Revolution Brewing – Kedzie Brewery

Great beer and a fun vibe. Great for a Sunday Fun-​day.

Nice place with all your favorite Revolution beers on tap. Food is pretty good. Not a fan of their wings, but the bacon fat popcorn is awesome!

Surprising I’ve never reviewed this place considering I’ve been a ton of times. This brewery is a cool place to have a beer. During the week, especially shortly after opening, the brewery isn’t too packed so it’s easy to get a table or a seat at the bar and some good attention from the bartender. There’s pool tables, that weird game with sand and hockey-​puck-​like things, and couches and other places for lounging.
There’s no food here, but they are totally cool with you bringing in your own or ordering it and having it delivered, so you’re always welcome to eat when you need to (which is always recommended since you’re probably imbibing large amounts of beer).
They host a lot of events which are pretty freaking cool. Their annual holiday craft show is a lot of fun and there’s always awesome stuff available for purchase. Plus you can drink beer while you shop.
Plenty of parking available on Kedzie and you’re close-​ish to the Logan Square Blue Line stop or Belmont bus if you need to public it.

This place is pretty cool. You can go on a free tour and get some free beers and they have a ton of stuff on tap. My only complaint is that there is no real food. I’ve been here twice and sometimes they have popcorn out but I need some real food with my beer.
This place is a total ‘yes’ if you want to go on a tour and get some drinks beforehand and then go somewhere else to eat. Plus their tour guides are really fun and funny.

I don’t know, man. The people are great. The beer is flowing. The tour is FREE. Plus, free beer on the tour. Oh and free POPCORN. Need I say more?
Just go. You can get drunk and learn something simultaneously. Where else can you do that?

A godsend for the neighborhood, there aren’t many quality beer establishments in Avondale.
Great place to bring food and meet up with a group. After tours expect to wait a bit though, it gets temporarily crowded but usually thins out soon after. Free popcorn and shuffleboard. Bike parking indoors, chainlink fence inside if you need to lock up. Staff is extremely quick and will answer questions readily if you have them. Friendly and accommodating bartenders, i’ve seen them be very patient with even the most novice of beer drinkers. Get a few tasters to try a range of beer styles, they rotate quite a few here.
Lately there’s been an influx of large after-​work groups and young 20-​somethings, which makes sense since there’s a lot of space here. Otherwise it’s a pretty diverse crowd, which reflects the area.
Josh M, lay off the crack dude. 4 oz. tasters start at $ 2. Tours are free. So ya missed one on a Saturday, BFD. No need to whine incessantly about «beer snobs», because there aren’t any behind the bar. Please never come back here, the regulars thank you.

Here’s the thing about beer snobs… they’re snobs and annoying and turn people off from beer and most of the time are ridiculous and have no place in my world or beer loving and… ok, Im gonna breath now.
I like beer, a ton. I mean, when I gain weight its because Im floating in beer heaven (most of the time). I know a thing or three about beer. I dont brag. I usually just have one in my hand that I am enjoying or, I can tell you why I dont enjoy it.
That brings me to my review of Revolution Brewing — Kedzie Brewery.
The Space — What can I say? The space is the only reason this place gets 1 star. Its awesome. Large open area in the front with a bar shuffleboard table. There are some standing tables as well as some bar stools that make it work for groups, and there are a ton of groups here… You can see the oak barrels on display. You can also see where the tours go down (more on that later).
The beer — the beer is good. Im not the biggest Revolution fan but I can drink it.
Price — This is where this place starts to really lose me (and then loses me completely, more on that later). This is a brewery right? I mean, your intention is to get the word out about your beer and get people in here to drink and have a good time right? Why in the world are you beers 7 and 8 bucks? I dont get it. Why not knock it down so people will try a couple? The only thing I could figure is that you dont want young kids in here getting rowdy? Instead the «older kids» do?
Tour– This is where this place loses me even further. I dont understand why you cant sign up for a tour ahead of time so you know you have a spot? We arrived on Saturday around 145 and the first tour was full. The next tour wasnt until 4pm. Again, I love beer and I love hanging out but I kinda just wanted to see the brewery and get the hell on. Its not like this place is anywhere near to anything else. So, once you’re there, you’re drinking $ 8 beers and waiting…
Staff– are the reason I will not go back nor drink revolution beer anymore. Reverting to my beer snob diatribe… why does it appear the entire staff are snobby, annoyed, pissed, surely beer snobs? Just doesnt make sense. At all. I understand you must hear some really annoying questions about the beer. I can imagine you get a ton of ladies asking for the «lightest thing you have». I bet the bros order the «IPA». Im sure its annoying. BUT YO! YOU ARE BARTENDER IN A BREWERY! You are selling and promoting beer that someone who trusts you to be the representation of their life’s work and GET THIS, YOU MAKE MONEY FOR IT. Put a smile on. Answer questions. Be approachable. Represent the brand… Otherwise, move to another place where beers snobs hang with beer snobs and make this a better place…
The end of this review goes like this. We took our cards to wait for the tour which was 2 hours away. We stood at the bar for about 30 minutes drinking our beer. We were greatly insulted and completely put off by at least 3 staff members. Finally, an excited couple walked up in hopes of a tour ticket. They were told by a very surly beer snob staff member that there were no more and he walked away. Oh, I beg to differ beer snob bartender… they can go instead of us… and we «gifted’ our entry to the nice couple.
The end…

