I always wanted to visit here, I had no idea where we were headed and when we pulled up here, I was too excited. Super clean brewery, very friendly staff. Amazing beer, have always loved Beach Blonde! But now also loving Main Beach. You can bring your own food, they have a taco truck outside that comes around but also lots of good options nearby to get food from. They have a large party space. Highly recommend this brewery, it is too nice! read more

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Visited today to celebrate a birthday! What a cool space. They welcome pets and children. They have couches, hi tops and low top tables. Plenty of space to gather with friends. They put out dispensers of cold infused water to enjoy as well as popcorn and pretzels. It got very crowded shortly after we arrived and the place was hopping! A food truck arrived as we were leaving. It appears they have food trucks often. They allow you to bring in your own food and I saw many pizzas being brought in. They have many beer options that people in our group enjoyed. They gave you samples to taste before ordering which is nice. On nice days they have many tables outdoors in their patio. Will go back to check those out for sure! read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Decor. - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

Great location to celebrate just about anything. Traveled in from SC and had a fantastic time. The owner and his crew were attentive, super helpful and totally on their game. Celebrated an engagement party in an event room perfect for our needs. Super nice owner and management team. Food truck was great as well. Y'all should go visit, the beer was AMAZING!!! read more

This is a very solid craft brewery. The beer that stood out to me was their Irish Stout. Silky smooth and a low ABV. The service was efficient and pleasant. Nice craft brewery type ambiance inside. They have a nice selection of canned beers for carry out. read more

Great beer selection to choose from with friendly service with both indoor and outdoor seating makes it very welcoming

Brewery in a small town and good atmosphere. Crystal Lake Brewery is the best place around here for a beer. It's not priced too bad for a craft brewery honestly. For sure more than a crap beer costs, but this isn't crap. There's also some entertainment like music. About the coolest place in town, and many agree. It seems the whole town was here. There's a pretty big patio. It was pretty busy the last time and we had to get a seat inside. This was right at the bar, and we got some good stuff. It's about $7 a pint. They have a few that are strong. I got the Hoptopus. We liked this one the most. It's an imperial New England pale ale, and is one of the heavier ones at 8.5% ABV. This was citrusy and tropical. Food is lacking. It's $6 for Firesticks pretzels. Good thing you can bring food. There's a few places that deliver and bring the food here. Cool ass brewery. It gets pretty crowded later. The patio has the best seats. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Hoptopus And Firesticks - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

CLB used to be kind enough to honor expired Groupons. I had forgotten that I had a few expired Groupons and decided to try to use them this past weekend. I asked the bartender if they would honor them. She said "we stopped accepting Groupons over a year ago." (Not true since I bought one less than a year ago.) I said I understood, but Groupon's policy is that the vendor should honor the amount I paid and provide me that product or service up to that amount. Again, she said that Groupon is responsible for the refund, not CLB. Manager had the same song and dance. We used to love this place, but now I'm out almost $80 and going through the hassle of trying to get a refund from Groupon which I may never get. Don't bother trying to use a Groupon here. Beer is good, but I'll never be back nor will my friends and family. Thanks for shady practices! I expected more from this establishment. read more

Beautiful day to be outside, and most patrons are. Inside has lots of bar tables a couple couches and what I would call an overflow room with even more tables. Today outside is full, inside about 1/4 full but it's early. Umbrellas abound outside. Guessing on Sat this nice it will be full in a few hours near 5 or six. I am having a bleach blonde ale. Light but not too, very tasty. I don't know a lot about beer, but I know what I like. Had a day of moving stuff and very much appreciated to stop and refresh.... and they haven't even kicked me out for looking like a bum. Ha! Must bring friends here when they are visiting. The beer is good, the parking is good, everything's good. The beer : a good selection all brewed on site. At least 24 varieties maybe more, but they flash on a lighted cue above the bar, so who's counting, after you get served. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - View of inside. - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

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I love their outdoor patio! Got to spend some time playing with some cute puppies and enjoying some drinks. The staff were really helpful and letting us taste a few things. I enjoyed their seltzer and my husband enjoyed their kölsch. Unfortunately, they were out of the Oktoberfest. We didn't get a chance to try the food, but I wish we had some thing like this closer to us because it was really lovely place to sit on a nice cool but sunny fall day and we'd be here all the time! read more

