Where to find New Belgium Beer in Chicago?

March 13, 2009 12:42 PM

Can MeFi help me find good beer in Chicago?

More specifically I am looking for New Belgium Beer, especially Fat Tire and Mothership Wit. I tried doing some quick Google searches, but I haven't been able to find anything.

posted by KebertXela to food & drink (19 comments total)

Are you looking for bars that have the beer? Or places to buy bottles?

I always enjoy The Maproom. Nice bar, great beers, and sometimes they have fun science talks!
posted by Arbac at 12:48 PM on March 13

Are you looking for a liquor store or a bar?

If the former, my local Jewel (North Center) has Fat Tire. Otherwise, West Lakeview Liquors is supposed to be one of the best in town. I haven't been there personally, though. Give them a call first.

For bars, give the aforementioned Maproom a try, or Hopleaf.
posted by nitsuj at 12:49 PM on March 13

2nding Maproom
posted by spec80 at 12:50 PM on March 13

if you're looking for a bar, hopleaf is good.
posted by duckstab at 12:51 PM on March 13

There's always Binny's.

Any relatively decent liquor store. Even most Jewels have the stuff. Fat Tire is most prevalent.

If it's a bar you seek, I would recommend The Hungry Brain.
posted by kpmcguire at 12:54 PM on March 13

New Belgium beers are pretty easy to find in Chicago. Most corner liquor stores carry them. Which neighborhood are you in?
posted by smich at 12:55 PM on March 13

Most neighborhood liquor stores have Fat Tire as well as Binny's and most Jewels and Dominicks. As far as bars, many on the north side as well... also available at the Metra station in Ogilve Transportation Center if you're looking downtown.

MCMikeNamara is very much looking forward to a Fat Tire on his train home from work after a particularly shitty work day/week.

And now that folks have mentioned it, dinner at Hopleaf sounds like a hell of an idea too.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:59 PM on March 13 [1 favorite]

Thirding Map Room and Hopleaf. Those will be excellent choices for finding many good beers, not just New Belgium. I also like Hackney's in Printer's Row -- a good selection (can't remember about Fat Tire specifically, offhand), though not nearly so diverse as those two.

As for shopping for beers -- Sam's Wines in Lincoln Park is the motherlode. Get a shopping cart and dive in. Be careful not to be sidetracked by the liquor selections on your way to the beer. Mmmm, Scotch!
posted by sldownard at 1:00 PM on March 13

Foremost Liquor on Milwaukee and California has a wonderful beer selection for a corner store.
posted by hwyengr at 1:12 PM on March 13 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Map Room rocks hard. Also, I can say with authority that Danny's Liquors on Western between Fullerton and Armitage has New Belgium Mothership Wit ($7.99 per 6) because I bought it there the other day.
posted by Hello, Revelers! I am Captain Lavender! at 1:15 PM on March 13

Another bar with an incredible selection is Quencher's, on Western at Fullerton.
posted by smich at 1:17 PM on March 13

after posting, I noticed the title of this post. The Map Room is good, as is Binney's.
posted by peewinkle at 1:20 PM on March 13

map room, hopleaf, quencher's, sheffield's, twisted spoke, the publican.

buy beer at west lakeview liquors or sam's wine.
posted by nickd at 2:25 PM on March 13

Yes, especially Hopleaf.
posted by scazza at 3:39 PM on March 13

Chicago, She Is Large -- 237 square miles for the city proper, never mind the rest of Chicagoland. You might want to mention if you're not on the North Side, because everyone's giving answers for the North Side. Probably because that's where everyone who's answered is.

I've seen both Mothership Wit and Fat Tire at Jewel.
posted by eriko at 4:24 PM on March 13

I would suggest contacting the source, New Belgium brewery, and asking. They're quite friendly people and as a small company, will be happy to help you find their product in your area.
posted by danheretic at 10:24 PM on March 13

I'm with smich: Go outside. Start walking in any direction until you get to a liquor store. They probably have the beers you're looking for.

And I couldn't guarantee the Map Room, Hop Leaf, or West Lakeview Liquors would have New Belgium. They tend to only stock the top of the line, and I'm not sure NB has the prerequisite cache. All three have easily googleable web sites which list what they've got, though, so if you're curious you should be able to find out.

Sam's or Binny's however, will definitely have every New Belgium beer currently being distributed to Chicago.

When in doubt: Beeradvocate.
posted by tsmo at 11:44 PM on March 13

Lots of posts to tell you where to look for New Belgium, so instead I'll post to say this: many (if not most) offerings from Chicago's own Goose Island are as good (if not better) than Fat Tire and the like.
posted by paisley henosis at 9:45 PM on March 14

Thanks for all the answers, I found it at the nearest Jewel. Thanks for all the suggestions, I will be trying out some new beers and some bars mentioned in the post.

Thanks for being so helpful MeFi, this was my first question :)
posted by KebertXela at 7:39 PM on March 19