Chris is a Certified Cicerone, and it shows in the build-out: the original shop stocked 450 to 500 beers from around the world, the lighting was deliberately chosen to keep UV rays off the bottles, and the tasting counter was built from reclaimed wood out of old Goose Island Bourbon County Stout barrels. That attention to detail has paid off in hardware -- RateBeer has named it Illinois's best bottle shop more than once -- and Chris has hosted his own beer podcast since 2015.
The Quinns added a proper taproom in 2017 -- more than 20 taps plus a cask engine -- but notably didn't try to build a kitchen from scratch: the food program is run by fellow Avondale spot Middle Brow, serving Detroit-style pizza rather than bar snacks. Wednesdays bring 20% off whole pies for anyone dining in.
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