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Overall vibe here was great, I just really wished they played music because it was sooo loud given the acoustics of the room and people talking. The beers I got were decent, but nothing to go wild about. I do like that they have some other local brewery stuff here which is great if you want options, but it seems like the beer that they do brew here is quite limited to maybe 5 or 6 beers. They don't have any patio seating (we had just come from a brewery down the street with patio seating) so that was a little bummer considering it was a nice warm summer day. The bathrooms are also upstairs and they are two large flights of stairs, so just keep that in mind. They do have an elevator though! I did like the game selection and they have a ping pong table and shuffle board as well which is a nice addition. I would say the lay out and overall decor here isn't much to write about, but I guess I'd still come back if I'm in the area and doing a brewery walk/hop.
This place just opened and it's a vast space and good bar food and ofc Guiness beer along w other drinks. Modern and high ceilings and there is an area for cookies and desserts and bread and pickled jars of stuff like pickles.and other veges. The Giardiniera w chips and crab and corn dip were good. The oatmeal cookie w apple pieces was $4.47 with tax and was try and not chewy (not my type of oatmeal cookie where I prefer chewy and not crumbly). They close at 11pm and at 10pm is last call for food. They have a nice well lit and warm atmosphere with the huge Guiness harp on top. Lovely to hang out and enjoy times w friends and family.
One of the best places in the city if you have a large group! The vibes are very much German beer hall with those huge wooden tables and classic lagers. Their board has a massive selection of their own beers, classic Chicago breweries, and they uniquely feature a Brazilian-Japanese woman own brewery, Japas Cervejaria. Bring your own food!
Some solid beer options to choose from and enjoy. Great space to hang. I saw people working, surfing, reading, playing games, having lunch, all the above. Feel free to bring your own food in because they do not serve any. They also have some board games to take advantage of and plenty of space to spread out and get your game on. My wife and I hung out for a while and played Battleship for the first time in I don't know how long. It was awesome! The only downside honestly, is that the bathrooms are two stories up from the main level! Initially your thought is, what demented person would put a brewery bathroom two flights up from the brewery?! But in reality, the bathrooms are shared by the breweries office space upstairs. They do provide you the choice of stairs or an elevator, so there is that. Bonus: If you are still thirsty, Goose Island tap room is right across the street!
Dropped off family at United Center for Tyler Childers concert then made this the first brew stop while we waited for them. My husband's English Pale Ale- what he expected from the pale ale. Enjoyed it. My Raspberry sour was very good. I love a good sour and this one did not disappoint. Large industrial atmosphere. Casual and clean. Great for large groups. Order at the bar. No nonsense. Beer only brewery.
Great Central Brewing is brewery #216 for me and an interesting one at that. First of all Huge open tap room with lots of tables. It wasn't very busy but I was disappointed to find they had no food on site. I found a spot at the bar and found out that GCB is a contract brewery. So basically they brew all the beers they are serving but brew them for other places. Lots of beers on tap! Unfortunately they don't do any flights so I had to go with half pours instead. This will limit the number of beers I try although I took a Lyft here instead of driving my rental. Seriously glad I did as I'm really not used to driving in traffic any longer. Heck the hotel I'm staying in has a larger population than the town I live in now. I'm already missing home but will console myself with some decent beer I hope. I started out with the GCB Dunkel which was a great example of the style. I first fell in love with the dunkel style when visiting Gordon Biersch's brewery in San Jose back about 1992 or so. Loved it! Anyway, I am always on the hunt for a great dunkel. This one filled the bill. There was no red on the menu but I went with the Oktoberfest next in honor of SWPFTD since I know she would order that one. Yes, another excellent beer. A little malty but not too much and well matched with the style. I would take some of this home if I weren't flying back. This was a quick stop here but I would definitely be happy to stay and try a few more beers. But alas, my 217th brewery nearby is calling my name like a siren calling a lonely sailor... If anyone is a glutton for punishment, please, follow my brewery, and distillery, reviews from across the U.S. and beyond! https://www.yelp.com/collection/-8iscFkpiiCI563-FDfwGg and if anyone is wondering who SWPFTD is you will have to check out my review of Black Market Brewing Co in Temecula, CA to understand. Yes, you will need to read into it a little to get the joke but I have confidence in you!
