Friday 4th of June 2010 04:43:46 PM

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Stopped in last sunday...plenty of folks in attendance, sox on the tv. Blonde doppelbock on tap, also Lunar Eclipse, ESB, Moondance IPA. Highlights on tap were Hop Stoopid, Allagash Four, and Surly. Plenty to choose from, they have a well rounded selection, and friendly people tend to hang out here.

Original review 12-03-2007:

My trips here have only been on sunday afternoons, i'd imagine it's more lively on a night they have live music. It's dark with wood paneling, lots of craft beer signage, framed labels, and a nice bar with wooden cabinets. Bathrooms are relatively clean for such a divey place. Parking in the rear which is a plus. Random moon-related knick-knacks adorn the walls behind the bar. It's homey, with a dark, worn-in feeling. Feels like an old man bar revamped and outfitted with a brewpub.

House beers are always interesting and seasonally rotated. Guest taps focus on US craft with some quality imports thrown in. Last time I got myself into trouble with the Goose IIPA...any BAs present may recall this. This visit was more respectable, and I finally tried their mango-infused ale, which was great. They do some creative brewing with fruit here, hope to try their Oud Bruin with whole cherries someday. Bartender was really friendly and offered tastes of the house offerings.

Make a point to stop here if you live in Chicago, or are travelling through the western burbs. I've walked here from the nearest Metra stop, which isn't too far. Bring food with you if you're hungry. In the area i'd recommend BBQ/Mexican from Rosticeria los Fernandez in Elmhurst, next door to Corner Cottage.

Thursday 5th of November 2009 10:32:12 AM

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This is my neighborhood bar. My wife and I know the bartenders and all the regulars. Anytime we go on a trip anywhere we always consult Beermapping before we go. Of all the places we have been to this is by far our first choice. The beers are always good, they do rotate beers by seasons.

They don't really have a food selection there but you can always order from a nearby place and have it delivered there. Ask the bartender for some menus of local places, don't let a lack of food deter you from going!

Saturday nights there is usually a band, which is what I think is the low point of the place. It isn't a very big area so bands tend to get loud. Any other day of the week it is a great place to be.

As far as parking goes, the lot isn't the biggest, but when it fills up we park on the street (Illinois). At night there is also a parking lot just across the street (Illinois) for some buisneses.

I would absolutely recommend Lunar, we take friends there often. Bartenders are usually amusing, they know their beer(some more than others).

Wednesday 14th of October 2009 01:53:09 PM

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I stopped by mid day on Tuesday just to sample a couple of their brews and ended up staying into the evening. They dont have a sampler flight, but dont worry every beer you taste there will be great. A self proclaimed "beer snob" :) the bartender shared many tips and facts about this brewpub and others in and around the area. Though he was not the main brewer here at Lunar he was a wealth of knowledge on all people places and things beer. Thier IPA is their most popular and for good reason, its deeee-licous, the jumping Cow Cream Ale also stands out as one of their best. They also have a few guest taps and great selection of the latest bottled brews form near and far. The oak bar back itself was transposrted from a bar from neighboring Elmhusrt and gives the place the feel of the old school chicago hang out. Dont look to eat more than a snkc or a frozen pizza here though, as the kitchen was converted into a brewery some time ago. A true beer lovers must!

Saturday 4th of July 2009 10:28:43 AM

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I had been meaning to visit Lunar Brewing for a couple of years now and I have finally made it. I had avoided it because they do not serve food, but this time I made sure to stop for food (and a beer) in advance.

Lunar Brewing is the kind of bar I wish I had in my neighborhood. It is not corporate looking at all. It sits in an unassuming old brick building with a single sign on it. I had no trouble finding it based on the address. I parked in the small lot in the back of the building. I don't know how that would work out if they had been really busy.

Stepping inside you are treated to a classic long bar on the left and a few rickety tables along the wall on the right. The place was pretty dead because I like to drink in the afternoon, so there was plenty of seating to choose from. I chose the bar of course.
The place wasn't covered in TVs either, which is a good thing.

