Sunday 24th of July 2011 09:33:53 AM

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Great location, nice outdoor patio. Kid friendly dining area, although they can't sit at the bar so I can't bring the kids in for a rootbeer break.

They do a nice job of having a variety of beers on tap (including nitro and cask), and all the beers I have had have been nice and clean. Some of the beers aren't the best example of the style I have ever had, but I haven't been disappointed in anything either.

Definitely a nice place to stop and have a beer.

Friday 4th of June 2010 09:32:56 PM

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Tried the range of beers here, they had eight on today. The best were the Hefe and Smoked Porter. A highlight was the 2 cask ales.

Pub was dark inside with crimson walls, brick on one side with rows of classic framed albums. Several flatscreen tv's lined the wall, with a couple over the bar. There was a fenced in patio that faced a park on the main drag outside. More table seating was in the back. Service was quick and fairly friendly, they informed me that the Amber Ale was available in cans (12 packs to-go only for around $16), with a couple more to follow. Sampler was ok, there were only a couple beers worth writing home about. Hefe was #1, IPA was decent at #2, and Smoked Porter #3. The servers were loudly chatting about dietary supplements and weight loss at the bar...kinda got old after awhile.

The beer list had descriptions and technical info about the house beers which was nice. Growlers were in the $16-18 range, so I took a pass. Worth a look after hitting the Firkin (or before).

Thursday 28th of January 2010 04:12:47 PM

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This has a younger and more boisterous crowd then the nearby Firkin. As you walk in, the bar is in a room on your left and the large dinning area is on the right. The bar room is a bit narrow and get crowded, but it is a fun crowd. The dinning area has lots of large tables; it would be great for groups or families.

There is a bar and music room upstairs. Minor complaint, the white leather bar stools looks like something out of some 1960’s James Bond movie. We did see a band while we were there. It was fun and they keep the music at a tolerable level.

Our waitress was friendly and quick however she did not know anything about the beer. I asked her about the rye porter and she said she only drinks lite beer and hates anything dark. However, she is starting to like the wheat. At least are beers came quickly!

Speaking of beers, I enjoyed everything I tried. My personal favorites were the Fifth O'Rye Stout IPA. They have a pretty wide range of styles that they tackle and seem to do seasonals.

I did not try the food this time, but lots of folks go there to eat and I will do lunch or dinner here next time I’m in the neighborhood. This makes a nice one-two stop with the nearby Firkin.

Monday 12th of October 2009 06:29:59 PM

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We often hit up this place while going to pick up suppies at Perfect Brewing. They always have a couple ales on casks, typically their stout and pale ale. Both are good, I would certainly recommend ordering the stout on cask instead of draft. Last one I ordered on draft was so chewy/syrupy I couldn't finish it. The pale ale is also on nitro, which is interesting - they get a lot of mileage out of that one. They offer *a lot* of wheat style beers, yet no IPA (at least I've never seen one), which kinda sucks. Overall this place leaves me wanting more from their beer (more hops, more balance, more variation, etc.), but I'm glad it's there. Hey, they have fried pickles, +1 on that!

Wednesday 4th of June 2008 03:42:44 AM

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Mickey Finn's is another of the "first wave" of brewpubs which hit metropolitan Chicago in the mid-1990s. It has had its peaks and valleys (or do you prefer "teething pains"?), but seems to be settling into a solid groove [it *is* a music venue also] with its beers and entrees.
I was there on the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend on the Metra Weekend Pass [c.v.], and over the course of a few hours, had all of its beers, including a cask-conditioned ale not listed on the menu. (Ask if it has a cask beer.)
847 Suburban Wheat Ale = Hmmm. I wonder from where it got the inspiration for this beer's name? This was a pale gold, filtered, clear wheat beer. It had a mild wheat flavor. This was nice. [Served without a lemon.]
Gudenteit Hefe Weizen = Pale yellow, slightly cloudy. Strong wheat aroma and taste. I detected bubble gum flavor in the aftertaste. This is rare, but it does not put this beer out of style [c.v.: Three Floyds' Gumballhead]. I preferred the 847 to this, as far as wheat beers here go. [Served without a lemon.]
Amber Ale = Dark gold, clear. No hop aroma, or much of any aroma. Hops dominate the taste.
Scapegoat Maibock = Gold, clear. Head broke down. Malt dominates the taste. This was very good. This was the beer of which I had a second and third.
Festive Ale {cask-conditioned} = Orange, filtered, clear. Slight hop aroma. Hops in the taste and the aftertaste. If you are a hophead, this is the beer which you should request.
Regular pints here are $5.00. The cask-conditioned beer was $5.50. If you are a member of the American Homebrewers' Association, you get a discount off the price of food ordered here.
I do not know if this venue is exactly "Good for Kids", but I will inform you that if you are here on a weekend afternoon or early evening, there are a lot of them here. Stay in the bar area if you want to avoid them.
Transit options: Quit sitting there with your jaw agape. This has a pretty good one. See the map up there? Move your mouse over it and pull it down towards the bottom of your screen. That railroad track (yes, there is only one) is the Metra Milwaukee District North Line. This is the route which runs seven days a week between Union Station and Fox Lake. On the weekend, you can obtain a weekend Metra pass for $7.00. Even on weeknights, the fare from downtown to Libertyville is only $6.00. From the Libertyville station, walk five blocks south on Milwaukee Ave. Mickey Finn's is on the east side of the street. On Saturdays, there are twelve trains, mostly on a two-hour interval, but additional service has been added which cuts the interval to one-hour for portions of the day. On Sundays, there are ten trains (with the same proviso). The last two trains back to Chicago from Libertyville are at 8:43 and 10:43 pm.

Tuesday 17th of July 2007 01:15:00 AM

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Tonight's fare at mickey finns was okay... two pales, two wheats, a brown, stout, cream, and a few others... The beer selection was very summer. They had a nitro poured ipa, not bad... I stuck with the cream ale tho... I have a weakness... Beers are good... not reinventing the wheel, but good...

Atomsphere in the bar section of finns was sports barry with crappy music and lots of tv's..... but it was dark and moody too if you sort of whitenoise the music and sports... and one of the tv's had a close captioned dirty jobs with mike rowe on, so it wasn't so bad... I really liked the stained glass above the bar... The seating area ajacent to the bar is typical booth seating with glass separating you from the beer vessels and equipment.... I'd think as a brewer, you'd kinda have that feeling of being trapped at the zoo.... This place has an upstairs, but I've never been... The beer garten has a really nice gate and picnic style tables that are prolly pretty nice to sit at... (had rained so bar seating was the call)

Service was attentive... bar was fairly full, but asked for samples and got them... bartender was happy enough...

No food as I hit firkin cross the way...

Not a bad place, but sample or sampler the beers till you find one that hits your spot... the cream was on time.

Wednesday 27th of June 2007 11:45:38 AM

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Very good beers. I especially liked the hefeweizen. Place can get very crowded at times.

Food is excellent, prices are very decent.

Bar staff charged me for a small taste (of one beer) which I thought was a bit of a, uh, questionable practice, for a brewpub.

They have parking in the back, which you can't see from the main street.

They have an upstairs where they have bands, too.

I would this say this is the best brewpub on that side of town.