Tuesday 25th of February 2014 02:02:06 PM

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November 2017:
Neglected to post an update, but the new location has been open for a few months now. There is an ever rotating assortment of interesting draft beers in the new Taproom, updated by live stream on their website. Prices on some drafts can be high, but there's always super fresh SNPA pints for $4 and Hamms cans for $2. The variety is eclectic and hand picked. A dedicated tap for wild/sour ales and a rotating Scratch Brewing handle. Rotating cask ale. On any given day, you might see unblended lambic, the latest hazebro juice, and a barrel aged rarity all on tap at once. They also serve coffee and Transient sodas that rotate. A few interesting whiskeys as well. The room is triangular, with an entrance on Elston and one from the old parking lot. A few sparse custom neons hang on the wall from Scratch, Marz, and Omnipollo. The old beer tray collection is displayed high on the wall, with a few small shelves of trophy bottles. You can bring in food, there are plenty of great places right nearby. Traspasada, Dmen Tap, Cafe Tola, Pisolino, Bel Bar, and others.

The new shop is wall-to-wall beer, they eliminated the extra floor space from the old shop and packed in a walk-in cooler and floor to ceiling shelves in back. Lots of interesting handpicked selections, with new daily arrivals on the front counter. Service is quick and helpful.

A destination beer stop for anyone visiting or local. I pass by here every day, so it's hard not to stop in and see what's new. Metropolitan's new taproom nearby makes a good 1-2 stop as well.

January 2013:
The Beer Temple just opened in Avondale, and it's exactly what the neighborhood needed.
For some reason this part of town has been lacking a good beer store, but not anymore...

From the second you walk in, attention to detail is clearly important here. All beer is marked with a received/bottled on/best by date. Front windows are UV-film coated to protect from sunlight, also something rarely seen in retail stores. You won't find another store in Chicago as devoted to fresh beer. Sure, Binnys is bigger but it also can be a beer graveyard.

Service is absolutely top notch... they host free daily tastings (in stemmed glassware no less) and the owners are full of endless beer (and wine) knowledge. On opening day they had some extremely hard to find beers from their personal stash open for tasting. Pricing is very fair and competitive, a refreshing change from other gouge-happy shops around town. It's clear the owners are a part of the craft beer community, they are extremely invested and put their heart and soul into it.

The selection is well-curated. A broad mix of American craft and imports populate the shelves. Currently there are two large islands in the middle of the store, two wall shelving areas, and a long cooler past the counter (2 coolers now, mid-2013). The store is super clean and easy to navigate, and the counter is even custom-made from Bourbon County barrels.

On opening day there were plenty of interesting things to be had: Pipeworks Coffee Break Abduction, Deschutes Hop Henge IPA, Goose Island Big John and BCS Coffee, 50/50 Eclipse varieties, and many more. A well rounded selection with full lines from US brewers like Founders, Victory, DFH, Stone, Ommegang, Jolly Pumpkin, GLBC, Sixpoint, Port, Lost Abbey, O'so, Dark Horse, Central Waters, Metropolitan (only 1-2 weeks old), and more from Pipeworks, FFF, Rev, Green Flash, Firestone Walker, Deschutes, etc.

Great selection of Belgian imports including traditional lambics and Flemish ales (Rodenbach x3, Lambickx, Timmermans Oude Gueuze, Tilquin, Drie Fonteinen, Oud Beersel, Girardin), Trappist styles (Orval, Achel, Rochefort, La Trappe, St. Bernardus), several obscure Saisons like Cazeau, Pipaix, Feullien, Fantome, Perennial Saison De Lis, and Avec Le Bon Voux. Scandinavian, British, and German beers on the back island and in the coolers, including varieties of JW Lee's Harvest and Ola Dubh. Tried & true German staples like Ayinger, Weihenstephaner, and 1809 at peak freshness. Brand new imports from To Øl, Evil Twin, and Haandbryggeriet.

They are in the process of expanding the selection all the time, huge potential here... I'll be checking back regularly to see what's new and fresh on the shelves.