The Best Places To Buy Craft Beer

Chicago is known for its booming craft beer scene, with a packed calendar of beer festivals and events. The city's West Loop and West Town neighbourhoods are home to many craft breweries, including the On Tour Brewing Company, housed in a former warehouse, and the Haymarket Brewpub, a local favourite known for its welcoming atmosphere and made-from-scratch bar food. Another popular spot is the Crushed by Giants taproom in the Streeterville neighbourhood, which offers a modern space with stunning cityscape views and a menu of simple yet stellar dishes designed to pair perfectly with their brews. Chicago's downtown and South Loop areas also boast several new craft breweries, making the city a top destination for beer enthusiasts.

Chicago's West Loop and West Town neighbourhoods

West Loop

The Goose Island Brewing Company has been brewing its beer in West Loop since 1995. Its taproom and production facility offer small-group tours, and the brewery also features a spacious patio and rotating food trucks. Haymarket Brewpub has been a West Loop staple since 2010, offering freshly brewed pints, a welcoming atmosphere, and made-from-scratch bar food. The Guinness Open Gate Brewery is another popular spot, with a taproom, restaurant, and the first-ever Guinness bakery.

For a unique experience, head to Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery, Chicago's first botanic brewery. The brewers here take inspiration from early brewing methods, using ingredients like bark, stems, flowers, spices, and roots with contemporary techniques to create multi-sensory beers. On Tour Brewing Company is another must-visit, with an open taproom housed in a former warehouse that showcases the brewing process. Their beers are named after Grateful Dead songs and include IPAs, APAs, and barrel-aged varieties.

West Town

West Town is also home to some fantastic craft beer destinations. Midwest Coast Brewing Company offers a range of popular craft beers, including an American brown ale, English pale ale, double IPA, and seasonal options. Great Central Brewing Company is a craft-dedicated contract brewing facility that helps other breweries expand their production. Their West Town taproom offers a variety of fresh pours, and their beers are also available canned at local beer stores.

With so many craft beer options, Chicago's West Loop and West Town neighbourhoods are the perfect places to explore and discover your new favourite brew.

On Tour Brewing Company

The West Loop and West Town neighbourhoods of Chicago have transformed from industrial areas supporting the meatpacking sector to hip brewery hubs. The Chicago Brewing District, known for its vibrant atmosphere, is home to several popular breweries, including the long-standing Haymarket Brewpub and the newly opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery. Chicago itself has earned a reputation as one of the top culinary capitals in the nation, with a booming craft beer scene and a packed calendar of beer festivals.

Crushed by Giants taproom

Chicago is known for its booming craft beer scene, with a packed calendar of beer festivals and events. The city's West Loop and West Town neighbourhoods, in particular, have become hip brewery hubs, with many craft breweries opening in former warehouses.

One such brewery is the Crushed by Giants taproom, a modern space with large windows overlooking the city. Located just off Michigan Avenue, this independent craft brewery and restaurant offers a rotating selection of beers, from hoppy IPAs to sours and saisons. Their simple yet stellar dishes are designed to pair perfectly with their brews.

The taproom is open Sunday through Thursday from 12 pm to 9 pm and on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 pm to 10 pm. The kitchen closes one hour earlier. You can find the taproom at 600 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, with the entrance at Rush and Ohio.

If you're looking for other craft breweries in the area, you can check out the On Tour Brewing Company in the West Loop, which features a glass-enclosed barrel room and a variety of beers named after Grateful Dead songs. Haymarket Brewpub, operating in the West Loop since 2010, is another local favourite known for its welcoming atmosphere and made-from-scratch bar food.

Haymarket Brewpub

The pub is named Haymarket Beer Company, in honor of the everyday people who worked hard and took pride in their work. The company promises to make great beer for great beer drinkers.

Haymarket is part of Chicago's booming craft beer scene, which features a packed calendar of beer festivals. Chicago's West Loop and West Town neighborhoods, once industrial areas, have transformed into hip neighborhoods with vibrant atmospheres. The areas are now known for their foodie scenes and brewery hubs, with many craft breweries and restaurants housed in former warehouses.

In addition to Haymarket Brewpub, there are several other notable craft breweries in the West Loop and West Town areas, including the On Tour Brewing Company, which features an open taproom centered around its glass-enclosed barrel rooms, and the Crushed by Giants taproom, which offers a modern space with soaring windows overlooking the cityscape, as well as a menu of simple but stellar dishes designed to pair with their brews.

Chicago's South Loop area

Vice District and Motor Row are two such breweries that opened in the South Loop within six months of each other. Vice District is a taproom in a large, new building that has a homey, communal feel to it. Motor Row, on the other hand, is located in a historic site that once sold some of Chicago's first horseless carriages. It has a tiny space in the front with a few seats for folks to sample flights of whatever's being brewed for off-site consumption.

Duneyrr is another taproom in the South Loop neighbourhood, serving Nordic-inspired brews. Baderbrau, a highly regarded pilsner from the early '90s that eventually went under, was revived by new owner Rob Sama and will be returning to a 25,000-square-foot space in the South Loop.

Moody Tongue, a long-time Chicago fixture, has opened a new brewery in the South Loop that includes both a fine-dining restaurant with a Michelin star and a more laid-back taproom. The Bar offers their regular beer lineup alongside limited releases like whiskey and wine barrel-aged brews, Farmers Market beers, and sours.

Other notable craft beer destinations in the South Loop include Kasey's, a classic Chicago tavern with the second-oldest liquor license in the city and more than 100 beers on tap, and Reggie's, a bar and music venue known for bringing hardcore acts to the area and for its quality beers, including dozens of taps in the main bar and brews from 3 Floyds, Solemn Oath, and Dogfish Head.

The South Loop is also home to beer bars like First Draft and Villains, as well as the upcoming South Loop Brewing Company.

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