So where to begin with Chicago! I went back in August 2021 to break the ice on travel, as I had a massive hotel credit that I had to use up. Chicago was the pick, as it was close and if I was going to travel out of the country I wanted to go somewhere familiar. It seemed like reasonable logic. They had similar COVID protocols at the time to Ontario, and generally wherever I went it was pretty quiet - not many tourists around. I tested negative & got home safe.
The Chicago beer scene continues to boom, and there seems like there are breweries everywhere. I went to a lot of the old favourites which were great. But I had the time to explore some new places, which I mostly grouped by neighbourhood. Some highlights:
- Half Acre has closed their original taproom and have a new production brewery with a large taproom and patio. The inside taproom was closed due to COVID, but the patio was open. A really nice space and unlike the original taproom, lots of elbow room.
- Right next door to Half Acre, literally, is Spiteful. Another traditional brewery taproom & patio.
- A short walk from there is Urban Brew Labs, another classic microbrew. Empirical is there too, but it was closed due to some kind of construction/landlord issue.
- Pilsen is a great explore with wonderful food, and there are now breweries there, and I was able to visit Lo Rez and Alulu. I really enjoyed Lo Rez, a large taproom where you can bring your own food in - and I did with Carnitas Urupan! A great food & beer experience now in the Pilsen neighbourhood. Be sure to go to Museum of Mexican Art which is free.
- The West Loop area continues to be nightlife central with a ton of stuff around. The Ballast Point location there has closed, but it always had a weird vibe. Cruz Blanca continues to go strong, as does Haymarket. I enjoyed the new Time Out Market quite a bit, which is a massive, multi-level space that’s basically an upscale food court of hipster food pop-ups. But they also have a craft beer bar and you can take your beer and walk / sit anywhere you want. Great for Covid as I could find numerous quiet areas to myself. Lone Wolf continues to have 4-5 Three Floyds in rotation so always your best bet for 3F. The Little Goat, which still is a thriving diner in the area, no longer has their bar/taproom area as it has been converted into a pastry shop called Sugar Goat.
- The area west of West Loop has a bunch of beer stuff, including the Goose Island taproom (guaranteed to be able to get rare stuff - BCBS vintages, sours, etc.), Great Central (which is a contract hub a la Brunswick) and On Tour, all good stops. Nearby is District Brew Yards which is a brewery consisting of four distinct brewery brands where all the beer is self-serve.
- Dovetail is always awesome and one of my favourites in Chicago. It’s on what I believe is called “Malt Row” and Begyle is just down the same street. Always worth a visit.
- Piece is always a favourite, but now you can have a serious beer crawl up there including Pilot Project, Solemn Oath, Bungalow by Middle Brow and then Revolution’s Logan Square taproom which always has amazing stuff.
There’s even more that I wasn’t able to get to. I still like to check out regular taprooms, and enjoyed myself at Aberdeen Tap, Big Star, Map Room, Galit (not beer, but awesome food), Green St. Meats, HopLeaf with a special shout out to Sportsman’s Club which was cool. Off Color's tap room is a bit of an outlier as there isn't a ton around (GI's original location is though) but they're always worth a stop.
Anyway, a great time away and fun to explore some of familiar places and new spots as well. I always felt safe, they had mask mandates when I visited which everyone was abiding to. They didn't have capacity limits which was a bit odd, but now those are gone here too. I was able to get free rapid PCR tests downtown at CVS which made it fairly easy and cost-effective to do what I had to to fly back home. All in all a great trip.
