Chicago’s Best Beer Bars

In a city known for its major breweries just as much as its craft breweries, it is no surprise that Chicago has plenty of beer centered bars. What is a beer bar exactly? A bar that puts beer first. It needs to have a large variety of options on draft, as well as a huge amount of bottled favorites. Bartenders at beer bars have a wealth of education regarding their inventory so do not hesitate to ask for some advice. Let’s dive into some of Chicago’s best beer bars.

Fountainhead

Fountainhead is a popular gastropub located in Ravenswood. They are best known for their extensive beer and whiskey menu. They often host events there so check out their website for updates. Fountainhead does not allow reservations, so take that into consideration when stopping by. In spring and summer, the rooftop bar is open, featuring a lighter food menu than the larger restaurant on the first level. The rooftop have great appetizers and lunch items, but the greater restaurant serves up new American cuisine like elevated steaks, roast chicken as well as other small batch slow food.

Map Room

This Chicago staple has been open since 1992. They consider themselves a travel cafe, serving coffee as well as one of the most extensive beer lists in the city. The decor features maps, books and other travel themed knick knacks. Map Room has over 100 varieties of beer on a regular basis. With no kitchen inside, they instead offer a huge stack local restaurant menus, allowing patrons to order their favorites to pair with the beers. Map Room also offers what they call ‘Beer School.’ Which is a short course on all things beer, from the drinker’s perspective, pretty cool if you want to learn a little more while partaking.

Hopleaf

This is one Northside favorite that can be hard to get a table at without a reservation. Located on Clark St in Andersonville, Hopleaf boasts over 60 different taplines of rotating seasonal and year round favorites. The setting is quaint and comfortable featuring rustic style decor. Their food alone is worth the wait to get inside. I recommend attending the Belgian Fried Chicken Night that Hopleaf hosts monthly. Hopleaf also frequently hosts literature themed events, giving you the excuse to return again and again.

Haymarket Pub & Brewery

This beer bar is unique in that it not only has an extensive beer list, but they also brew their own beers in house that you’ll find on the menu in addition to the long list of popular favorites from around the world. Haymarket Pub is a popular downtown destination not only for their beer, but for their food. They serve an American menu including different kinds of meat, shared plates, burgers and salads. This one is well worth the trip downtown.