Illinois
You'll find this farmhouse brewery hidden away amid horse- and sheep-grazing pastures just 5 miles outside Shawnee National Forest in Ava. Twigs, bark,…
Must-see nightlife in The Great Lakes
Chicago
Enter this jovial brewery – the city’s largest – via a blue glowing hallway with trippy art painted on the walls and the Willy Wonka theme song playing…
Detroit
Pitch-perfect espresso drinks (try the lavender latte), pour-overs, outdoor seating and free wi-fi are hallmarks of this downtown cafe. Live music nightly…
Indiana
At 3 Floyds brewpub, death-metal blares. There are burly beards and tattoo sleeves all around. And hoppy suds. It's earned a cult following by brewing…
Chicago
This slick tasting room has a cool, naturalistic look with exposed concrete posts and knotty wood beams across the ceiling. Slip into a seat at the bar…
Short’s Production Facility Pull Barn
Gold Coast
Beer buffs adore Short’s for its Huma Lupa Licious IPA and Juicy Brut ale, and they come en masse to this sprawling outdoor drinking yard in Elk Rapids …
Cleveland
No wonder so many locals hang out at Noble Beast: it feels like home. Plants dangle from the ceiling. A skylight lets the sun shine in. The garage doors…
Michigan
If you've only got time for one stop in Grand Rapids, make it rock-and-roll Founders. The ruby-colored Dirty Bastard Ale is good swillin', and there's…
Cleveland
An all-ages, cool-cat crowd gathers around the silvery tanks in Platform's tasting room for $5 to $6 pints of innovative saisons, pale ales and more…
Chicago
An elder of the local beer scene, Metropolitan has expanded into a striking, retrofitted old tannery overlooking the Chicago River. The floor-to-ceiling…
Chicago
Take the elevator to the 96th floor of the building formerly called the John Hancock Center and order a (pricey) beverage while looking out over the city…
Chicago
Marz started as a group of home brewers whose friends demanded more. The small brewery is known for its peculiar creations, such as Potion #1 (aged in…
Ohio
Wooly Pig lies well off the beaten path in farmland central. The brewery itself is part of a 90-acre farm where you’ll see the namesake porkers snuffling…
Cincinnati
Longfellow looks like a cafe you’d find in Amsterdam, all cozy and candlelit in a vintage building with creaking hardwood floors and exposed brick walls…
Michigan
Brewery Vivant specializes in Belgian-style beers. Set in an old chapel with stained glass windows and a vaulted ceiling, the atmospheric brewpub also…
Indiana
Leave the more mainstream Upland Brewing Co next door to casual hopheads – it's here at Upland's all-sours brewery that the dank and funk flows among near…
Cincinnati
Beer buffs pile in to Rhinegeist's hoppy clubhouse to knock back Truth IPA and around 20 other brews on tap. Swig at picnic tables while watching bottles…
Chicago
Spiteful's taproom has a rock-and-roll, DIY vibe. Two home brewers launched the brand, and they now operate out of a renovated garage. The concrete…
Chicago
Located near the Second City comedy club and the scene of late-night musings since the 1960s, this unpretentious neighborhood favorite lets you mingle…
Chicago
The owner of nearby music club Constellation also owns this off-the-beaten-path little bar. It charms with its kind bartenders and well-worn, thrift-store…
Chicago
A bartender rightfully referred to this hard-edged black sheep of the neighborhood as the ‘pride of Lincoln Ave’: a title earned for the heavy pours and…
Michigan
The smell of cardamom-spiced coffee caresses your nose when you enter this cozy Yemeni cafe. Folks from the homeland chitchat and type on laptops while…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
This nouveau speakeasy isn’t marked, so look for the wood-paneled building with a full mural and a yellow light over the door. Inside, high-backed booths,…
Chicago
Pool is serious business on the two vintage tables that the pub refelts regularly with Belgian material. The ever-changing, eye-catching art comes…
Chicago
The Berghoff dates from 1898 and was the first Chicago bar to serve a legal drink after Prohibition (ask to see the liquor license stamped '#1'). Little…
Chicago
Pilsen's bohemians love this intimate brewpub and no wonder. Join them at the reclaimed wood tables for a flight and fancy pub grub such as poutine with…
Gold Coast
A couple of hairy-faced home brewers got together to open Beards, and they know their stuff, as the hoppy IPAs, tart saisons and nutty brown ales flowing…
Chicago
Named for a 17th-century ship full of wine-guzzling passengers, Arbella is an adventuresome cocktail bar. Booze from around the globe makes its way into…
Centennial Crafted Beer & Eatery
Chicago
Centennial hides in plain sight. It's rarely mobbed, like many of its neighborhood competitors, yet its 50 taps of carefully chosen craft beer and its…
Central State Brewing – The Koelschip
Indianapolis
Until it opens its proprietary taproom near the old Central State psychiatric hospital grounds (from which it takes its name), the Koelschip bar is where…
Minneapolis
The inventive brewers at this popular Uptown micro-brewery and taproom have hit on the right mix of beers (everything from sweet stouts to piney-flavored…
Milwaukee
Champion's is the perfect choice if you're looking for something quiet, friendly and authentic. It has been a neighborhood fixture since the 1950s and not…
Wisconsin
Landmark bar on popular Water St is worth a trip in its own right to admire the photos of the jazz and blues legends who used to play here when it was a…
Detroit
Standby hides in the alleyway known as the Belt. Find it, and crazy-creative cocktails like Snake in the Grass (gin, lime, celery bitters and nitro…
Wisconsin
The campus Union is Madison's gathering spot. The festive terrace, overlooking Lake Mendota, pours microbrews and hosts free live music and free Monday…
Chicago
This West Loop spot is a twinkling-light charmer for bubbles. Score a table in the cobblestoned courtyard and you'll feel transported to Paris. In winter,…
Chicago
This refined lounge, inspired by hotel lobby bars of the 1930 and ’40s, is a Gold Coast hidden gem. Tucked behind an unassuming storefront in an art deco…
Chicago
Tucked in a warehouse by the train tracks, Begyle's little taproom is a community hub. Friends play cards at one table, an old guy chills with his dog…
Millard Fillmore Presidential Library
Cleveland
Mention to pals that you're going to the Millard Fillmore Presidential Library, and you can tell they're impressed by your intellectual curiosity. Then…
Indianapolis
You never know what'll be flowing at Sun King's unvarnished downtown taproom. Indy's young and hip pile in to find out, swilling brews from a cocoa-y…