Chicago made craft brews in a warehouse, fantastic. Revolution brewery is great beer and a Chicago staple. This is their taproom where they offer free tours and cheap fresh pours. They have all of their brews, which is great. The only thing that stinks about the tours is that they fill up super fast and only allow 30 people per tour. I mean, this isn’t a complaint, considering that it’s free. This time, the wife and I got there a little later than we were expecting and were unable to catch any of the tours. We just got drunk instead.

I have a love/​hate relationship with Revolution and it’s very personal. I grew up in Logan Square in Chicago. The site of the original tap room on Milwaukee Ave used to be our neighborhood newspaper. They still have some of the original printing presses downstairs
.
I suppose this is where I could get on my gentrification soap box and tell you what they did to this working class neighborhood/area…but I won’t. I’ll sum it up by saying that these are supposed to be beers for the working man… but the blue collar working man can’t afford them. This neighborhood had dive bars NOT breweries.
The space is big and beautiful with a great industrial feel. It can accommodate MANY. Plenty of tables and standing room. They have games, a photo booth and merch galore. It’s a great place to bring out-​of-​towners. Parking sucks but for the bikies it’s dandy!
With all that being said… the beers are very good (Bottoms Up Wit, Anti Hero, Mosaic Hero, etc) and if you don’t have your feelings invested in the area are are one of the MANY transplants (and a hipster) then this is the place for you. CHEERS!

I am having a hard time deciding between 3 and 4 stars. Some aspects of the brewery such as the tour and atmosphere are probably worth four stars since I really enjoyed myself while I was there. Of the nine different beers that I tried there were some that disappointed me and since they are a brewery that could drop them down to three. I think that part of the problem is that a couple beers that I expected to enjoy were the ones that let me down. I won’t cover all the beers but I’ll talk about the ones that I remember best.
My favorite beer was the Chicago Common because it was well balanced and tasted good. It was an easy drinking beer that still had plenty of flavor and convinced me to switch from tasting size to pint and would be a great anytime or everyday beer. I also enjoyed the Bottom Up Wit which was a good version of a Belgian wheat and The Whip which is a wheat IPA. The Citra Hero was also a good IPA and enjoyable beer. Rosa, the hibiscus ale, was okay but the hibiscus flavor was of course noticeable and added a non-​hoppy bitterness that I wasn’t a big fan of. The beer that surprised me and not for a good reason was the Riot pilsner because I normally like pilsner but this one is quite sweet (really just way too sweet for a pilsner) and did not make me think of any pilsner I have tasted before. I also found the Two Barrel Billy barrel-​aged scotch ale too be way too heavy for me. Maybe the style is just not for me but it was just so sweet and overpowering that it was hard to drink. This is definitely a slow sipping beer.
The tour gave a nice opportunity to see the production facility which was a lot larger than many of the other craft breweries I have toured. A free full beer was provided during the tour which is awesome! The tour guide was very informative but his attitude made you feel like he really didn’t want to be giving us the tour. He even announced at the beginning that it usually lasts 45 minutes but he wanted to finish in a half hour. I understand that he probably has to often deal with drunk people on the tour (especially since they recommend you show up early and drink before the tour) but that doesn’t mean that everybody is and I felt that he treated the group as if we were all drunk or children. However, I did enjoy the tour and would still recommend it to other visitors.
The taproom is nice and big since it’s essentially just part of a warehouse. There is free popcorn! On one side of the room are all the barrels full of aging beer which is neat to see. The bar itself is huge and can seat many people and the rest of the seating is beer hall style seating. There is also one of the nicest shuffleboard tables that I have ever seen which is great since I enjoy playing. We had great time before and after the tour hanging out with people that we met in the taproom.