Super cool concept... these guys brew everything right onsite and can do custom batches if you want to craft your own. I also absolutely LOVE that they have time tested games! Seriously who doesn't enjoy playing Jenga, Monopoly or Dominos with a group of cheery friends? Also the pours are very reasonable and generous. The staff is friendly and want to know your likes and dislikes so they can ensure you find a pint or few you can enjoy:) The community tables are very inviting which does easily promote meeting new people. The restrooms are clean and well maintained (why can't all establishments do this?) with plenty of stalls for when you eventually break the seal lol. I did not see televisions here however so go for the experience and good company, not to watch football. Chee
Grand Central Brewing is the Grand Central Station of beer tasting. The room is large with 18 foot ceilings, 24 taps, table tennis and shuffleboard. My first expectation is that any brewery that has so many choices can't do them all well. I was surprised to find three lagers on their menu. I tried all three and liked the Cruz Blanca Vamos better than the Helles or the Trust. My wife enjoyed the Hefeweizen. The beer is good but the room is crazy loud. Parking is on the street only. I recommend that you try Grand Central Brewing. You will remember the beer long after your ears stop ringing.
Thanks to Claudia S. & Mark G. for having their Yelper Takeover here this weekend so I could experience this adorable brewery. It's been open just a couple of months but it's already poppin'! Great Central Brewing Company is a huge space located in what beer makers are trying to coin as the Brewing District of Chicago. All within walking distance are GCBC, Goose Island, Finch, On Tour and All Rise Brewing. It's actually pretty cool because you can finally do a brewery hopping day easily in the city (though Finch is strictly production here). I was at Great Central for a few hours on Saturday and it never got too busy. For the first hour they were opening, my friends and I were the only people there. It's such a huge space and they weren't playing music at first so it just felt kind of eerie. After awhile though, the music started, they unlocked the front door and people started straggling in. Staff is so nice and were even coming to our table to take orders which was awesome! Really friendly and attentive the entire time we were in. BYOF - Bring Your Own Food. No tasters or flights. And they make it a point to say they won't do that because you don't get to really taste the beer in a taster. As a seasoned beer chick, I have to strongly disagree with that sentiment however to each brewery their own. That being said, they do half pints and the pours seems quite generous. So every beer on tap is $6 for a full or $4 for a half. They had 4 of their own brews on tap that were all German styles. Not my favorite genre, however they were pretty strong contenders for best Germans I've had. I hope they continue to expand on their brewing as time goes on. They also had 12 mostly local brews on tap. All the beers from other breweries though are brewed at this facility. They do some contract brewing for these places which you can read all about on their website. Pretty darn cool. So GCBC... Downfalls - Bathroom on the 2nd floor which I imagine posing some issues with people drinking and no flights. Strong Points - Huge, chill space, great staff, fun variety of beers. Overall chill brewery I wouldn't hesitate going to again.
Great place, GREAT bartender! Super cool place inside. But please do something about the biting flies inside. I'm leaving because I keep getting bitten. Fly strips probably fix the problem.
Great brewery with lots of open space, perfect area for large group gatherings. Can bring in food from outside places and pair it with many of the house made beers. The house helleslager is the ultimate favorite.
I came here on a Thursday night for trivia and had a lot of fun! They could use a better sound system for trivia, but it was fine because they had a projector screen with the questions. They have a pretty good variety of draft beer, plenty of seating, and cornhole.
Checked out this local brewery. Great Central is one of a few around here. It has a pretty good variety. For certain it's not the most extensive but there's some interesting things to choose from. This is also a great place for gatherings and parties. Beers are the main thing of course. It's basically the only thing to be honest. There's not even any TVs for watching games or whatever. Focus more on the beers. It's about $7 a pint. Best we had of these was the Hefeweizen. This is a pretty standard German one. Also they make cans of sparkling water for those not wanting alcohol. The taproom is pretty big with long tables. Has no TVs meaning there's no big crowds for games. This is great for those not watching any types of sports. Find a few great beers here. It's located close to the Ashland Green Line station. They're closed Mondays and Tuesdays. read more
3 years ago
We went to Goose Island and it was so crowded we left and found this place right around the corner and so glad we did! Such a great spot with big tables, high ceilings and lots of games! We found a place at the bar and were greeted right away! She explained what they brew etc and we were able to easily chat with the bartenders. They were attentive and friendly. The place is loud, but we would definitely recommend and would come back (in from out of town). Beers were delicious! read more
2 years ago
