Chicago’s south side isn’t exactly short on breweries, but they’re a lot sparser than they are up north. Just a year ago there wasn’t a single taproom in Pilsen, a problem that Moody Tongue remedied last fall by opening a tasting room. It’s not exactly a casual place to grab a pint, though: the stunning space, with its hand-blown Austrian glassware and limited food menu (oysters and giant slices of chocolate cake), can be a little much for a Monday. In the last few months, though, two new spots have opened within a mile of Moody Tongue: first Alulu, a brewpub near Ashland and Cermak, and then Lo Rez, a brewery that’s been making beer since last fall but just opened its taproom in June.
Lo Rez doesn’t do beer flights—full pours only—and it doesn’t have a kitchen, though there are a few snacks for sale, and you can order or bring food in. It’s an inviting, no-frills place to have a good beer (there wasn’t a dud in the bunch I tried). If you want a meal and maybe a cocktail or two, head up the street to Alulu. If it’s oysters and culinary-inspired brews you’re after, Moody Tongue is right around the corner. In Pilsen these days, you have options. v
