Moonshine

No Longer In Business

this place used to make beer now they dont. I went here shortly before they stopped. at that point it was borderline on whether one should visit. now, definitely not. its basically a hook up spot for suburbanites that come to Wicker Park on weekends.

Visited 8/1/2010.

Had most of a day to kill so I stopped in here and had lunch and sampled the beers. It’s a bit of a haul from the north end of Chicago by bus but I got to see a lot of the city.

I had no trouble getting a table and some service. I was seated by myself at a large booth. I ordered a burger that was way too much for me to eat and some good fries. I ended up taking some of the food to go.

The beer was all in the mediocre to decent range. The best was the Second City Irish Stout and the worst was Dizzy Blonde.

If I go back it’ll be for the food.

Beers aren’t anything to write home about. Potato soup was solid. Decent atmosphere but not excellent.

Ambiance has more of a bar feel to it. Food was quite good. A combination of brewery beers and guest taps that were unremarkable. Service can be quite slow at times. Prices are reasonable.

Local brew pub. Was taken here by a colleague who said, "if you like beer, you need to try my local - it’s the best!" So I was a little underwhelmed. I like to support the local guys and I would go back if I was in the area, but I wouldn’t go way out of my way.

Checked this place out on a busy saturday night. Sat at the sidewalk patio which is one of the biggest I’ve seen in the city. That night was packed! this place did not seem like a brewpub, I bet 80% of the people there didn’t know this was a brewpub (seeing that hardly anyone was drinking beer). Service was good, was checked up on several times. $4 pints of there house brew was on the special menu that night, great deal. We did not have a large meal there just the cheese and meat sample tray (which was not all that great). I think this place has potential but tends to be more of a party/club bar scene. Great location, large patio, variety of drinks and beers, even the guest beers were pretty decent but the overall place lacks that brewpub look, feel and ambiance. Still I’d go back!

The pub is really nice, on Division St., with a sidewalk terrace and a large dining room. Limited menu of burgers, sandwich, and all day breakfast menu. Had the chicken fried steak....wasnt too impressed with the food. Out of the 6 beers, 3 were solid whereas the others were problematic. 6 large samples for 12$. One thing that displeased me was that the beers were served without any indications of what they were, had to get the barkeep to figure that....come on guys!

May 2010. Relatively on a Friday night, this place had a decent vibe. But I’d never beg it as a brewpub. This had more the feel of a "regular old bar", but they bartender knew his beer (well disguised offerings) and they were actually pretty good too. Worth a stop for the beer geeks. Brewery #510.

stopped in on a saturday morning at open (10am) for breakfast/brunch. came with my dad and we informed the girl at the podium that we were expecting 2 more family members. she said she wasnt supposed to seat us until all arrived and i said no problem as they would be here shortly. she said no problem and seated us anyways. good start. service was impeccable as despite a dining room at least half full we had 2 busboys to constantly fill water and remove dishes and garbage. we had a waiter and even a stunningly beautiful girl who returned again and again just to check on us. we sampled some guacamole and chips (chips were very fresh and clearly house made) and the salsa and roasted chilies on the side were excellent, we asked for more with our meal and they obliged. sampled 3 beers, one of which exhibited a flaw, the other 2 were definately above average (even the flawed underdog IPA showed great signs and may have just been an infected batch). crowd was quiet and the room felt very comfortable which for me was the most important. total bill for 4 meals, an app, 4 beers and 2 more drinks was under $90. sounds fair to me. ill be back with my piece growler in tow each time for a sidetrip on the way back.

This is a restaurant/bar in Chicago. They had four of their own beers on draft as well as about ten other guest taps. Their Imperial IPA was decent but not great. Same with the food and service. Due to the huge amount of different places in Chicago, I will probably not visit here again.