The bartender nudged the list of Lunar and guest taps in my direction.

I started with the Space Cadet Stout by Lunar Brewing. It was different than I expected and my first impression was that I didn't like it. The subtle hint of cherry was unusual. Luckily after a few more sips it started to grow on me and I was really glad I stuck with it.

My wife had a Lunar double IPA that I cannot remember the name of. It was very good and I took quite a few samples from her glass.

As the day progressed we worked our way through several other beers by Lunar and others. The selection is impressive and we enjoyed everything.

The bartender was friendly and honest about the beer. I liked that he could be himself without worrying about some corporate behavior policy.

Overall, I like the beer and the atmosphere of Lunar Brewing. I wish they served food (besides frozen pizza) so that I could make this a destination. It is too far from my house to just "stop by", but that is my problem, not theirs. I will definitely try to make it back to this hidden gem of a bar.

Sunday 16th of November 2008 09:36:41 PM

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it was an okay experience. I am not a type of person who like a crowded bar, I would not visit on a Friday or Saturday, but glad they can bring in the "partiers" to support the bar. Go on a week night and talk to the bartenders and you'll have a blast. Highly recommend the beers they make. Some good brews there. Plus when I went they had Lidemens on tap which my girlfriend liked alot. Good bar, good people work there just a little packed on the weekend nights.

Monday 28th of July 2008 09:30:43 PM

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Lunar Brwg. is a west suburban Chicago beer bar which underwent an upgrade. It began brewing its own beers. It is a hybrid similar to Piece in that it has its brews alongside some guest taps. It also has a spectrum of bottled beers, including the seldom-glimpsed Little Kings Cream Ale [a 7-oz. bottle for $1.50]. But it differentiates from Piece in that it is not a restaurant. You should eat somewhere else before landing here. (There are choices along St. Charles Rd.)
There are six Lunar beers on tap. I was here for the first time back in February on the Urban Knaves of Grain's train crawl. We had only an hour before going on to the next venue, so I had only one of its beers. I also believe I didn't absorb enough of the bar's aura to review it.
The venue has a mixture of breweriana, and upcoming bands' promo posters. (The venue hosts music acts regularly.) There are two televisions. It appeared to me that it subscribes to Comcast Cable TV (only).

Raspberry Cream Ale = Medium amber, cloudy. The hop tang challenges the raspberries. The raspberries finally prevail as the ale reaches room temperature.
Michael Collins Ale = This was Lunar's effort for the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild's 'Replicale'. It concocted a Blonde "Belgian" Ale. Yellow, cloudy, a biscuit tang and aroma. Nice. But I do not like this style. YMMV.
Total Eclipse Stout [Nitrogen pour] = Black, opaque. Rich roasted malt flavor consists throughout. Creamy mouthfeel. Yum. I like this.
156 Full Moon Illuminator = Somebody else will have to inform me of the significance of '156'. Yellow, cloudy, hoppy. Biscuit tang present. Higher alcohols evident. But this is described as a "Blonde Doppelbock". Bending the style guidelines is one thing, and U.S.A. craft brewers have been doing that for quite some time, but I respectfully offer that this is actually a Belgian Tripel.
As I am about to tell you; it is slightly tricky to get from the city to here without driving. But you should make the effort. Lunar brews rewarding beers which deserve your award.

Transit options: You have two choices. Either way, you will walk four blocks on a different route. The train route here is the Union Pacific West Line to Geneva and Elburn. Detrain at the Villa Park station. Go east two (short) blocks and then walk three blocks south. It is a side street. But it does have sidewalks. Trains run every 60 minutes weekdays and every 120 minutes on weekends. The last train back to Chicago is at 11:08 pm.
There is also a bus option. The Pace #313 St. Charles Rd. route runs between the Austin | Lake Green Line "L" station (and the Harlem Green Line "L" terminus) and the Yorktown Center shopping mall. But it doesn't run on this portion of St. Charles Rd. The bus turns south onto Villa Ave. to begin its stairstep approach to Yorktown. You need to exit at St. Charles & Villa [time checkpoint #6], and walk west on St. Charles Rd. for four blocks. Lunar Brwg. is on the northwest corner. The #313 runs seven days a week. It is on a 60 minute headway on weekends and on weeknights. The last bus back east is at 9:39 pm on weeknights, 6:38 pm on Saturday, and 6:07 pm on Sunday. This is one of the Pace routes which has the satellite television channel "Transit TV" playing on monitors in its buses.