It is ridiculously appropriate that the honor of my 500^th review would go to a kick-​ass brewery. In honor of the occasion, I present to you my Top 5 things I love about the Kedzie Brewery:
1. Location. Generally pretty easy to park; bike, car, or otherwise.
2. Beer. Duh, Give me any variation of a Eugene & I’m a happy camper. And the prices are excellent, to boot.
3. BYOFood. Sure, you could order pizza & wait 45 minutes for them to bring it to you. Or, you could walk 10 min east on Roscoe & get some delicious HBFChicken & bring it in yourself.
4. Ambiance. I freakin’ love how huge this place is, the giant American flag, the plentiful places to sit/​stand/​eat your BYOF & drink their delicious beers.
5. Music. I’m pretty sure they steal their playlists from my Limewire files circa 2002 (not that I had any of those).
We still haven’t had a chance to take the tour, but that’s on my to-​do list. It should be on yours, too.

We took my dad here for Fathers Day and it was the perfect outing.
Free Beer Tour + Free Beer on the Tour + Cheap Revolution Beer = Awesome Time!
They workers here are very knowledgeable and friendly and their beer is great. They have a very nice setup and beautiful brewery that they will soon be expanding.
When you get here sign up for the free tour and while you wait enjoy some fresh craft brews while you play shuffleboard.

Revolution is forcing my 5-​stars.
Without getting too detailed here (as I am wont to do), let’s go over why this place is a great way to spend a Saturday:
1. Free beer tour, with free beer. Yes, you read that right. Not only was the Revolution tour probably the best brewery tour I’ve been on in terms of my interest in the information they are sharing, it’s also the cheapest (free), and it also gave me a free beer. Literally what more do you want. Tours are at 3, 4, 5, and 6 pm on Saturdays, and on other days but I don’t know the times.
2. Cheap beer. Ok, so maybe you didn’t get on a tour. Well, sucks for you that you didn’t get to learn about beer, but that’s really all that sucks, because now you can just pretend you came for a tasting. Most beers are available as samples for $ 2, and the beers range from $ 4-​$ 8 in price which is incredibly reasonable. Get drunk with your friends.
3. BYOF. I love that BYOB and BYOF are such institutions in Chicago. Sure, Revolution doesn’t serve food here — but do you really want them to, when you could order Chinese takeout, pizza, Chipotle, or some other delicious vice right to the door? Why wish for limited options?! Come here for dinner! — just make sure that you brought it with you. I’d also imagine this would be a great event space. Get them to host a private tour, and have someone else cater it.
The great thing about Revolution is that it is actually good. When I first tried Anti-​Hero, I was not a fan, and am still not when it comes to that particular beer; but most of the other Revolution offerings are so much better! Fist City is one of my favorite beers, in general, of all time, say what you will about my tastes. Revolution Rosa is so summery. A Little Crazy was totally wonderful on the tour.
Revolution is so Chicago, but I want them to distribute and be amazing so that I can have their beer wherever I am in the US.

This is a very cool space — wide open with an urban warehouse feel. The afternoon we were visiting, there was a food truck parked outside which was a very welcome addition since they don’t serve food and it’s easy to spend some time hanging out here. They do have one shuffleboard table that you can use while waiting.
We did take the tour and it was interesting to hear how fast they have grown and where they hope to be in the near future. It’s a shame that they don’t take reservations for their tours, but I’m sure it works out in their favor because the longer you sit around and wait for your tour, the more beer you drink!
I’m not a beer drinker, but hubby and the kids seemed happy with some of the ones that they tried.

