Best Brews in Chicago

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by lenniel

Half Acre is quickly becoming my new favorite. Try the Gossamer or Daisy Cutter, absolutely great beer. Plus, you can do a self guided tour of the brewery floor, sample product and buy cans/growlers directly from their little storefront on Lincoln Ave

Also, they just bought the entire building they currently rent so not only are they expanding their production, they're also putting in a pub/tasting room.

This is a great addition to Lincoln Square.

hell yes. that is some right-tasty brew, great communication with beer-lovers as well, this has me drooling:

In Your Guts: Pale Ales & You

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by Chicago76

Long term preservation is better than filtered, but with bottle conditioning, it's just as common to get a bottle that is 2 years old as it is to get one that is 3 months old in bars where things don't move that quickly, because average Joe (and even not so average Joe) will go with something on tap unless it's standard bottled swill they have been brainwashed into drinking (Bud and Miller) 9 times out of 10. That's where the consistency problem comes in. You're also relying on an extra layer of hands touching the product (sunlight, temp, etc.) The other pet peeve I have is getting a bottle that doesn't come with a glass (or even better, get poured for you). Why? The taste from the top to the bottom will vary.

I definitely get what you're saying - but ultimately any place that doesn't move beers (or toss beers regularly) is going to have problems with both taps and bottles. There are a few places I know that have an impressive tap collection but they do a crap job of maintaining the lines, tossing kegs that haven't sold out rapidly, and things as basic as keeping correct pressure overnight. It's tough for some places to upgrade their beer selection when their regular clientele won't buy the new beers - they're forced to pitch half full kegs or worst of all sell spoiled beer. I've had some really bad experiences with places that have a huge list of tap beers that don't move. In the end it's safest to stick with the places that can move a lot of microbrews.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by Drover

With the caveat that Chicago's renowned beer bars focus at least as much or more on bottle selection, here are your best bets:

Hopleaf Bar

The Map Room - On Tap

Beer Menu | The Bad Apple - Chicago, Illinois

Sheffield's beer menu (http://www.sheffieldschicago.com/files/Draft%20List%2007-02-11.pdf.doc - broken link)

Fountainhead - Our Draft & Bottled Beers

Village Tap - Draft Beer, Draught Beer | Chicago, IL

Quenchers Saloon - Chicago's Premier Beer Bar

Good list-- I'd add the Long Room and Edgewater Tap. Haven't been in a while but Local Option and Small Bar in Lincoln Park are good. The last two are a bit farther south.

[BigLake]

My Midwest craft go-to-list- all readily available in Chicago pubs.

Bell's Two-Hearted (MI)-- my favorite IPA. Well-rounded, top-notch beer.
Three Floyds Alpha King (IN, Chicago metro)-- clean, balanced pale ale
Two Brothers Domaine Dupage (Warrenville) -- advertised as a French farmhouse, but it's more like a fresh, earthy pale ale that bends a bit to the saison.
Goose Island Matilda (Chicago)-- classy beer- somewhat strong
Arcadia SkyHigh Rye (MI)-- If you like rye's, here you go. If not this one then...
Founders Red Rye (Grand Rapids)- top notch
Great Lakes (Commodore Perry) -- One notch below Two Hearted but a great beer nonetheless
Half Acre Daisy Cutter (Chicago) - solid dry pale ale.

[Chi-town Native]

sweet:

Half Acre: Half Acre to expand brewery, production - chicagotribune.com