Thursday 13th of December 2007 04:08:31 PM

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Good spot for a couple of brews. Lunar had quite a few unique IPAs on tap. The atmosphere had a neighborhood corner pub feel where everyone was a regular. They had a decent selection of Lunars own brews on tap. Definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of IPAs. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a low key relaxed atmosphere with a good selection of beers.

Friday 31st of August 2007 11:33:54 AM

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I'll try not repeat anyone's prior postings here, but I liked Lunar a great deal. They featured some distinctive, well-made beers on tap. I tried the four available and (to varying degrees) liked them all. I settled on the IPA; it's a slow drinker because of its bite, but that's the mark of a good IPA. My wife had the brown: also very good.
Beyond the house beer, Lunar has one of the best selection of guest taps that I've ever seen. I have never seen Lindeman's Framboise on tap. Ever. Rogue, Allagash, Old Rasputin... some classy company.

I did have a couple of critiques. Lunar is hard to see when you don't know what you're looking for. We brake-checked hard on St. Charles after almost going past it. Also, some bar snacks would be nice, especially when sampling or changing beers. (Nuts or pretzels or something) Also, the growlers are pricey ($16-18). We apparently missed out on the Oatmeal Stout as well, a big disappointment. Small batches of popular beer has its price however.

The staff were helpful and congenial. They were on the spot for refills, even chatting a bit about the guest tap selections. Granted, it wasn't busy, but we were well served. And as long as you aren't going into this place looking for a food menu or Rock-Bottom style brewhouse, you won't be let down. If anyone has been to Founder's in Grand Rapids, MI, it resembles an older, more lived in version of that style of brew-pub. For me, it was a perfectly shabby hometown joint; the lit-up TGI Fridays style brewpubs give me a bit of the willies.

On the whole, I really liked Lunar and plan on many happy returns for a good neighborhood bar with one of the best beer selections I've ever seen.

Monday 2nd of July 2007 09:42:54 PM

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I'm a regular, I know most of the people there on any given day, I'm biased. But the many beers they brew are rarely worse than mediocre -- I'd only put two or three in a "bad" category after three years of attendance-- and most are 3.75 and up. And they have interesting guest taps and great bottled choices... and make this work in what really is a corner bar with people drinking Captain Morgan and Coke or Bud Light. It's a dark bar, with two TVs and a great wood-and-chrome-and-glass cooler and tons of astronomical and beer paraphernalia. Six or seven of their own brews -- you'll usually find their IPA, kinda-sorta nitro charged stout, and a raspberry cream ale, plus a changing menu of others. Five or so guest taps. Great bottles, including certain brews that shouldn't be sold in Illinois. Cool bartenders, Charlie the owner, and a rotating cast of regulars. Music on Saturday nights, Open mike nights on certain Tuesdays, real actual darts, the occasional dog standing guard. Occasionally hugbee or redrover or me. Well, me once a week or so.

Try it once. You'll come back if there's a reason to come to the area. Shopping in Oakbrook? Classes nearby? Visiting relatives? Lunar calls.

Only reason service isn't a 5 is that the servers, while beer-savvy, aren't always beer-brewing-savvy. I myself don't care -- I don't need to see O.G./F.G readings -- but some might. Beer selection is a 5 to me, but won't be to folks who get to FFF or the Map Room or Hopleaf. Atmosphere is a 5 because I'm looking forward to a smoke-free IL, but it's as close to a 5 as you can get with smoke.