With 2 beers already consumed during lunch at Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen, I bummed around downtown Crystal Lake until meeting up with a friend here at 4 PM when they open. That's when the story begins here at Crystal Lake Brewing. I was on vacation in this neck of Chicagoland on the last weekend of April 2024 and decided to indulge in more brewery and more was decidedly better. I met up with my friend here at 4pm and initially thought that was a weird time. Turns out that was when the Brewery opened for the day. I waited for my friend outside, which was pretty cool. It was nice to be this far out of downtown Chicago and the small town vibe really kicks in, especially on a Friday afternoon. My friend and I decided to start drinking since she was having a challenging day at work. We ended up having 6 beers between us and we just hung out since I never been in this part of Chicagoland before, so it was a treat. We mainly sat outside to enjoy the warm weather. It was in the 60's but it was nice. My friend and I spent about 1 1/2 hours here, enjoying each other's company and drinking. Honestly, I wasn't really drunk at all, after 5 in one afternoon. It was pretty neat and interesting at the same time. I didn't have a rental car, so makes it okay for me. The overall experience here at the Crystal Lake Brewery was pretty cool and interesting. At around 5pm, a bunch of the local people started showing up. It was a place for socializing and local beers on tap can't be wrong. It was definitely a bar with indoor seating, but not sure if they served food too, but since we didn't have food, it was just drinking for us. I guess we were waiting for dinner time and we had planned on something else later in the day. The bar inside was cool and they have restroom facilities there too, just in case. I trusted my friend to pick whatever she wanted, so I just drank along with her. Some of them were okay, but one was above average. Still, it was a delicious treat to be had while on vacation in the Chicagoland area. The bartender lady was nice and seemed happy to be there. The service was non existent, since we had to walk to and from the outside seating to refresh our beers from the bar, which isn't a huge deal, but still. The menu for beer was pretty extensive. I didn't know there was that much beer reciepes in the region, which surprised me. Oh well. If you are ever in the town of Crystal Lake and need your fix to unwind or whatever, consider coming thru and have a pint or two. Definitely a pleasant surprise. Crystal Lake Brewing is located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. It's physically located at 150 N Main Street that's in walking distance to the Crystal Lake Metra station. They accept major credit cards as well as cash. Not sure about parking goes, since I was on foot wandering around town after having lunch at Duke's a few hours before, but I guess you can find street parking wherever you can find it nearby. I'm not sure if the City of Crystal Lake, Illinois has a public transportation system, but you can try to use that after taking the metra train from downtown Chicago, if there is one. Other than that, Uber can be the best bet if you're pressed for time getting to and from Crystal Lake, like I was. 4.0 stars for the overall experience. Support local! B read more

Went on a Saturday afternoon for the release of Sherman & Tingle's Driver Nation Beer Release. There was music and food trucks. There was not much seating outside , so we sat inside. The line to order beers was anywhere from 5-10 people deep. There were one to two servers depending on the time. Since this was their "Big festival " , I would have expected more servers. The beers were good, and the prices were fair. We would maybe try again if we were in the area. read more

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We have been a couple of times. From just catching with friends. A surprise birthday party to trivia nights. Worth it every time!

Absolutely love this brewery! Hoptopus is my fav CL IPA! They don't serve anything else but beer and popcorn along with cucumber lemon water! Now they do have vendors and there's so many places that you can hit up if you're hungry before or after. It's located in downtown Crystal lake and it does have its own parking! They also organize fun game nights and music events depending on the season! Summer it's so fun! I cannot wait to come back and have a cold hoptopus! The service is amazing, you come you sit and order and enjoy .. repeat! That's all for now read more

This was our first in-person experience since March and wow- did CLB set the bar high! They have a great deal of outdoor/indoor seating. I would say 50% of the outdoor seats have umbrella's or some sort of over-head covering. As my skin type rivals Casper the friendly ghost, we opted to sit inside. The tables are well distanced and I never felt like I was too close to any of the other guests. We did a flight, which comes with 4 samples of beer. They were all super tasty & it took everything in me not to order all four in pint sized glasses. The staff were all super nice- you can tell they really care about the brewery and what they do, which is always nice to see. Overall we had a great experience! Can't wait to come back for more of the seasonal choices. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Beer flight - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

