Double Clutch Brewing’s beer garden at Millennium Park

Once void of quality craft beer options, downtown Chicago is now home to a quartet of proven, versatile breweries that have appealing food menus to match

By Trent Modglin

Double Clutch Brewing Company’s beer garden at Millennium Park
11 N. Michigan Ave.
DoubleClutchBrewing.com and MillenniumHallChicago.com

The details: If you’re looking to quench your thirst while strolling through Millennium Park or down Michigan Avenue this summer, this is your place for some award-winning brews. From Memorial Day-October, Double Clutch Brewing Company out of Evanston operates this gorgeous beer garden — which happens to be Chicago’s largest with a total capacity of 900 — and event space that’s located on top of Millennium Park’s iconic winter ice rink at the foot of the Bean.

What caught our eye: Talk about the ultimate summer spot for a cold beer, a bite to eat and some people watching. Whether you’re doing the tourist thing and fresh off a visit to the Art Institute, shopping on the Magnificent Mile or a concert in Pritzker Pavilion, or you’re looking for a post-work spot to snag a beer with friends, it’s pretty tough to beat this dynamic, sun-soaked venue, which actually incorporates three different spaces in all. And did we mention the skyline, flowers and relaxed vibes? Yeah, there’s that too.

Double Clutch’s gorgeous beer garden — which happens to be Chicago’s largest with a total capacity of 900 — and event space is located on top of Millennium Park’s iconic winter ice rink at the foot of the Bean.

Food and beer: The award-winning, German-influenced beer list is a good one from Double Clutch. (If you haven’t seen their taproom in Evanston with a rotation of classic cars, you should absolutely make the trip). They have six of their own beers on draft, including the summery Shandy Pants lemon ale, Little Juice Coupe hazy IPA and standout helles lager, as well as a handful of guest taps and a huge wine and cocktail list.

For food, you have access to menus from two different Vandalay Brands concepts — the elevated American food from Millennium Hall, which is open year around below the Bean, as well as some creative bites from the beer garden like a watermelon feta salad, filet medallion sliders or buffalo shrimp.

Make sure to check out the weekday happy hour from 4-6 p.m. that offers $5 Double Clutch pints, $6 house wines, $10 frozen beverages and $5 off all appetizers and pizzas.

From the brewery: “People love beer gardens, and they love the convenience and the environment of ours. Millennium Park is on everybody’s list, and you can come here and have some elevated American food, beer garden classics and great beer — and be right in the heart of everything happening downtown. The people watching around the Bean is so fun with the selfie sticks and people posing with their friends. It’s a fun, observational experience. And we have a lot of regulars too. So many people are on a first-name basis with our staff because they come here for lunch or happy hour.”

— General manager Hayley Pellow

Adams Street Brewing at The Berghoff
17 W. Adams Street in Chicago
AdamsStreetBrewery.com

The details: It’s hard to imagine there’s a more historic restaurant in all of Illinois. Herman Berghoff’s history with beer in Chicago began at the World’s Fair in 1893, when he set up a stand in the Midway Plaisance and sold his brews to people entering and exiting the fair. His success at the fair prompted him to consider a more permanent venue, and The Berghoff officially opened its doors in 1898.

Fast forward to 2018, when a fourth generation of ownership made good on a desire to return to the roots of their grandfather brewing his own beer, and Adams Street Brewery officially opened inside The Berghoff.

What caught our eye: To put it simply, it’s Chicago’s oldest family-owned restaurant, and it’s just loaded with history. The building is beautiful, with original woodwork still in place and a vault in the middle of the bar area where the family used to keep money. The restaurant team does a great job with food presentation as well.

Food and beer: Winners of 17 medals in 2024 alone — as well as a silver medal at the 2025 World Beer Cup for their Der Reisende export stout — it’s clear the brewing team at Adams Street, headed by Mark Duchow and Jim Riggs, knows what it’s doing.

With close to 20 fresh beers on draft at all times, it’s always a difficult decision here, but we enjoyed the Polotmavy Pivo, a traditional amber Czech lager, as well as the slightly tropical Globetrotter session pale ale and stellar Two Goats Maibock on a recent visit. So many of their brews just hit all the right notes, and there’s something for everyone.

If you’re a fan of saisons, you’ll need to try their La Pont de L’Chicago, which is part of a collaboration series with the Art Institute of Chicago. “It’s our version of an impressionistic masterpiece fermented uncontrolled with a combination of wormwood and sweet gale herbs, leaving out the modern take of hops,” says brewer Mark Duchow.

Winners of 17 medals in 2024 alone — as well as a silver medal at the 2025 World Beer Cup for their Der Reisende export stout — it’s clear the brewing team at Adams Street knows what it’s doing.

They also own an impressive selection of whiskey and other spirits and have a kettle sour gose out now called Macho Mang Randy.

The Berghoff serves traditional German and American fare, and the menu is expansive. Start off with the BBQ bacon-wrapped shrimp or giant Bavarian pretzel to share, and you can’t go wrong with the cod sandwich, sausage trio, reuben egg rolls or pork schnitzel with a Jager-infused sauce.

Worth noting: If you’re staying in a nearby hotel or need a cold beer for the Metra home, Adams Street is now canning and has some of their favorites now available in 4-packs to go.

