggie's has just about every Three Floyds beer on tap. Good record store there on the 2nd floor to hit up as well.
Zombie Dust lives up to the hype for the style.
In terms of top-to-bottom lineup, my favorite breweries are Begyle, Solemn Oath, and Pipewerks probably in that order. Most of their bottles are available at Whole Foods or good liquor stores.
If you have time, you should do a post-marathon brewery crawl in Ravenswood (you will not be alone among haggard, tin foil cape-wearing folks there). Within a mile or so, you have Begyle, Dovetail (German lagers, shares an alley with Begyle), Half Acre, Empirical, Fountainhead (not a brewery but an excellent selection--same with Bad Apple across from Half Acre). They're even marketing this area as "Malt Row" now. The legendary Hop Leaf is just the next neighborhood up, and still the best beer bar in the city IMHO after all these years.
Revolution has a good selection, and a great space on Kedzie. There is no greater heavy carb one-two punch than picking up a couple of fist-sized wang mandu dumplings from Joong Boo market (pork, kim chi or red bean) and taking them to Revolution to chew on over a couple of Eugene porters or any of their great stouts.
Lagunitas is a amazing space but in the middle of nowhere and the times I've been the selection wasn't special (and they're corporate sell-outs)!
Piece in Wicker Park is a standby pizzeria brewpub, beers are hit and miss but the New Haven style pizza is always good. Co-owned by Rick from Cheap Trick.
There's quite a few new places that I haven't tried. There's even three or four breweries in Evanston, ancestral home of the temperance movement for cryin out loud.
In terms of top-to-bottom lineup, my favorite breweries are Begyle, Solemn Oath, and Pipewerks probably in that order. Most of their bottles are available at Whole Foods or good liquor stores.
If you have time, you should do a post-marathon brewery crawl in Ravenswood (you will not be alone among haggard, tin foil cape-wearing folks there). Within a mile or so, you have Begyle, Dovetail (German lagers, shares an alley with Begyle), Half Acre, Empirical, Fountainhead (not a brewery but an excellent selection--same with Bad Apple across from Half Acre). They're even marketing this area as "Malt Row" now. The legendary Hop Leaf is just the next neighborhood up, and still the best beer bar in the city IMHO after all these years.
Revolution has a good selection, and a great space on Kedzie. There is no greater heavy carb one-two punch than picking up a couple of fist-sized wang mandu dumplings from Joong Boo market (pork, kim chi or red bean) and taking them to Revolution to chew on over a couple of Eugene porters or any of their great stouts.
Lagunitas is a amazing space but in the middle of nowhere and the times I've been the selection wasn't special (and they're corporate sell-outs)!
Piece in Wicker Park is a standby pizzeria brewpub, beers are hit and miss but the New Haven style pizza is always good. Co-owned by Rick from Cheap Trick.
There's quite a few new places that I haven't tried. There's even three or four breweries in Evanston, ancestral home of the temperance movement for cryin out loud.
You sir are the man! I really appreciate all the info.
It is a style that I love. I don't like heavy hopped stuff, but some people do. Beer likes/dislikes are all relative to the individual, so don't get upset if you don't like a beer unless it is a style you usually enjoy.
It's the only 3 Floyd's I've had but I'm looking to change that after I go to Chicago in October. Any other recs from that brewery would be much appreciated. I'm more of a stout guy usually. Do they have a good stout?
A
anon_ph7vrsh7abnty
Guest
Gorch Fock is by fair my favorite, but it is a Helles style. I have only had a handful of their beers, but all have been ok to very good.
I'm not familiar with 3F's rotation of stouts. Ironically, other than Dark Lord, they're not really known for stouts. Besides Zombie Dust, their pales Gumballhead (wheat) and Alpha King are excellent. My favorite, available Chicago stouts are Begyle Flannel Pajamas and Haymarket's Defender (might only be at the brewery in the West Loop although I think they plan to can it). Defender is a direct descendant of the stalwart recipe of the early American stout style, that Peter Crowley developed while brewer for the local Rock Bottom that won a billion awards. Crowley is also one of the developers of the Belgian IPA style--if that's your thing then Haymarket is a must, not a style I love.
This listicle has some good stuff: http://www.chicagotribune.com/dinin...2017-photo-gallery-20170627-photogallery.html
A month's worth of Chicago beer experiences.
A month's worth of Chicago beer experiences.