I had a perfect Saturday at Rev’s tap room. Note that this location is different than their brewpub on Milwaukee. This is where they brew, can, and bottle their beer. This is their tour facility and pretty much a huge open space for a bunch of tipsy people to enjoy good brews and each other’s company.
We wanted to go to the 3:00 complimentary tour on Saturday. We showed up at 1:45 because we thought we would get a beer or two in before the tour started. I’m sure glad we showed up when we did because we got the last two tickets for the 3:00 tour. The tour itself is free which is awesome. My husband and I appreciated this tour more than others we had been on because the tour guide assumed a basic knowledge of the brewing process. For example, she didn’t go over the four ingredients of beer and show pictures and plant examples of it for us to all pass around. She got into the nitty gritty information and it was very interesting! When you start the tour you get a full size beer and safety googles to wear throughout your walk.
They don’t serve food but they have 10 or so of their beers on tap. You can also get samples of each kind for $ 2-​$ 4 per sample. Full size beers were $ 6-​$ 8. This was a great Saturday and made me love Revolution even more…

This space is huge, and has plenty of seating, free popcorn, AMERICA décor, and a big ol’ bar area.
The beer was tasty and not too pricey for craft beer. I tried the bottom up wit because I usually like citrusy-​wheat beers, but my favorite was actually my husband’s choice, the Gentleman’s Reserve.
I loved the free brewery tour too! Free beer, beer trivia, sweet looking goggles… all around good time. Props to our tour guide for tirelessly trying to teach us about the brewery while people were selfie-​ing and chatting. Like herding cats, but he did a good job and I learned a ton :)
Great place to spend a weekend afternoon/​evening.

This is an awesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Or any afternoon! Free 40 minute brewery tour with free beer and fun facts!
The tours max out at 30 people, so you may want to show up early to nab a ticket. But this is no issue, because the tap room is a great place to hang out while waiting! Most of their beers go for $ 5 – 6 dollars per pint, or $ 2 for a 2 oz. sampler. My personal favorites were the Eugene Porter & bottom-​Up Wit, but the IPAs are solid too.
Overall, the experience is delicious and relaxing. It’s a shame they haven’t expanded much outside of Illinois, but if Revolution Brewing starts distributing to other states, I’ll be waiting.

My friends and I came here on a Saturday afternoon (St Patrick’s Day weekend) hoping to make the first (3:00) tour. We arrived at around 2:15 and told the tour was already sold out. Tours have a 30 person capacity, and you can get tickets at the bar. We decided to just skip the tour, grab a beer and hang out… the atmosphere in this place is great!
I mean, if you’ve done one brewery tour, you’ve done them all… water, hops, yeast, blah blah blah… so I was fine just hanging out at this place. They seemed to be playing an entire AC/​DC album — also, very cool.
Beers run around $ 5…they have them all on tap, they also sell Revolution swag… t-​shirts, coozies, pins, etc.
I also loved that they had a photobooth — so fun!!!
I will definitely be coming back here again!

We got a chance to check out the Brew Tour today and see what goes on behind the scenes at Revolution. I learned that this Brewery is expanding alot, so perhaps we will see it distributed outside of 3 cities. Also, they are going to be releasing a lot of beers from barrels so that is something to look forward to in January.
We came on a Sunday and was really surprised to see how chill it was at the Tap Room. They were playing some great tunes so we had a great Sunday vibe! Plus, we got our Bean Gene fix on.

Fun fun place for a brewery tour! Get there early since a lot of people wait in line and the ‘tickets’ for the tours are given out fast. It’s a free tour and it occurs for 4, 5, 6 o’clock. We went early but didn’t make it in time to grab the earlier tour schedule.
You get to see the brewery, hear a few fun facts on how Revolution started and also, you get a free beer upon entry (Eugene Porter). If you happen to be in Logan Square, I also recommend checking our their restaurant. I’ve been there and it was delicious and fun to check out. Loved this tour!