Met a group of friends for an evening holiday get-together. A great place for that and the beer is fantastic. The best local (northern Illinois) hazy IPA I have had to-date. In fact, all the beer I sampled was quite good. We were able to bring in food and enjoy conversation throughout the evening. I highly recommend this brewery for its beer but also to gather with friends. read more

Great place for local beer! You can bring your own food and then get your beer at the bar and grab a table. They have board games that you can play or a couple couches to relax on. During nice days you can sit at tables outside. I've hosted gatherings for friends from the NW suburbs which is nice as it is close to the Crystal Lake train station. Just wish they were open before 3pm on a Friday during the summer. When you have summer Fridays with your job, this would be a great meet up place if they were open at noon. The beers are great - some favorites are Bleach Blonde (tame), 300 & Fox Rocker. Cheers! read more

I don't get out to the Crystal Lake area much, and just needed a place to chill for about an hour. CLB fit the bill nicely. Great atmosphere with a fun vibe. I enjoyed the beer. My only complaint is that there aren't enough TVs. I stopped in on a Saturday afternoon during college football season. It was happy to see the place was crowded in spite of only two games being shown. Lack of screens wouldn't stop me from coming back if I end up in that direction again, though. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

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Food and service is 4 out of 5. Drinks are great. Loud in here sometime other times very nice and quiet!

Service only ok; beer selection very stagnate . Been trying this place for few years hoping for more flavor experimentation. Standard pours are ok; nothing stands out. Oktoberfest beer has been good read more

Great beer selection- excellent staff. Beach blonde is my go to! Lots of good options to sit inside and out. read more

CLB is in the heart of Crystal Lake, adjacent to the Metra Station, with a nice selection of quality brews. A large patio triangulates the outdoor serving area on this corner lot, with picnic tables and string lights. Too cold in December so we dashed indoors for a fresh, cold beer after a day on the Woodstock Square. I failed to decide between the Reel Hazy IPA and the Overboard Oatmeal Stout. Just then an angel, my bartender announced joy to the world of beer drinking--CLB offers "splits," tall half-pints of two beers--so I had my IPA and OATMEAL too! Peace on earth. Two beers my man! CLB indoor seating is almost entirely "high boy" tables and bar chairs. However there is one large leather sofa and coffee table on the windows wall. That's my cozy spot for two. The only thing that would add to the variety and my personal preference would be a nicely brewed standard, German-style Hefeweizen, and food of course, but it appears BYOF is already an option. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - L-R: Reel Hazy IPA -- not too hoppy, with punchy pineapple finish, and a nitro Overboard Oatmeal Stout - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

Great beer good vibes .. patio was nice to hang out on this spring night. The light out side and tables are a great hang out for me and a few good friends of ours. CLB is just good people and helpful to figure out what beer you like. Overall chill environment located right in downtown crystal lake. Highly recommended. read more

Easily the best beer around! Brewers do a fantastic job with selection. Bar staff is courteous and attentive, great crisp picture on the projection TV on game day. Would easily be 5 stars, but......... I don't understand why Gen Z parents feel it is OK to bring little kids to a brewery (there is literally a Chuck E. Cheese down the street), but it is completely OUT OF CONTROL here. Babies, toddlers, grade schoolers, running around the tap room and screaming while mom or dad gets sloshed. The worst part is that parents encourage that behavior and elicit it from the kids by tossing them around, tickling them, anything to make them scream! I've seen kids sitting at the bar (illegal in Illinois), sliding on the floor, screaming bloody murder and otherwise acting like the taproom is their personal playground. To the owner's credit, they have banned kids after 7 PM, but before that it creates a very unfriendly and frantic atmosphere for an older adult looking to have a beer and unwind after work. OWNERSHIP: I would post some signage at the entrance asking parents to control their kids while in the taproom or they will be asked to leave. read more

walked in to a mostly empty brewery. sat at the bar. took a few minutes to check the menu then waited. took maybe 5-10 min to get a taste. tried it and decided I wanted a full one. so I sat and waited at the bar. over 10 minutes later bartender was still chatting to someone on the bar POS. over 20 minutes sitting there. read more