... and editing now that IL is smoke-free... Yay, no smoke, and yay, expanding the guest taps to about ten, and yay, now that I've been to more and more places in and around Chicago and Milwaukee, for their prices being less than most brewpubs.

Monday 4th of June 2007 07:53:46 PM

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I must say that re-reviewing places is a great reason to go back to them, but lunar makes it so worth my while... good lunar....

This place is a decent trifecta in the category of beer selection. You have their drafts, you have fairly decent guest drafts, and then you have a good selection of bottles so if that leaves you with nothing to drink, there's something wrong with you... Lunar's beers usally about 5-8 on at once, can be fairly tame with the special beers pushing but not breaking the alcohol envelope much... They had an esb which I find good, a scotch that is quite tasty, the ipa's okay but you're talking to a malt man, and the stout off nitro isn't too shabby...

although... the 11th anniversary was on today and it was awesome... 3 pints later and I was surly...

the atmosphere here is what sells me here, because it's one of those places you look at and don't expect it to sell the good beer. It's a townie bar.... and you walk in... to a dark 20ish person bar on the left with another 20ish people side seating on the right.... everything's that soft dark oxblood color and with the ambient lighting, it's good for conversation. The smoking's there and some nights it's noticeable, but some nights it's not... The lunar motif is great for the intoxicated beer drinker.... you can be sitting there and you'll look up and there's the moon winking at you... or the gargoyles surrounding the clock, or all that crazy stuff hanging from the ceiling... it's all right. The table area towards the back is ajacent to the stage where on some fridays and saturdays this place is known to rock with local bands that come in to play... One thing that goes a long way for me is the advent of the "real" dart boards... no electronic bs.... it's just the sweet reality of dartboards and chalkboards to keep score... bring your darts.

Long story short (too late) it's a great hang out spot that happens to make and sell a nice pint....

I always get good service here, so service gets high marks... I've also been going for 4ish years, so knowing the bartenders and having them ask what I want by name also helps...

if in the western burbs, lunar is your spot.... but the food factor is low (frozen pizza and other not so edible things...), so eat before you go....

Thursday 19th of April 2007 03:32:43 PM

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In Chicagoland this is a quick escape from the western suburbs. One of the best juke boxes and the bar tenders are not afraid to TURN IT UP! if you ask nicely. Talk with this brewpub's miller - Charlie and he can tell you the lay of the beerland and a good suggestion for which of the 5 to 8 handmade craft brews to try. Usually open 'till at least midnight but sometimes earlier but always a good time for a good cool down after work! Many of the best hard to find beers are available at Lunar Brewing Company either in bottle and sometimes ON TAP! Bar tends to be somewhat loud and smokey (which I like). Stop in on the first Tuesday of the month for rockin! or acoustic Live Music.

Thursday 29th of March 2007 05:24:15 PM

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While Lunar Brewing is not hidden on some side street or down some back alley, it still is able to make itself a bit harder to find for a traveler. On our first visit walking from the train station we asked people in stores that were less than a block away and they were unable to tell us where Lunar was! The street that Lunar is on changes from west to east very close to where Lunar is, so that might confuse people a bit as well if you are watching the street numbers.

But once you get to Lunar, you most likely will not be disappointed. The beers are usually fairly varied in styles and if you're not content to drink Lunar brewed beers they normally have a very nice selection of guest taps.

There is virtually no food here. They have frozen pizzas and gourmet chips for sale behind the bar. But other than that, don't expect to eat here.

The bar is long and deep. There is a good deal of stuff hanging on the wall that carries the "moon"/Lunar theme further. There are some high bar tables along the side windows and they have a couple or three lower tables and chairs in the back. There is a stage in the back for bands (I haven't seen any music here).

Overall, if I were in the area, I would make sure to stop here. Well worth the trip in my opinion. Lunar is about 4 or 5 blocks south from the Villa Park stop on the Metra - Union Pacific West Line. There is a parking lot behind the building.