Anyone who’s ever spent more than five seconds in Chicago has come away with some local knowledge: Chicagoans love their beer (Also: hot dogs and deep dish. Read my deep dish post here). While the shift from Old Style has passed, now with over 200 breweries and counting in the city and suburbs, making Chicago the craft beer capital of the Midwest.
One of Mitch’s and mine favorite traditions that we started once we were engaged was collecting brewery signs. This has easily become something we both enjoy and has turned into our favorite date. No matter if we are visiting a new town, or in a town we live in we are always on the search for new spots. Read my Lexington, KY brewery guide here. We usually each have a flight and taste each others, and enjoy some small bites. I am a huge beer girl, and I know Mitch enjoys his craft beers (when his weight allows), so going to a brewery is always a treat for us. Mitch and I visited many breweries in the city of Chicago and suburbs. However, I did not include the suburb breweries in this list and stuck to only breweries in Chicago city limits.
Goose Island Brewery
1800 W. Fulton St.
With a huge operation near the West Loop, Goose Island is one of Chicago’s most well-known beer exports and one of the best breweries in Chicago. Odds are you’ve had their signature 312 Urban Wheat Ale at a windy city bar or two. Well now you can try that and so much more at their taproom at the brewery. A couple of our faves were Summertime, SPF, and Next Coast. Take a tour from Wednesday to Sunday while you’re at it. Tours are available to reserve here and start at $12 for a 45 minute experience complete with a souvenir glass to take home at the end and plenty of free samples. We loved the tour- it was informative yet funny. We also got to sport some super hipster looking safety glasses. We went on a weekday and it was a small intimate group.
Lagunitas Brewing Company
2607 W. 17th St.
No list of the best breweries in Chicago would be complete without a mention of Lagunitas. Chances are, you’ve seen the entrance to Lagunitas on a friend’s Snapchat or Instagram story. The black-light, neon framed hallway with the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme music playing. Just getting in to the building is an experience. The magic doesn’t stop there, though. Once you’re inside, you can either go to the smaller taproom – filled with games, and the craziest decor, the brewpub for food, or to take the free tour. Trust me, you want to take the tour. Starting off with a very generous number of samples of the different types of Lagunitas beer. To walking through the building while taking in facts and tidbits from the charismatic tour guides is half the fun. Tours, according to their website, are every freakin’ day. However, they are closed Monday and Tuesday. Do note that the tours are pretty raunchy, but hilarious. Probably the best brewery tour we have ever been on.
Revolution Brewing
3340 N. Kedzie Ave
As a quintessential Chicago beer brand, it’s more than likely you’re familiar with Revolution’s famed Anti-Hero IPA. If you’re a fan, you should check out their huge taproom and brewery. If you’re not a fan, you should still go and try their other beers. Mitch and I have gone on our share of brewery tours, and this one was pretty impressive. You can buy tickets here, or at the bar upon arrival. They are $10 a piece and include one full can of beer at the beginning of the tour, and samplings throughout. You can pay $4 extra to take home a souvenir pint glass. The tour itself feels interactive and the tour guide was very knowledgable about the brand, and beer. Also, being able to walk through each section of the production floor with stylin’ protective goggles was pretty sweet. We even walked away with a pair of the last printed Anti-Hero IPA shirts to ever be made.
Half Acre Brewery
4257 N. Lincoln Ave
The folks at Half Acre have two distinctly unique taprooms, but for our purposes I’m going to refer to the original in Lincoln Square because that was the one we visited. Mitch and I were super impressed with the beer we tried, we really liked them all. We especially liked Daisy Cutter, Space, and the Oktoberfest. We heard nothing but good things about the burritos at Half Acre, but since we just ate lunch we opted for the nachos. They were super tasty. Tours take place every Saturday at 11 a.m. and will cost you $10, cash only. The price also includes 3 samples and a souvenir pint glass. Tours are capped at 60 people so get there early to secure your Golden Ticket. The website even states to get in line early because if you are lucky number 61 you will get turned away. Since Mitch works on the weekends, we weren’t able to take the tour, but we would have loved to experience the tour as well.
As you can guess, Mitch and I are leaving Illinois with a handful of new brewery signs to add to our collection. We are excited to keep adding breweries to our list, for we have just started discovering the Chicago breweries.
What is your favorite Chicago brewery???
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