ORD beer layover
 

Another East Coast trip where the least-bad way home is via ORD (lol)... time for another beer layover, which is where I intentionally book a 7 hour connection, give the CTA $10, and visit some breweries.

Anybody got any brewery suggestions, preferably close-ish to the Blue Line? Last beer layover included Revolution and Forbidden Root (which had a cloudy IPA tap takeover that tempted me to miss my flight and stay longer). The challenge is that it's mid-day on a Thursday, so a lot of the breweries without restaurants aren't open in time. It doesn't necessarily have to be breweries, either--craft beer bars with good/unique stuff are also welcome. No Belgian-style places, please; we have enough of those in Brussels :D

I don't have suggestions, but I love the idea!!!

Metropolitan has a nice tap room with an outdoor patio overlooking the Chicago river. It's not far from the blue line. They don't open until 4 pm though I think.

If you don't mind taking an Uber from the blue line station, closer to the lake, you can head to Lincoln Square and try Dovetail, Begyle (right next to each other), and Half Acre, which is maybe 5-6 blocks away. I'll let you Google them and look up tap room times though, because I've only gone on a Saturday or weeknight.

Here are several guides with maps:

I think this may be a winner. All three of these are open during the day and thanks to roads that go in straight lines, ~15 minutes' bus ride off the Blue. And it looks like there's a decent taqueria or two in that neighborhood.

Thanks!

I can't speak to the taquerias in that area, but if you go to Half Acre you will be right in the heart of Lincoln Square -- lots of options there. Dovetail and Begyle are kind of in a residential area, but if you walk a block or two south to Irving Park Rd. you should find something.

Went to both Dovetail and Bergyle last year and both were quite good.

If you're off the Blue Line, I'd also recommend Hopewell in Logan Square as well. Nice new taproom and some good beers when I was there last June. And within a block of the Blue Line station.

If you make it further south, consider Beermiscuous, which is a beer cafe that opens at 1 pm on weekdays.

https://beermiscuous.com/

I've passed by this place dozens of times (across the street from my dentist!), and always forget to look it up when I get home. So thanks for the link. It actually looks pretty interesting, and a very nice selection.

After-action report:

Got a torta and then hit up Half Acre, Begyle and Dovetail. All three quite good, particularly some of the creative beers at Begyle. I even succumbed to curiosity and tried Dovetail's gueuze. I've had some really, uh, "creative" interpretations of the style but theirs tasted pretty much like it does at home--pretty impressive for a beer fermented by wild yeast. Add in a little wandering around in the sun and it was time to go home. I can definitely think of worse ways to spend a day.

I think I'm going to do this every time I'm headed home from the East Coast and refer back to this thread for next trip's neighborhood :D

And mad props to the CTA for (finally) letting contactless users transfer for 25c like Ventra users.

Glad you enjoyed them. We have lots of others here to try next time :).

Begyle and Dovetail actually had a combined outdoor party this last Saturday. We went for a while and had a few of the beers. Reminded me that they both have some they do well and some not as well.

Looks as if I missed you in Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend. ;)

I love this idea!

Under your nose.