Goose Island Beer Co at the Salt Shed, Chicago

Welcome to stop #130 on the Brews and Choos project.

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co. at the Salt Shed, 1221 W. Blackhawk St., Chicago
Train line: Union Pacific North and Northwest, Clybourn (Zone 1)
Time from Chicago: 9 minutes
Distance from station: 1.5 km

The Salt Shed is a new entertainment complex built inside the former Morton Salt storage facility in the Clybourn Corridor industrial area of Chicago. Goose Island Beer Co. moved there in 2024 after closing its original brewing facility 800 meters northeast.

The new facility takes after other industrial building reclamations the B&CP has encountered over the years. It's basically a big room with a kitchen on the south end and a patio along the river to the east. My Brews & Choos Buddy and I found it perfectly acceptable when we visited yesterday, though we stayed in the air conditioning as I vetoed sitting out in the 33°C heat index.

Altogether, I tasted 5 beers, including the one my buddy didn't like at all. The Hazy Beer Hug IPA (6.8%) has long been my Goose go-to, with a good malt-hop balance and a lot of Citra juiciness. The River Bird West Coast IPA (6.5%) had a brightness I liked, with some decent hops and a clan finish. I was OK with the Return of the Mic WCIPA (7.3%), a collab with Mikerphone Brewing, though I probably would have preferred a bit less alcohol given the heat. (My buddy did not like this one, find it "like Daisy Cutter only worse," but I like Daisy Cutter so we didn't agree.) I also tried my buddy's Draftwerk Berlinerweiße (3.5%), which she loved and I gagged on. I do not like weißbiers, and she does not like WCIPAs, but we'll both try them.

We both didn't like how far the brewery is from civilization. The walk from the Clybourn station to the brewery takes you past metal finishing factories, a cavernous fitness center, and railroad infrastructure that isn't attractive or clean. I understand Anheuser Busch's rationale for closing the old restaurant by North and Sheffield, because they had the opportunity to provide beer for thousands of thirsty concert-goers at the Salt Shed. But the difficulty getting to the place is a definite negative for us. So while it qualifies as a "would go back," it's not a place anyone would make their favorite hangout spot.

Beer garden? Riverside patio
Dogs OK? Outside only
Televisions? No
Serves food? Full pub menu
Would hang out with a book? Maybe
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes