Esquire … really? Best beer city?
Did you ever get a compliment that you thought you really didn’t deserve? Of course, you have to say “Thank you,” but in the back of your mind, you have to wonder, “What were they thinking?”
Which is why I question Esquire Magazine’s rating of Chicago as the best beer city in America. The beer scene here is certainly getting better, with newbies Metropolitan, Revolution and Half Acre, old standbys like Goose Island, Flossmoor Station, Three Floyds, Piece, Lunar, Two Brothers and even Mickey Finn’s. Not to mention new soon-to-open or recently-opened brewers like Haymarket, Finch, and Pipeworks.
But best beer city in America? Portland (actually both of them – Oregon and Maine) have more brewpubs and breweries per capita than Chicago. And Montréal (that’s in the North American continent, right? It counts as American) has a major beer scene. Vancouver, too.
So, at The Local Beet, we’ll accept the honor (as if Esquire cares whether or not we’ll accept it or not). But just wait … more great things are on the horizon for Chicago-area beers.
Drink local.
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The way I see it, Esquire named Chicago one of the seven best cities and just has them listed in alphabetical order. Is that wrong?
You could be right, but others (the Chicago Tribune, for one) have interpreted it as Chicago is #1.
Best beer bars in the country BY FAR seems good enough to earn this spot. But yeah, Portland does produce a ton of good beers.
Honestly, look at what Local Option has been putting on tap. Three barrel-agings of Struise’s Black Albert is just insane.
No question we have great beer bars here … Hopleaf, Map Room, Quenchers … even Prairie Moon (which I only mention because it’s within easy walking distance of Boilover Brewery). Possibly, after Pipeworks and Finch’s come online, we’ll be in the running for best beer city in the country.
haha, also definitely just alphabetical order!
As the eternal Chicagoan. Not in alphabetical order, but close, they have st. louis as 6 and san diego as 7.
Although you can argue that Saint Louis Comes before San Diego in the alphabet. lol