I like this place more every time I come. I have been a fan of Imperial Stouts, and their Boathouse Reserve is a great one. Tonight we tried their Reel Juicy IPA and Busted Prop Ale; the Busted Prop is more like an American IPA at 45 IBU and it was great. My wife got Reel Juicy, in the 20's for IBU, and loved it. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - They don't last too long. - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

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CLB has a good selection of beers as well as a few soft drinks available. The servers behind the bar are generous with small samples if you are unfamiliar with CLB's products. As another reviewer mentioned they don't have servers as such- not a big deal for us since this is fairly standard in most tap rooms in the area. Come to think of it, I am not sure why anyone would consider this to be an 'issue' but I guess it takes all kinds. I feel that taprooms aren't for the timid or self-appointed princes and princesses- being an outgoing customer and interacting with the staff is what I have found to work in most taprooms. CLB has board and card games for use by patrons and on Thursday nights they have live music; more about that in a moment. Once a month during the summer they host a classic and custom car show that takes up most of the parking area so it's sort of difficult to find a place to park in the downtown area. The acoustics at CLB are not too bad and conversation is possible. They have a rack of menus from local places that will deliver food (CLB does not have a kitchen) if you wish to order-in. I feel that there is something wrong with where they usually put the entertainment on Thursday nights. The sound ends up being quite muddy and difficult to understand the vocals. The result is that the artist's best effort ends up being irritating noise rather than entertainment. Something else that I have noticed is that I was not able to see a TV anywhere even though they are somewhat known as a "sports bar" (yes I know that they are a tap room and not a bar). It would be great if they had a TV so we could go for a Hawks game or some other sporting event. CLB has a side room where it would appear you can make reservations for parties and special events. Overall it's a great place if you like micro-brew beer and a pub-like atmosphere. Ask them about their "Mug Club". read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

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Great small brewery with delicious beers. Btw this brewery has bourbon barreled beer on tap, winning They have outdoor seating and have tables separated for social distancing. You also must wear a mask to walk around, but not at your table (standard practice) read more

Bear is decent, without being exceptional. They have a really nice patio and are dog friendly.

Beer was good but the service had a lot to be desired, they had an event outside on a hot day, suggest people bring chairs because they did not plan on it to this busy and on a hot day and when some people tried to put chairs in the shade a lady told them not to be there because food trucks were coming and needed the shady area.. really when I heard that I was floored! read more

Have not tried the food yet, but we were here on a Saturday afternoon with live music. There was a tent with tables under and we were encouraged to bring our own chairs because there was not enough seating. The ONLY shade out there (other than the tables which were filled) is under the trees, which was ALL reserved food trucks and vendors. It seems to me that the food trucks could be on the other side so that the customers could have some space to set up in the shade. If you're going to have an event outside on an asphalt, where 90% of your clientele is older for the classic rock event you might want to plan a little better. read more

Very good beers and a nice patio to sit outdoors. No food service but you can bring in outside orders. read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Indoor seating. - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

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There was a brewery dog! I love animals. I love beer. I was a happy beer girl. This was a brewery I went into completely blind. From my understanding, they're pretty new on the scene. I've never had them at a beer fest and don't recall ever seeing it bottled. Overall I found their beers to be decent with Nice Melons (kek) being a standout for me, as well as Slalom King IPA.The rest were pretty middle of the road. On a Sunday afternoon, the brewery was completely packed. There were people of all ages including children along with their parents. Thankfully for them, there are a few board games available to play and one table top game of Shuffleboard. Kids are only allowed until 7pm. Bring your own food or order in - they have menus on site. They have a beer flight of set beers. Nice touch - ice cold cucumber water gratis. They have an event space if you want to hold a gathering onsite. Crystal Lake Brewing is worth a stop to pet the adorable dog, play some games and have a flight (or two)! read more

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Don't sit at the bar. They will ignore you. Absolutely ridiculous service. Four people working the bar. Just worried about the line. Not the people sitting at the bar. It's really too bad bc it's a great spot. But the service has something to be desired. read more

