Famous Wine and Spirits

Finally got a chance to hit up our favorite place to score some brews while in school. I remember this place being nicer inside, seems kind of dumpy now. Nice selection of brews and prices were very good. There were a few things noticeably cheaper than Binnys. Sentimental factor gives this a higher overall rating.

A nice singles selection, and a very good selection of craft beers overall. With the Chicago area lacking places that offer singles, Famous stands out as one of the better beer stores in the area.

Quality: Good. Everything seems to be pretty new, and they definitely turn over the build a sixpack inventory pretty quickly, so I don’t really worry about freshness there. Service: I’ve never really had anyone come up to me and ask if I needed help, which I don’t have too much of a problem with. The problem is that the way the store is set up, the guys stocking the place are constantly coming right through the craft aisle (which is quite narrow) with carts full of cases of BMC and the like--gets to be kind of a pain. Selection: This place has always got plenty of local six packs as well as pretty good stuff from around the country. This is especially with regard American crafts. The Beglian selection is a little weak, although they do have a few nice items. What I really like is the constantly well-stocked inventory for building a six pack, or just buying a single bottle or two. Nothing like stopping a couple days a week and deciding which bottle or two you want to try that night. Value: Prices are quite reasonable. This is by far the cheapest place to buy Rochefort around here that I have found ($5, $5, and $6 for 6, 8, and 10, respectively).

UNLIKE BINNY’S(ge & dg), YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT SELECTION OF SINGLES HERE. AMBIENCE IS NEGLIGIBLE! AMBIENCE DOESN’T HELP ME SELECT BEER. THE PLACE IS CLEAN AND BEER IS ON A SHELF OR IN COOLERS. SELECTION IS ON PAR WITH BINNY’S + OR-. BEST OF ALL, IT’S CLOSE TO THE CASA!! SERVICE IS THERE IF YOU NEED IT.

I had a later afternoon flight out, and a meeting on this side of town and wanted to visit Lunar brewing. To kill time, I hit a few of the local bottle shops listed in the area. Big space in a strip mall. Big selection, both in coolers and on racks. Focus is mostly on domestic craft - they had some labels I hadn’t seen at other stores (Southern Star was the one I remember). Import selection wasn’t great, though had a bunch of obscure countries is that’s your thing. They singled out a ton of beers, though prices seemed a bit inflated on those. Overall, cool store, well worth the visit if you are in the area. They had a nice fine food / deli selection as well.

76 = ★★★ (Worth the visit, must for locals, and visitors with time)

I only use the total score, not the component parts.

Very nice selection of singles and bombers. They got about everything you can get in the area. Wonderful selection of single priced bottles for the avid rater.

Unpretentious place with an excellent selection of beers. Much easier to get out of the parking lot since they added another exit.

Was looking for an older Two Bros and they had it and held on to it for me. A decent selection of brews. Great customer service.

I’ve been living within 3 miles of this place for 15 months and never really thought to go in there, partly because I don’t go by it that much. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. The selection and commitment to beer is better than at the Forest Park location. The beer selection is also better than the Binny’s Glen Ellyn, which is where I usually go. The beer to wine space ratio is about 40-60 versus about 25-75 at Binny’s. One pleasant surprise was finding the Mikkeller Beer Geek breakfast which I hadn’t previously seen anywhere in the Chicago market (or any market for that matter). They have some different stuff like mini-kegs of Baltika 7 and the new Sam Adams Imperial Pils. They also have a make-your-own 6 pack section, which is limited but has quality beers unlike most stores looking to get rid of their crap. Of my 4 go-to West Suburb beer stores: Binny’s Glen Ellyn, Sam’s Downers, Sal’s Beverage World Elmhurst and now Famous, I like the beer selection at Famous the best and will be frequenting it more often.

Grew up right down the road from this place and have since stopped in on return trips to the area. Decent selection of regional micros including Bells, GI special reserve, and others. Nothing amazing, bud did find some good singles that I have never seen on the East Coast