Seven places outside the city that actually have their act together
By Sam S.
There's a version of Chicago beer culture that acts like anything beyond the city limits is a craft beer wasteland. That version is wrong, and also annoying. The suburbs have been quietly running solid taprooms for decades — some of them longer than half the Pilsen spots you've been hearing about for three years. You don't have to move to Wicker Park to drink well. You just have to know where you're going.
Church Street Brewing in Itasca has been open since 2011, which makes it one of the older craft operations in the entire Chicago metro area. Fourteen years in, they've settled into a groove: clean lagers, interesting sours, and a taproom that doesn't feel like it's trying to impress anyone. The crowd skews local and low-key. If you want a well-made pilsner in a room where nobody's talking about their Untappd badge count, this is a reasonable destination. Itasca is about 30 miles northwest of the Loop, which puts it in the "commit to the drive" category, but it's a straight shot on I-290.
About 10 miles east of Church Street, Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village takes a different approach. The whole operation is music-themed, the releases are creative to the point of being slightly chaotic, and the beer slushees have earned enough attention that people actually plan trips around them. The catch is that Mikerphone is only open Wednesday through Saturday, so you need to check before you go. If you show up on a Tuesday assuming they're open, that's on you. The stuff is worth planning around when you do get the timing right.
Two Brothers Artisan Brewing in Warrenville is the one you'd tell someone to visit if they wanted a single destination that does everything. Founded in 1996, they're one of the oldest craft breweries in Illinois, and their 40,000-square-foot facility in DuPage County has an actual restaurant on site — not a rotating food truck, a restaurant, with a kitchen and a menu and tables. The Prairie Path Golden Ale is the everyday order: clean, reliable, not trying to make a statement, which is exactly what a flagship should be. About 35 miles west of downtown on I-88. Worth it.
Pollyanna Brewing has two locations — Lemont and Roselle — and both are worth knowing about depending on which direction you're headed. The production floor is visible from the taproom, which sounds like a standard brewery feature but Pollyanna actually does it well. The hazy IPAs and lagers are both consistently solid, and the food truck patio setup at Lemont in particular makes it easy to spend a few hours there without feeling like you're running out of things to do. Good place to take someone who isn't sure if they like craft beer yet.
Alter Brewing in Downers Grove runs 23 taps and hosts events regularly enough that there's usually something on the calendar if you want a reason beyond "I want a beer." The crowd is local and the atmosphere is genuinely neighborhood-bar without being a dive. Downers Grove is about 25 miles southwest of the Loop, easy to reach on I-355 or Metra's BNSF line if you'd rather not drive. The tap list rotates enough that return visits make sense.
BuckleDown Brewing in Lyons barely qualifies for a "suburbs" list given that it's about 10 miles from the Loop, which is closer than some neighborhoods consider themselves suburbs. It gets lumped into the suburbs only because Lyons doesn't come up much in city conversations about craft beer. That's the mistake. BuckleDown is open seven days a week, which automatically puts it ahead of half the taprooms in this article on pure convenience alone. If you're on the southwest side and want to not drive far, this is the most obvious answer.
Flossmoor Station in Flossmoor is, by any objective measure, one of the most decorated suburban breweries in Illinois. The taproom is in a renovated 1906 train station, which sounds like a tourism brochure detail but is actually a genuinely nice building. The brewery has won more than 80 awards over its history, including Best Small Brewpub at the Great American Beer Festival in 2006. That's not a local accolade — that's national. You can park across from the Metra station and take the Metra Electric line directly there from downtown Chicago, which means this is also the rare option on this list where you don't have to drive at all. About 30 miles south of the Loop.
If you're trying to plan multiple stops in one trip: Church Street and Mikerphone are close enough to pair on a northwest run. Two Brothers and Pollyanna's Lemont location make sense as a west-suburbs afternoon. Alter, BuckleDown, and Flossmoor are all south or southwest and could theoretically be combined, but Flossmoor is far enough down that you should probably pick one direction. Check hours before you leave. Some of these are closed Monday and Tuesday.
Quick Reference
Brewery | City | Distance from Loop | Days Open |
|---|---|---|---|
Church Street Brewing | Itasca | ~30 mi NW | Wed–Sun |
Mikerphone Brewing | Elk Grove Village | ~20 mi NW | Wed–Sat |
Two Brothers Artisan Brewing | Warrenville | ~35 mi W | Mon–Sun |
Pollyanna Brewing | Lemont / Roselle | ~25 mi SW / ~28 mi NW | Check each location |
Alter Brewing | Downers Grove | ~25 mi SW | Mon–Sun |
BuckleDown Brewing | Lyons | ~10 mi SW | Mon–Sun |
Flossmoor Station | Flossmoor | ~30 mi S | Tue–Sun |
Distances are approximate driving distance from the Chicago Loop. Always confirm hours directly with the brewery before visiting — tap schedules and seasonal hours change.