Overall vibe here was great, I just really wished they played music because it was sooo loud given the acoustics of the room and people talking. The beers I got were decent, but nothing to go wild about. I do like that they have some other local brewery stuff here which is great if you want options, but it seems like the beer that they do brew here is quite limited to maybe 5 or 6 beers. They don't have any patio seating (we had just come from a brewery down the street with patio seating) so that was a little bummer considering it was a nice warm summer day. The bathrooms are also upstairs and they are two large flights of stairs, so just keep that in mind. They do have an elevator though! I did like the game selection and they have a ping pong table and shuffle board as well which is a nice addition. I would say the lay out and overall decor here isn't much to write about, but I guess I'd still come back if I'm in the area and doing a brewery walk/hop. read more
This place just opened and it's a vast space and good bar food and ofc Guiness beer along w other drinks. Modern and high ceilings and there is an area for cookies and desserts and bread and pickled jars of stuff like pickles.and other veges. The Giardiniera w chips and crab and corn dip were good. The oatmeal cookie w apple pieces was $4.47 with tax and was try and not chewy (not my type of oatmeal cookie where I prefer chewy and not crumbly). They close at 11pm and at 10pm is last call for food. They have a nice well lit and warm atmosphere with the huge Guiness harp on top. Lovely to hang out and enjoy times w friends and family. read more
3 years ago
One of the best places in the city if you have a large group! The vibes are very much German beer hall with those huge wooden tables and classic lagers. Their board has a massive selection of their own beers, classic Chicago breweries, and they uniquely feature a Brazilian-Japanese woman own brewery, Japas Cervejaria. Bring your own food! read more
5 years ago
Some solid beer options to choose from and enjoy. Great space to hang. I saw people working, surfing, reading, playing games, having lunch, all the above. Feel free to bring your own food in because they do not serve any. They also have some board games to take advantage of and plenty of space to spread out and get your game on. My wife and I hung out for a while and played Battleship for the first time in I don't know how long. It was awesome! The only downside honestly, is that the bathrooms are two stories up from the main level! Initially your thought is, what demented person would put a brewery bathroom two flights up from the brewery?! But in reality, the bathrooms are shared by the breweries office space upstairs. They do provide you the choice of stairs or an elevator, so there is that. Bonus: If you are still thirsty, Goose Island tap room is right across the street! read more
2 years ago
Dropped off family at United Center for Tyler Childers concert then made this the first brew stop while we waited for them. My husband's English Pale Ale- what he expected from the pale ale. Enjoyed it. My Raspberry sour was very good. I love a good sour and this one did not disappoint. Large industrial atmosphere. Casual and clean. Great for large groups. Order at the bar. No nonsense. Beer only brewery. read more
Great Central Brewing is brewery #216 for me and an interesting one at that. First of all Huge open tap room with lots of tables. It wasn't very busy but I was disappointed to find they had no food on site. I found a spot at the bar and found out that GCB is a contract brewery. So basically they brew all the beers they are serving but brew them for other places. Lots of beers on tap! Unfortunately they don't do any flights so I had to go with half pours instead. This will limit the number of beers I try although I took a Lyft here instead of driving my rental. Seriously glad I did as I'm really not used to driving in traffic any longer. Heck the hotel I'm staying in has a larger population than the town I live in now. I'm already missing home but will console myself with some decent beer I hope. I started out with the GCB Dunkel which was a great example of the style. I first fell in love with the dunkel style when visiting Gordon Biersch's brewery in San Jose back about 1992 or so. Loved it! Anyway, I am always on the hunt for a great dunkel. This one filled the bill. There was no red on the menu but I went with the Oktoberfest next in honor of SWPFTD since I know she would order that one. Yes, another excellent beer. A little malty but not too much and well matched with the style. I would take some of this home if I weren't flying back. This was a quick stop here but I would definitely be happy to stay and try a few more beers. But alas, my 217th brewery nearby is calling my name like a siren calling a lonely sailor... If anyone is a glutton for punishment, please, follow my brewery, and distillery, reviews from across the U.S. and beyond! https://www.yelp.com/collection/-8iscFkpiiCI563-FDfwGg and if anyone is wondering who SWPFTD is you will have to check out my review of Black Market Brewing Co in Temecula, CA to understand. Yes, you will need to read into it a little to get the joke but I have confidence in you! read more
Super cool concept... these guys brew everything right onsite and can do custom batches if you want to craft your own. I also absolutely LOVE that they have time tested games! Seriously who doesn't enjoy playing Jenga, Monopoly or Dominos with a group of cheery friends? Also the pours are very reasonable and generous. The staff is friendly and want to know your likes and dislikes so they can ensure you find a pint or few you can enjoy:) The community tables are very inviting which does easily promote meeting new people. The restrooms are clean and well maintained (why can't all establishments do this?) with plenty of stalls for when you eventually break the seal lol. I did not see televisions here however so go for the experience and good company, not to watch football. Chee read more
