Brother Chimp in North Aurora is a cool brewery with a coziness. It isn't as big as some others…read more Lots of styles. A lot of activities like live music. They have snacks and food trucks. Came in after doing business around here. It seems like a very chill place. There's a bar and a few tables. It doesn't have a lot of room inside so it's not good for big groups. This is best if only bringing a few people. I got a seat at the bar. Wanted to try a few beers but had to choose one because I had to drive home sadly. I had a Brigadoon. It's $6 a pint. This is an extra special bitter English ale, but wasn't that bitter though. I also snacked on a bag of Pretzel Crack. It's $3.99 each and they have several flavors including Dill Pickle. These are made over in Warrenville so they're really representing local stuff. Fun atmosphere but it's kind of subdued a bit. It has quite a few beers to choose from. They have good snacks and there's food trucks on weekends.

Stopped in here while visiting the greater Chicago area. They have some nice beers. The service was…read morea little lacking seemed to be more interested in his phone. But you will have that these days. It was a clean place and enjoyed the shuffle board.

Had the pleasure of attending a family party at Sturdy Shelter over the weekend. It was a large…read moreparty of I'd say 80 people and ben was our server for the entire five hours. He was amazing. He quickly learned everyone's drink, preferences, and anytime the drinks were getting low. He would ask if we were ready for another and was very friendly and personable, and always had a smile on his face. He was flawless in his execution of serving such a large party. I highly recommend sturdy shelter because of Ben. The sturdy shelter has a really nice private room upstairs as well as plenty of space and they also have a really nice outdoor patio overlooking the river.

Checked out this newer brewery in Batavia. It has a lot of room inside, but even that isn't enough…read morefor the large groups, and parties. Sturdy Shelter has a pretty good variety. A good amount of choices, whether it's light or a strong one that will kick ass. They also have a food menu, with basics such as pretzels and snacks. For the most part it's good. It's located in an old building downtown that has a couple levels. The upstairs is often used for private events like parties. If it's not available then it's hard to get a seat anywhere. The seats at the bar fill up, and there's only a few tables. It's about $7 a pint. There's a few of the more stronger ones that cost more though. Best one we had the last time was the 3 Amigos Imperial Stout. Full bodied and thick as a brick too. There's notes of ancho chilis, cacao nibs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Also got something to eat. It's $8 for the Bavarian Pretzel. Helps to absorb the alcohol. They also have chips and salsa among the food options. Got to add it to the list of breweries that seem to be everywhere in this city. It's located on Shumway Avenue in a historic old building full of history. This is a popular place to have private events or whatever.

I don't know how this place can only have a 4.0 when it well exceeds a 5 and then some!!!!!…read more The food- absolutely delish and not overly done with flavors that literally burst with flavor and freshness! The shishito peppers were so sweet and tangy in the bacon jelly and cheese and oozed with goodness! The steak and chicken were such a great combo to share between my husband and I with both being such different profiles of taste and actually complimented one another. The steak itself was absolutely perfect and the bread under soaked up all those juices so you didn't have to lick the plate after (great ingenuity when dining out :)) The desserts were fantastic but the star of the show was def the raspberry blondie. It was everything I imagined and more. The perfect sweet and tart mixed in a bowl with spoons ... thank you for not plating this - I felt like I was at home about to sit on the couch and indulge in something I created. Perfect experience, perfect presentation and to top it off their restaurant is surrounded by their farm. Tomatoes, jalapeños, peaches, peppers, micro greens, greens, herbs..... with everything going on today in this world and every thing being recalled this is a place I can stand behind doing it the right way! Service the phenomenal, food was perfection and atmosphere was next to none.... Thank you so much for such an amazing dinner out!

Everything was fine, I didn't love this place like some others did…read more Medium charcuterie board was very good & had plenty for 2 to snack on. Wife had the Teras major steak with a portobello mushroom. Steak was good mushroom hardly had any mushroom in it & was tasteless. I had the fish & chip & fish was good, tartar was meh & potatoes were mushy Sangria was fine but small Bill was $135 B4 tip for 2 dinners an app & 1 alcoholic beverage. We won't be going back. *we were there on a chilly night, if we would've sat outside on their beautiful patio our experience may have been better

Pizza is great! Good size for two to share or one hungry guy! Pretzels are HUGE, can get salted or…read moresweet raspberry! Two or three can definitely share a pretzel! They have such a huge selection of different of specialty beers from different local and distant breweries, both canned and on tap. They are connoisseurs so they will help you find a drink you like based on what you tell them you already like. You can also buy cans to go! Outdoor patio is set up for social distancing and also dog friendly! Ordering online for pick up is also an option!

To be honest, I hadn't heard of McCarty Mills before. We were looking for a new place to try, as…read morepart of Aurora's restaurant week, that had a good beer selection. The food offered, as part of restaurant week, the beer selection, and service were all fantastic. I'm very glad we stopped here and would definitely stop again!

Checked out this brewery in Yorkville and got some local beers. Fox Republic has been here awhile,…read moreand benefits from being the only such place around it. It pretty much only has beers, but it also has a distillery next to it where you can get that stuff too. Has more of these than expected. There's some pretty cool flavors. Breweries like this are known for their limited hours and selections, but here neither is the case. It's actually got quite a bit to choose from. There's a few pretty interesting and unique flavors, too. A lot of these rotate so it makes people come back. It's about $7 a pint. We had a few of these. Best we had was the Mist Walker, a hazy IPA. This is a pretty strong one. Has a window into Home Run Hot Dogs. It's got a few including veggie dogs that are made Chicago style. Also is known for their stuffed pretzels. They let you bring in stuff. Great place to get locally made beers. It's actually open daily if you can even believe it. They're open longer on weekends.