We stayed about a block away from this super fun brewery. The owner treated us to a special they were having that day and let us know a little about the town. They do not serve food, but several restaurants deliver or you can bring your own food. Really great space with indoor and outdoor seating with a relaxing vibe. read more

Pretty typical tap room in a building that used to be some kind of non-descript business on a corner lot. There are some board games in the corner, and televisions, to round out the high tops. I like their standard beers- Beach Blonde, Busted Prop, and Fox Rocker, or they brew some nice seasonals, like the Last Cast blood orange seasonal. They have their own big blacktop parking lot, which could be adapted and put to better creative use, in my humble opinion. An outdoor beer garden/patio might be good. They do have food trucks on Fridays, and outdoor bags tournaments, and a few picnic tables outdoors. Overall, solid but pretty normal beers and space- don't want to blow too many heads out here in the Exurbs. I do wish I had more time to spend here, especially to check out their seasonal offerings, but not sure I'll be out this way again in the future. Will for sure look for their cans around the City of Chicago and in Wisconsin. read more

This is a nice BIG taproom - plenty of seating and tables for a lot of people. With that said, as with any other industrial setting with high ceilings & lots of hard surfaces, not to mention a lot of people who are drinking plenty of beer, it gets LOUD in here. Our group of 4 was pretty much yelling at each other most of the night to hear one another so that was the only real downside - but hey, it's a brewery so this is not unusual. They have a really big selection of beers and many of them we tried were good. Our friends that invited us had a Groupon so it was a beer flight tasting, a free brewery pint glass and one pint of beer of your choice after you had gone through the samples and decided which one you like best. It was a very good deal! Also, we had the BEST service we have ever received at a brewery taproom. Our server was Steven (Stephen? I'm not sure on the spelling) and he was amazing! It is because of him I'm giving them 4 stars and not 3. They were packed busy on a Friday night and he did a great job of checking in and answering any questions as they came up. He also came over to let us know they don't normally do tours on Friday nights but they had enough requests they were going to do an impromptu tour if we wanted to join in since he knew we had never been there before. We had just put our food order in at the food truck that was visiting, though, so we took a pass on the tour this time. They have food trucks there in the parking lot at various times so check out their website for info on that. And they have a nice big party room for private parties. read more

We stopped by here on a Sunday around 6pm. Not a single welcome by any staff member at all. The place was maybe 25% full, some people playing games, others at the bar, and some outside. We sat at a table and looked over the beer options. Apparently nobody comes to your table? We kind of looked around to see if there was a server or something, but no luck. So we went up to the bar and got a flight. It's fine if that's their way of operating there, but it was just really an "unwelcoming welcome" all around. They do have a nice selection of games, including darts, a shuffle board table, and lots of board/card games available. The beers we tried were ok - nothing that really stood out to us as something we would want to have more of. I think the kolsch was the most decent one, with a good hit of flavor right off the bat. We didn't stay long, as there really wasn't much reason to stay. A little bit more hospitality would go a long way! read more

Crystal Lake Brewing - Neat flight holder, ok beer. - Breweries Near Me - Crystal Lake, Illinois

First time here. Was really impressed with their beers. Friendly staff, lots of room and plenty of parking. Would of gave them 5 stars if the served food. You can order from other places near by and they will deliver. read more

Top notch service, the bartender was super friendly, helped us pick out beer, talked shop, she seemed like she was really happy to work there and enjoyed her job so speaks a lot about management. Beers go from great to decent, really depends on the style you like. i'm not a coffee drinker but their coffee beers were pretty spot on and good. Decent sized indoor and outdoor space, sat inside to avoid the rain. If i'm in the area again i will hit up again for sure. read more

Overall: Good local brewery option, with games and a patio. The good: I only had the amber ale, but also tried the IPA, and both were very tasty. I don't think anyone was disappointed with their choices. The patio is a nice addition to the rest of the great atmosphere. Nothing too gimmicky or fancy, which is nice. Bring your own food - I'm always a fan. We got greasy pizza from down the street. Service was friendly and attentive. The not-so-good: Patio is a little cramped in terms of layout and space, but that's about it in terms of negatives. Atmosphere: 9/10 Service: 9/10 read more