Originally Posted by
chgoeditor
If great craft beer is your thing, you'll probably want to get away from the Loop/River North/Mag Mile. I'd suggest heading to Publican, Map Room, Beermiscuous or Hop Leaf, which all have large and well curated beer selections. There are plenty of other bars and restaurants near Publican, which is located in the West Loop, plus the food is great. Map Room, Beermiscuous and Hop Leaf are all more neighborhoody spots. Alternately, you could go to the tap room/brew pub. I don't have hours in front of me, but Half Acre, Revolution, Goose Island, Haymarket, Dry Hop, Lagunitas, Atlas and Piece are all options worth investigating.
I like this suggestion. I'd start at Publican where you can get some good food to start off the pub crawl. I'd probably end the night at Hopleaf, closest to the airport for the ride back.
Haymarket (which I'm not a big fan of) and Revolution, at least, have normal bar hours. Not sure about the others.
Given the late start, I might skip the Hancock this trip and instead opt for a rooftop bar. If it's a nice night, most should be open. There are a lot, you can Google them. I'm not as hip as I used to be, so maybe someone else can suggest some good ones with a skyline view
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Personally I think going to some good neighborhood bars and enjoying a view of the city from a rooftop, while sipping a beer, as soon as its warm enough to go outside is probably the best way to experience Chicago as a Chicagoan would.