15 Best Craft Breweries in Chicago for 2026

1. Revolution Brewing

Revolution opened in 2010 and describes itself as Chicago's largest independent craft brewery. Its original Logan Square brewpub at 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave. closed in December 2024. The production brewery and taproom on Kedzie Avenue stays open and pours a wide selection of the packaged beers on draft.

Must-try: Anti-Hero IPA (the flagship), Fist City (pale ale), and the Deep Wood series of barrel-aged beers released each fall, such as Straight Jacket and Ryeway to Heaven.

2. Half Acre Beer Company

Half Acre has been a cornerstone of Chicago craft beer since 2006. In 2021 it moved all of its operations to the Balmoral Avenue brewery, which has its own taproom and kitchen. The original Lincoln Avenue building is now the Hop Butcher for the World taproom (see number 7).

Must-try: Daisy Cutter Pale Ale (arguably Chicago's most iconic craft beer), Bodem IPA, Tuna Extra Pale Ale, and any of their seasonal barrel-aged releases.

3. Goose Island Beer Company

Yes, Goose Island is owned by AB InBev. That matters to some people and doesn't matter to others. The Fulton Street brewhouse is the hub for the barrel program and limited releases, and the annual Bourbon County Brand Stout release on Black Friday is still a cultural event in Chicago. The original Clybourn Avenue brewpub closed at the end of 2023; its replacement, the Salt Shed Pub on Elston Avenue, opened in May 2024.

Must-try: Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS, first brewed in 1992 and widely credited as an early bourbon-barrel stout), 312 Urban Wheat, and whatever special variants of BCBS are available during your visit.

4. Marz Community Brewing

Marz occupies a unique space in Chicago beer. Their Bridgeport taproom has an art-forward, community-focused identity that's reflected in their label designs and collaborations. The beer program spans styles fearlessly: funky saisons, fruit-forward sours, hazy IPAs, and rich stouts, often with creative adjuncts that somehow work. The taproom has a warehouse feel and hosts community events such as karaoke and game nights.

Must-try: Jungle Boogie (American pale wheat ale brewed with rooibos tea and Mosaic hops) and whatever rotating sour or fruited beer is on the draft board.

5. Begyle Brewing

Begyle is a neighborhood brewery in the best sense. Tucked into a North Center industrial space since 2012, they focus on drinkable, well-made beers without chasing hype. Their taproom is unpretentious. Begyle started Chicago's first community supported brewery (CSB) program: members pay for a growler-fill subscription, much like a farm share. It's a genuinely community-oriented operation.

Must-try: Free Bird (American pale ale), Hophazardly IPA, and Crash Landed (American pale wheat ale). Straightforward beers made very well.

6. Whiner Beer Company

Whiner was one of Chicago's most distinctive breweries. Located inside The Plant, a former meatpacking facility converted into a sustainable food production hub in Back of the Yards, Whiner specialized in Belgian and French farmhouse-inspired ales aged in oak barrels and foeders (large wooden vats).

Update (October 2026): Whiner closed its Back of the Yards brewery and taproom at the end of March 2026.

Known for: Le Tub (barrel-aged wild saison) and Miaou (dry-hopped Belgian-style wheat ale aged in wine barrels).

7. Hop Butcher for the World

Hop Butcher is one of the most talked-about breweries in Illinois, known for a steady stream of hazy pale ales, IPAs and double IPAs. After years of brewing at other breweries, it bought Half Acre's original Lincoln Avenue building in 2021 and opened its first taproom there in November 2022. Its larger production brewery is in suburban Bedford Park, and cans are sold at bottle shops across Chicago.

Must-try: Whatever hazy pale ale or IPA is newest on the board; the lineup rotates often.

8. Phase Three Brewing

Phase Three is technically in the suburbs, but their reputation and influence on the Chicago beer scene earns them a spot on any list. They are known for hazy IPAs, fruited sours and pastry stouts, and their limited can releases are in high demand. The Lake Zurich taproom sits next to the production brewery, and a second taproom operates in Elmhurst.

Must-try: Any of their rotating hazy IPAs, their fruited sours, and the imperial stout releases.

9. Dovetail Brewery

Dovetail is the antidote to hype-driven craft beer. Co-founders Hagen Dost and Bill Wesselink met while studying for their master brewer certifications at the Doemens Akademie in Munich, and the brewery, opened in 2016, uses traditional German and Belgian brewing methods. This is a brewery for people who believe a perfectly made hefeweizen or lager is more interesting than a 14% pastry stout.

Must-try: Hefeweizen (traditional Bavarian-style), their unfiltered German-style lagers, and any lambic-style sour on the board.

10. Off Color Brewing

Off Color was founded in 2013 by John Laffler, who ran barrel-aged beers at Goose Island, and Dave Bleitner, a former cellarman at Two Brothers, with a mission to make beers that don't fit neatly into any category. Their range includes Belgian-inspired ales, old German styles, goses and whatever else interests them. The Mousetrap taproom near Old Town has the vibe of a dimly lit neighborhood bar — intentionally un-brewery-like and all the better for it.

Must-try: Apex Predator (farmhouse ale) and Troublesome (gose with coriander and salt).

11. Metropolitan Brewing

Metropolitan made some of Chicago's best German-style lagers from 2009. In a craft beer landscape dominated by ales, its commitment to lagers was both refreshing and principled, and its Avondale taproom sat along the river.

Update (October 2026): Metropolitan Brewing closed for good in December 2023 after a dispute with its landlord and a bankruptcy filing.

Known for: Krankshaft (Kolsch-style), Flywheel (lager), and Magnetron (schwarzbier).

12. Pipeworks Brewing Company

Pipeworks, founded in 2012 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis, is known for two things: creative, adjunct-heavy beers and eye-catching label art. They produce an enormous variety of beers, from hazy IPAs to pastry stouts loaded with vanilla, maple, and coffee. Pipeworks says it has no taproom, and its to-go shop, The Dojo, is closed with no reopening date, so look for the cans in Chicago bottle shops.

Must-try: Ninja vs. Unicorn (double IPA, their most iconic beer), Lizard King (pale ale), and Close Encounter (imperial stout).

13. Midwest Coast Brewing

Midwest Coast opened in West Town in 2019 and quickly established itself as one of the most exciting newer breweries in Chicago. It is known for clear, true-to-style West Coast IPAs, and it later added a rooftop to its taproom.

Must-try: CHI.P.A. (the IPA it opened with, hopped with both East Coast and West Coast varieties), Paisley (West Coast IPA), and whatever IPA is newest on draft.

14. Old Irving Brewing

Old Irving is a brewpub in the truest sense: the food program is as serious as the beer program, with burgers and wood-fired dishes that pair well with the house beers. The beer lineup covers the spectrum from clean lagers to hoppy IPAs to rich stouts. The Montrose Avenue location has a warm, neighborhood-restaurant feel.

Must-try: Beezer (their award-winning hazy IPA), its Double Beezer and Triple Beezer versions, and the rotating IPA series.

15. Burnt City Brewing

Named after Chicago's Great Fire history, Burnt City began as a brewpub on the Lincoln Park/Lakeview border and later moved to District Brew Yards, which announced a wind-down in 2025. Check its current status before you visit. The beer program emphasizes approachable styles: cream ales, amber lagers, hefeweizens, and sessionable IPAs.