From the brewery: “Jim (Riggs) and I worked together at Short Fuse Brewing back in the day, and he’s a super talented guy who I always wanted to work with again, so when Peter Berghoff wanted to hire an assistant, I told him I had a guy. We really form a perfect team from a personality and skill set standpoint. He comes up with the ideas, and I put together a plan to see if it can work. Obviously it’s been working pretty well lately, and the future is even brighter.”

— Brewer Mark Duchow

Industry Ales

Industry Ales Brewpub
230 S. Wabash in Chicago
IndustryAles.com

The details: A trio of restaurant and nightlife industry veterans renovated this space, which dates back to 1927, right next door to the Central Camera Company in the heart of the Loop. From the outside, it’s deceiving for sure, because you have no idea from the street that this is a three-level, 14,000-square-foot venue featuring a beer and dining hall, brewery, cocktail bar and mezzanine. Oh, and don’t forget the Mill Room downstairs that’s open Thursday-Saturday at 6 p.m.

To say Industry Ales has hit the ground running would be an understatement, as it has quickly become one of the hottest dining/drinking establishments downtown since opening its doors in 2024.

What caught our eye: It’s a beautifully striking space, no doubt. So much so, that we can never decide on our favorite aspect each time we visit.

“What we were going for in putting together the design is to keep the old-world, industrial charm of the original building but bring in little pieces of downtown to showcase in different areas,” says co-founder Matt Wiegers.

Examples include an actual 1922 clock purchased from a department store, light fixtures that look like the L train and a vaulted, lighted ceiling meant to mimic the subway entrance on State Street.

What we were going for in putting together the design is to keep the old-world, industrial charm of the original building but bring in little pieces of downtown to showcase in different areas.” — Matt Wiegers

Food and beer: This is an eye-catching food menu for sure, as chef Chef Steven Kowaleski, formerly of Revolution Brewing, is serious about his multi-flavored offerings with bar snacks like Cajun sticky wings, tuna tartare and Mexican-style meatballs with poblano cheddar grits.

The burger is a blend of American Wagyu, bison, boar and elk with American white cheese, French onion confit and lettuce on a brioche bun. And don’t get us started on the smash burger. Truly one of the best around. And keep an eye out this summer for the Tokyo-style version that gets cut in half and dropped in bubbling beer cheese sauce.

“It’s equal parts dirty, messy, unique and delicious,” director of operations Zack Blazek tells us with a smile. “It’s pretty ridiculous.”

We enjoyed a few of the tempting seasonal options like the strawberry burrata salad and seared trout with a pistachio crust and grilled broccolini. And a perfect complement to any meal is the mac ’n’ cheese with a pretzel streusel and brisket bacon.

The cocktail list, including some wild michelada, mead and culinary-inspired varieties, is mind blowing, but on this day we were here for Michael Gretz’s beer lineup. We enjoyed Petal to the Metal, a black kolsch brewed with hibiscus flowers, a robust porter with coffee and chocolate flavors called Lower Wacker, and their Anniversary Ale that utilizes eight different malts from around the world, three hop varieties and two yeast strains.

Insider’s tip: Industry Ales hosts beer dinners every other month and has a weekday happy hour from 4-7 p.m. that includes $6 house beers.

From the patrons: “We were staying at a nearby hotel and just happened to walk past and decided to stop in for a beer and a cocktail. Next thing you know, we ordered two dishes each and spent three hours enjoying the incredible menu and good vibes. They’ve nailed the stylishly comfortable combination here. Such a unique place, even for Chicago.”

— Rob & Jennifer

Crushed by Giants

Crushed by Giants Brewing Company
600 N. Michigan Ave., second floor
CrushedByGiants.com

The details: From the same group that operates DryHop Brewers and Corridor Brewing & Provisions on the city’s north side, Crushed by Giants opened in 2020. Location is key here, as this second-floor brewery is just off Michigan Avenue in the heart of River North.

Crushed by Giants makes for a great happy hour spot for those who work in Chicago, as well as a rare River North craft-beer destination for tourists and conventioneers. Fun fact: The second-floor location demanded that helicopters had to be used to bring in the six fermenting tanks during the buildout.

What caught our eye: Head up one escalator and you’ll find yourself drawn in to this sleek, urban-industrial space with a bar area and dining room. It’s a very open second room with 15-foot windows that give you a glimpse of the surrounding buildings and Ohio & Rush Street intersection.

Crushed by Giants was voted as having one of the best 10 burgers in the city, and we’d tend to agree. For appetizers, one of the greatest combinations anywhere in the city — or the Midwest for that matter — is the buffalo fried cauliflower and cheese curds.

Food and beer: Crushed by Giants was voted as having one of the best 10 burgers in the city by Chicago Magazine, and we’d tend to agree. For appetizers, one of the greatest combinations anywhere in the city — or the Midwest for that matter — is the buffalo fried cauliflower and cheese curds. Don’t sleep in the falafel wrap or the chicken basil pesto sandwich with lettuce, roasted bell peppers and Swiss cheese on a golden brioche bun.

For beer, Neon Werewolf is a solid hazy IPA, and on a June visit, we really enjoyed the Walter Wit, a light and refreshing fruited wheat beer with raspberry, citrus and coriander.

Cashed Out is a wonderfully piney West Coast IPA, while Caught in the Rain is a unique summer porter with hints of chocolate, pineapple and coconut.

From the brewery: “Our philosophy as a company is to make really good beer that’s brewed fresh on the premises, pair it with excellent pub grub, and do it where people want it. We were very happy to take this simple, proven concept and bring it to downtown Chicago.”

— Joe Steigerwald