Commuter ales: take a car-free road trip to these Metra-friendly brewpubs

Chicagoland is fortunate to have a growing number of snug brewpubs a stone’s throw from Metra stops, making them ideal destinations for a car-free suburban safari. Here’s a guide to some of the best ones, including feedback from the staff about why brewpubs and transit go together like beer and pretzels:
http://gridchicago.com/2012/commuter-ales-take-a-car-free-road-trip...

Keep moving forward,

John Greenfield


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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on January 26, 2012 at 6:30am

Terrific story, John!  Now I know what to do with my partially unused $7 Metra weekend passes on Sundays.

Permalink Reply by Davo on January 26, 2012 at 6:31am

Awesome, Ive always wanted to do something like this but never knew where to go.

Permalink Reply by David on January 26, 2012 at 7:21am

It's worth mentioning that with the possible exception of Flossmoor, where I've never been, the  brewpubs he mentions are extremely bike accessible from Chicago.  All of them are directly adjacent to off-road bike paths.  

IMO, they make perfect destinations for bike trips from the city since, if you drink to much to ride back, you can always just hop on the Metra.    

I've never been to Lunar before, though.  Lunar to Stockholm's to Roundhouse looks like just the right distance for a pleasant Saturday ride some weekend.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 26, 2012 at 7:54am

Last year, I went on a North suburban brewpub ride organized by Envane x. I had a great time. We went to RAM, Flatlanders (now closed), Mickey Finn's and Lake Bluff Brewery. We rode some 45 miles (I think), a lot of it on the Des Plaines river trail and the North Shore bike path, and at the end of the day we took UP-N train back into town.

We got to drink plenty of craft beer without having to worry about riding too far.

I highly recommend it!

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on January 26, 2012 at 9:03am

Sounds like an awesome ride!

Duppie said:

Last year, I went on a North suburban brewpub ride organized by Envane x. I had a great time. We went to RAM, Flatlanders (now closed), Mickey Finn's and Lake Bluff Brewery. We rode some 45 miles (I think), a lot of it on the Des Plaines river trail and the North Shore bike path, and at the end of the day we took UP-N train back into town.

We got to drink plenty of craft beer without having to worry about riding too far.

I highly recommend it!

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on January 26, 2012 at 9:06am

I've ridden from Logan Square to Lunar to Two Brother's tap house in Warrenville, to the Roundhouse and taken the train back. I've also walked that itinerary, with additional stops at tiki bars.

David said:

It's worth mentioning that with the possible exception of Flossmoor, where I've never been, the  brewpubs he mentions are extremely bike accessible from Chicago.  All of them are directly adjacent to off-road bike paths.  

IMO, they make perfect destinations for bike trips from the city since, if you drink to much to ride back, you can always just hop on the Metra.    

I've never been to Lunar before, though.  Lunar to Stockholm's to Roundhouse looks like just the right distance for a pleasant Saturday ride some weekend.

Permalink Reply by John Wayman on January 26, 2012 at 10:54am

What about Three Floyds? Anyone ridden down there?

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 26, 2012 at 10:59am

Yes. There are usually three or four rides per year from Daley Plaza to Three Floyds. (Most recent was 1/14/12). An attractive return route for winter rides is the Flossmoor IC line approximately 10 miles west of Munster.

John Wayman said:

What about Three Floyds? Anyone ridden down there?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 26, 2012 at 2:37pm
Anyone ever done a Metra/bike combo to Wild Onion brewing company in Lake Barrington?
Looks like the nearest Metra station is a few miles and was wondering whether there is a safe road from the Brewery back to the train station.
Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on January 26, 2012 at 6:20pm

Yes, there are several Metra-friendly brewpubs that I didn't include, but I decided to skip writing up the chains, opting instead to focus on unique brewpubs.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 27, 2012 at 4:02pm

Two Brothers in Warrenville is also close to camping at the Blackwell Family Campground if you want to ride out, drink up some craft beer and not ride all the way back until the next day. There are a lot of nice paved trails in the DuPage County's Blackwell Forest Preserve.


Chris C said:

...

Bikeable from Metra or bike trail:

- Two Brothers/Warrenville; 1 mile from IPP Batavia Spur;

...

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