3 years ago
3 years ago
Grand Central Brewing is the Grand Central Station of beer tasting. The room is large with 18 foot ceilings, 24 taps, table tennis and shuffleboard. My first expectation is that any brewery that has so many choices can't do them all well. I was surprised to find three lagers on their menu. I tried all three and liked the Cruz Blanca Vamos better than the Helles or the Trust. My wife enjoyed the Hefeweizen. The beer is good but the room is crazy loud. Parking is on the street only. I recommend that you try Grand Central Brewing. You will remember the beer long after your ears stop ringing. read more
2 years ago
4 years ago
Thanks to Claudia S. & Mark G. for having their Yelper Takeover here this weekend so I could experience this adorable brewery. It's been open just a couple of months but it's already poppin'! Great Central Brewing Company is a huge space located in what beer makers are trying to coin as the Brewing District of Chicago. All within walking distance are GCBC, Goose Island, Finch, On Tour and All Rise Brewing. It's actually pretty cool because you can finally do a brewery hopping day easily in the city (though Finch is strictly production here). I was at Great Central for a few hours on Saturday and it never got too busy. For the first hour they were opening, my friends and I were the only people there. It's such a huge space and they weren't playing music at first so it just felt kind of eerie. After awhile though, the music started, they unlocked the front door and people started straggling in. Staff is so nice and were even coming to our table to take orders which was awesome! Really friendly and attentive the entire time we were in. BYOF - Bring Your Own Food. No tasters or flights. And they make it a point to say they won't do that because you don't get to really taste the beer in a taster. As a seasoned beer chick, I have to strongly disagree with that sentiment however to each brewery their own. That being said, they do half pints and the pours seems quite generous. So every beer on tap is $6 for a full or $4 for a half. They had 4 of their own brews on tap that were all German styles. Not my favorite genre, however they were pretty strong contenders for best Germans I've had. I hope they continue to expand on their brewing as time goes on. They also had 12 mostly local brews on tap. All the beers from other breweries though are brewed at this facility. They do some contract brewing for these places which you can read all about on their website. Pretty darn cool. So GCBC... Downfalls - Bathroom on the 2nd floor which I imagine posing some issues with people drinking and no flights. Strong Points - Huge, chill space, great staff, fun variety of beers. Overall chill brewery I wouldn't hesitate going to again. read more
3 years ago
3 years ago
4 years ago
Great place, GREAT bartender! Super cool place inside. But please do something about the biting flies inside. I'm leaving because I keep getting bitten. Fly strips probably fix the problem. read more
Great brewery with lots of open space, perfect area for large group gatherings. Can bring in food from outside places and pair it with many of the house made beers. The house helleslager is the ultimate favorite. read more
I came here on a Thursday night for trivia and had a lot of fun! They could use a better sound system for trivia, but it was fine because they had a projector screen with the questions. They have a pretty good variety of draft beer, plenty of seating, and cornhole. read more
Greatly impressed with selection, quality and taste of their beer. Definitely recommend paying them a visit. Definitely a plus that they also have entertainment for guests as well. Staff very friendly and even security guard was very welcoming. A gem in the area and walking distance to other breweries. read more
Nice, big place to enjoy a lot of different types of beer. I got there around 5 on a Friday, and it was packed! There is a lot of seating for bigger groups, so it's great for the bigger crowd. Each table also has some games in it, like Jenga, Connect 4, etc. The beer selection is pretty great, with beer ranging from hoppy to ales, etc. The staff was really helpful in finding selections that were similar to my tastes. I liked number 9 a lot, wish I could remember the name. They do not have food, like a lot of breweries, but a lot of people were ordering food from Roots Pizza and other places around the area. That was not an issue. Fun fact: they do trivia on Thursdays, if that's anyone's jam. read more
4 years ago
We stumbled upon this warehouse brewery on Saturday and what a find! At first I needed an explanation of the beer list. It lists House Beer which are all German Beers and also lists Client Beer which is a large range of styles. Turns out they're brewing for a lot of other people using their recipes and formulas and get to sample those beers in their taproom. Not only are they brewing for some locals, some of these beers head off pretty far after they're brewed. We've heard a lot of brewery people tell us they have to brew beers off-site to keep up with the production they need. One of our faves was from an Allentown, PA area brewery called Funk Brewing that's giving them some New England IPA formulas to brew and they were spectacular. The in-house German Pils I drank was also really good. The taproom space is huge with tons of room for games and lots of people were really enjoying the space. They are attracting a fairly young crowd and carded everyone entering, including us old fogeys! There's plenty of parking in the area and we'll definitely come back here! read more
