Happily for beer lovers, the country’s biggest cities are now home to some of the best craft breweries. This includes Chicago. We’ve got a guide of the five best breweries you should check out if you’re there. First, however, here are a few tips to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Definitely call ahead and make sure the brewery is open and offering tours during the time you plan to visit. Some breweries have odd hours and there’s nothing more disappointing than arriving and discovering that your tour can’t happen on that day.
Hopefully, everyone in your group will be respectful to your tour guide (and anyone else who might be on the tour) by keeping quiet and listening to what they have to say. Don’t hesitate to ask questions – you’re there to learn! When it comes to tasting, check out this helpful guide to taproom etiquette.
Finally, to make sure everyone can enjoy their brew without having to worry about being a designated driver, you should consider a Chicago minibus or charter bus rental to get your group safely from one brewery to the next.
With those tips in mind, let’s get to the best breweries to check out in Bean Town!
1. Dovetail Brewery
Arrive at Dovetail Brewery at 11 a.m. on a Saturday (preferably after making reservations) and you’ll be treated to a 90-minute tour of everything that goes on behind the scenes at this Chicago craft beer brewery. While the tour may be long for casual beer drinkers, it’s a must for brewing aficionados who want to learn more about the artistry behind beer creation. After your tour, you’ll get to sample three Dovetail beers.
2. Moody Tongue Brewery
A brewery located in a historic building that used to be a glass factory is impressive enough, but we were further impressed by Moody Tongue’s selection of tours (you get to choose one of three depending on your group’s beer preferences). After the tour, enjoy your samples and nom down on oysters or chocolate cake in the taproom.
3. Goose Island Brewery
The cool thing about the Goose Island Brewery is that operations never cease here. That’s right; they brew 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that as you take your 45-minute tour, you’re highly likely to see some real brew being made right in front of your very eyes! Afterwards, enjoy three six-ounce sample pours.
4. Revolution Brewing Taproom
This is a great tour for those who are truly more into sampling the beer than seeing how it’s brewed. Although you will take a quick tour through the brewhouse, this brewery experience starts with the finished product and moves backwards through the process – making it quite different than the others on your list. Afterwards, relax and enjoy a sample pint.
5. Lagunitas Brewing Co
Even if you’re not a beer aficionado (or from Chicago), you’ve likely heard of Chicago’s largest brewery. They have some of the most entertaining tours of any brewery, with comedians guiding each group and music from the “Willy Wonka” movie eliciting laughter as the tours move through the facility. The taproom is a 4,000-foot extravaganza featuring 16 different brews. Cheers and bottoms up!