This place had been on my list to try for awhile and finally made it out to Yorkville. I saw their…read moresour weekend on Facebook so made the trek out. As they had many options I wanted try, I opted for flights. They offer 4 5oz pours for $10. My faves were foxy sour beer nerdz and the case eagle. The Carmel apple was a miss for me. They also offer tequila seltzers and sodas. Friendly service and plenty of seating.

Kind of hidden back behind crate and barrel outlet, this brewery offers pinball and trivia. We…read morestopped in to shoot some pinball and have a brew on our way home from a dinner date. The music kept cutting out after only a little bit of the song and it was driving me nuts. Well, they were doing music trivia. The ladies in our party dove deep into music trivia while the guys played pinball. Decent brews, decent space. My only complaint is the amount of kids that were there. I love my kids, but I was on a date night and there were SO many kids running around and trying to cut in on pinball games. It may just have been the parent's problem, but I got a sitter to get away from my kids. Why am I babysitting yours now? Service was good. Menu was deep and diverse. Will be back I think.

I saw that they were having meat bingo on their instagram and we were easily influenced. Apparently…read morethey have bingo every Tuesday and this one particular was meat prizes. For $20 you got your bingo cards and a dauber for a couple bucks extra. They don't normally serve food but they had a food truck serving meats from the same meat store they partnered with for the event. I definitely recommend getting there early so you can secure a spot as well as order food and drinks before the game starts. I waited and was busy socializing that I ended up having to rush and order before the game started. They made it super easy with the bingo and apparently my table was the lucky table because we had 2 winners in our group! Yay! Overall this was a fun time and would recommend especially on a Tuesday night!

I don't even drink NA's, ever, but I had to check this place out since they're right by another…read morefamous full alcohol brewery. We couldn't bring our dog in due to local health codes (not their fault) so we had to drink on their patio, in 44 degree temps..ok. Not idea, but again, not their fault. The inside is very nice, and the NAs we had were surprisingly (to me) very good. We will check them out again when we're in the area!

Go Brewing Sunbeam Pills: Founded in 2022 by Joe and Heather Chura, Go Brewing is a non-alcoholic…read morebrewery that was conceived after the Chura's identified their alcoholic tendencies during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Go Brewing is located in Naperville, IL. I've got a confession; Sunbeam Pills is my first non-alcoholic beer. I came across it at a friend's house and thought I would give it a try. I'm no teetotaler, but I do enjoy a lot less drinks than your typical Wisconsinite (one or two drinks a week). Sunbeam Pills was inspired by Carl Sagan, a scientist partly responsible for NASA's Voyager 1's mission obtaining a picture of the Earth (showing just how small and insignificant Earth is to the entire universe). Let me start with the good. The artwork on the Sunbeam Pills can is out of this world, such a neat design! Hats off to the artist as it immediately made me want to try this beer. It poured a clear gold with a medium head. On the downside, I thought the flavor was too bitter/hoppy and a bit watery. I applaud the effort, but I wouldn't drink this again even if it did have enough alcohol for a nice buzz. Avoid Doughboy_Food_Reviews

This is a great brewery. Family friendly with countless beers for nearly every palate. If you love…read morebeer, you'll find one for you. Although it's "bring your own food", there's almost always a food truck parked outside. Order your drinks at the counter and find a seat outside if it's a nice day. I'm so glad coworkers invited me to try this place out. Will definitely hit it up again

As always great beer. Bad music experience this past weekend. Death Metal... really this was all…read morethat was played even when we asked for a change. 10 of us left after 1 beer. Disappointed.

Stopped by here while on a road trip from Colorado to upstate NY. We had had EC brewing beers…read moreseveral years ago at a friends house, but can't get it shipped to CO. Very well worth the side quest.

Came to get a few beers at this small brewery in Batavia. Energy City is tucked away along a side…read morestreet in a building that's confusing looking. It doesn't look like a brewery would be there. Actually it is. They specialize in fruity ones and sours, so not beers that are hoppy obviously. Beers are typically hoppy to some point, but these aren't. It's for sure a type not many are used to having. These all have a lot of fruit, but what's unique is the fruit is added after the brewing process. Adds a lot of fruit flavor. These often have the consistency of a smoothie. It's about $8 a can. They brew in pretty small batches at Church Street Brewery in Itasca, and serve these at this taproom. Best we had the last time was the Bistro Pineapple Strawberry Habanero. This is a Berliner style weisse. Consistency was thick like a smoothie would be. This had a lot of fruit flavor, but it also had a tartness. For sure we could try some of these beers again. It's located on First Street. They're closed Mondays to Thursdays, pretty limited hours, so it's a place to go on weekends.

Checked out this pretty cozy local brewery and distillery in Batavia. Grainology is a terrific use…read moreof an old building in the historic downtown. It adds a certain charm that newer shiny places can't match. Has a pretty good variety in the draft list. The prices are pretty good for being local and making smaller batches of stuff. A lot here to drink. It's both a brewery and distillery, which is an interesting process. This means you can get something with hops, or something less filling and smoother. Has plenty of room inside if there's not some party going on. It's about $6 a pint. A way to be charitable is to pay a few more bucks to get the Ability Amber. This is an amber ale, of which the proceeds benefits Project Mobility, which gives bicycles to disabled children. This has notes of plum and raisin. Has a kitchen but food is limited. There's often a food truck out front where you can get things like chips for $2, lobster rolls, and more. Good place to get locally made beers and liquors. It's closed Mondays. They often have food trucks.

They seem closed. I hope they open again soon, since the outdoor spaces looked great! Their…read morewebsite implies they are trying to reopen but everything is shuttered. I had a chance to go more than a year ago and liked their beers. Now I wish I had gone more often.