8 years ago
Had to scrap my initial review, because my opinion of Great Central has definitely changed since the first couple of visits. Came here with friends (I'm not going to name them, because that's dumb, and I'm pretty sure you, the reader, doesn't care) and had a nice time, but didn't think I'd come back anytime soon. Then one day we were in the area and I suggested it, and then that happened a few more times and now it's one of my low key favorite spots. The staff is ehh. Some are friendly, some will ignore you for a bit, but the good ones always outweigh their grumpy counterparts and their security guard is hands down my favorite person here! He is SO nice and welcomes you with a big smile. The space is gorgeous, for being quite simple, really. All the natural lighting during the day is refreshing. Huge windows that can be opened (or closed, if you're chilly) with pillows to lean against if you sit on the windowsill bench as well as plenty of communal benches and tables. Some comfy chairs and ottomans and plenty of board games around. They've even added shuffleboard and a ping pong table as well as giant Connect 4! You can take the elevator upstairs to the bathroom, or walk up the 40ish something stairs. I've drunkenly counted them before, it's a fun activity to keep you alert, but of course I can't remember how many there are now. I wish they'd switch the ping pong table to where the chairs and ottomans are (even though I like that setup) or even find a way to move it near the shuffleboard, because I feel like we're always in the danger zone of a ping pong ball to the head, or beer (in which case I'd chug it like a 'murican at a baseball game) but it's not the worst. I believe trivia will resume in September and though we only went a couple times, it wasn't ever too crowded, but was fun, whether it was 2 of us or 5 of us. Great Central contract brewing while having a taproom that serves their beers as well as those other brews is a smart concept. They don't have a kitchen (so feel free to bring in food), though I heard a rumor they were going to have one, which made me laugh, because they made sure to specifically put on their site that they focus on beer, not food. If they did do food, I have a pretty cool idea of what they could do, but I'm hoping that rumor was false and that food truck and pop-ups will remain instead. For some affordable beers ($6 for a pint) and a spacious and pretty chill spot, check out Great Central. read more
3 years ago
Spend a lot more time at this brewery than I thought I would. The best thing it's has going for it is it's large space, and that it's never overly crowded. Sounds like damning with faint praise but hol' up. The atmosphere is just so good. It's comfortable, they got games (everything from board, ping pong, and trivia on certain days), and good seating. The beer situation is quirky. Yeah they're a brewery but they only got like 4-5 of their own on draft (they sell theirs to-go as well), but they're not that great tbh. They contract brew for other breweries though and feature them on draft. That's what keeps me coming back, beer wise. Super comfortable place to chill and drink brews with shit to keep you occupied, but not too many humans. read more
If you're looking for a place to do work, enjoy happy hour, play trivia, or all of the above look no further. Over 20 beers on tap and plenty of space to sit and play board games as well. Value wise this is place ranks very high compared to others in the city. Plenty of free street parking, great place any day of the week with any size group of friends. read more
7 years ago
7 years ago
Great hang out spot to chill, grab some beers, and play some fun games. They have ping pong, giant Jenga, shuffle board, and a ton of different board games. Great selection of draft beers as well. Would definitely recommend as a fun hangout place read more
If you're looking to come grab a beer, play free games, or host a large group, then this is the right place. There are MANY beers to choose from! So you'll definitely find something that you like. I got the pilsner half pour which was $4, smooth, and decently priced. There were plenty of activities to choose from: ping pong, large Jenga, large connect four, shuffleboard, board games, and more. For a friday afternoon, my friends and I barely had to wait for any of the games which was awesome. The place is spacious enough that you can have conversations without screaming over the person next to you. read more
8 years ago
We came in this afternoon after being at Goose Island watching the Parkey challenge. It was our first visit and definitely won't be our last, chill vibe and a great mix of ages. Not only do they have a variety of beer but a variety of table top games and shuffle board. The area is big even with a big crowd today it didn't feel cramped and the service was fast and great. Can't wait to come back! read more
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More info about Great Central Brewing Company
221 N Wood St
Chicago, IL 60612
Near West Side
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(855) 464-4222
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Ask the Community - Great Central Brewing Company
Is this brewery kid friendly?
Yep, I've seen many infants, quite a few toddlers and even older children playing board games with parents.
