Great location with outdoor seating and excellent brews. Very Local atmosphere with world class products!!

I like to go on beer tours, its one of my things, and never before have I had a water tasting on a beer tour. Seriously, its super cool. The guys at Dovetail put so much love and attention into their different beers that they change the mineral content of the water they use to brew it - and you can tell! They give tours every Saturday at 11am for $15. The taproom doesn't open until 11:30, but just walk right in and they'll give you your first of 3 beers that come with the tour to enjoy while your waiting for the tour to start. My advise, get there a little early, maybe 10:45 to sit and enjoy your beer and checkout the wonderfully crafted bar and taps. On the tour you learn about Dovetail's traditional approach to beer making. You get to sample a lot of the bits and pieces that go into the beer, in additional to sampling a larger, a wheat beer, and a smoked beer (Rauchbier). All and all a very worthwhile tour and experience. Their taproom is Bring Your own Food (BYOF) and is a really nice spot to hang out. read more

Dovetail Brewery - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great addition to the neighborhood! The beer is amazing, the space is great and they are dog friendly. A focus on German Brewing principles, they had 3 beer offerings paired with 3 Radler's.. The Hefeweizen Radler was amazing to say the least! Tried the Lager, Hefeweizen & Rauchbier.. all three were outstanding brews. Really liked their glasses & yellow concept on the tanks, etc. Nice bar/ bar top made from recycled wood. Great service/ Nice People... Skip Begyle and go here/ trust me! Get dat did read more

Dovetail Brewery - Bar - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I can't believe i haven't written a review for Dovetail Brewery yet!! I live down the street and come here frequently. I'm the one who brings my sisters dog each time we "babysit" and she ocassionally leaves our table and says hi to everyone and asks for belly rubs... I love Dovetail for these reasons.... - Dog friendly - BYOF and they attract food trucks! - Laid back atmosphere - They threw an AWESOME Oktoberfest-iversary with their neighbor, Begyle Brewing. - They have an AMAZING upstairs area where they hold cool events and hopefully host my wedding reception. & finally, i haven't had one beer there that i did not like. now that's saying something!! Now, what are you waiting for??? Hop on the brown line and get your butt to Dovetail!!! read more

Dovetail Brewery - Bar view - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Between two trains. Creative beer that you can gulp when it's impossible to talk over the roar of the Metra and the El. I had Czech Dark, which is the color of the Brown Line, and a sausage. Delicious. The spouse had Altbier. Refreshing. Sometimes you go to a place to forget you are in a big, noisy, wonderful city. Sometimes you want to be reminded. read more

There are at least four better options within walking distance. Don't waste your time here when you can easily go to Begyle, Half Acre, Band of Bohemia, or great beer bars like Fountainhead or Resi's. The beer is below par and the service is worse. read more

This review is for the outdoor patio area. Auto 20% gratuity is added on for who knows what? Because there is no service being provided by the bartenders or staff. You have to order at the bar and there are porta potties... strange. But the beer was decent. They claim they are dog friendly but there are no pup bowls for water. Only water available is bottled water for purchase. Also great red line train noise adds to the outdoor ambiance. read more

First time I went to this brewery I wasn't quite sure what to expect but have always heard great reviews. Went back a second time and was blown away by the beer selection. The Hefeweizen was my all time favorite! They will let you try out the beers in cute little beakers, definitely helped me make some choices. Will be coming back! read more

Tap room with good vibes and comfortable atmosphere. Like many of the breweries in the area, they allow dogs and outside food. Sometimes hosts food trucks, but they also have pretzels available. Beer is really tasty and reasonably priced. Staff is friendly and professional. Flights are served in scientific breakers for that perfect 200ml pour. Recommend the hefeweizen and a lager flight! Don't forget your growler! read more

Awesome brewery! Took the tour at 11:00 am on Saturday. $15 per person includes 3 beers. Tour is very informative and everyone who works here clearly has a passion for what they do. I'm not a beer person but thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the beer. Plus, the pretzels at the bar are delicious. There were some real beer geeks on the tour, and it was clear they were impressed. read more

A dog friendly brewery! It seemed to be very clean all throughout. We had pizza delivered there as they only offer a few bar snacks on the menu. They have a couple of rooms that can be rented out for events, and people seem to make good use out of that! Our group enjoyed trying a variety of craft beers and had a good time here overall! read more

This place is an awesome little brewery offering some really amazing traditional style beers. Don't come here looking for your strawberry blonde or a double dry hopped IPA they don't have one. This is all beer for beer lovers and if you're a Karen you probably won't like it. It's all traditional style beer and it's all amazing. I just wish I lived closer. Don't leave without trying the Helles Lager. read more

My family and I traveled from PA to Chicago for the July 4th holiday. We first went to Half Acre then walked to Dovetail. The walk from Half Acre to Dovetail was filled with beautiful houses on quaint, tree-lined streets. The industrial feel of the building along with the art for sale on the wall, makes for a great atmosphere and nice spot for daytime drinking. I ordered the hefe and it was a great choice. It was the perfect beer for a hot summer day. The only thing Dovetail lacks on, is a good food menu. Right now, it only offers pretzels and sausage as snacks. Personally, I loved how there were several dogs in the bar. Because what's better than a good beer paired with a cute dog at your feet? read more

Dovetail Brewery - The hefe - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great drinks and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff is very nice. It can be very loud due to its close proximity to the train, but still a great place for a drink on the patio. read more

Free parking, delicious beer, and patient wait staff is what really makes this one of the best breweries in the Chicagoland area. We did the Groupon, which got us a flight, drinking glasses, and a Growler to take home. The Rauchbier was, to this day, one of the best beers I've ever tasted--smoky, sweet, and refreshing. Their Kolsch was also great too, and my husband loved the Baltic Porter, which was both dark and not too heavy at the same time. The room is gigantic, and they're fantastic to bring both dogs and babies in! If you're hungry, there's also delicious fat Bavarian pretzels behind the bar for you to nosh on. Wonderful! read more

Good music, good atmosphere, approachable and welcoming staff. I highly recommend a salted pretzel and Hefewiezen either straight or mixed with their tap lemon/lime soda (Russ'n on the menu). The place is sparce but it's a welcome refuge from the hubub on Lincoln and Irving. Do yourself a favor and stop in! read more

Dovetail Brewery - Russ'n Hefewiezen mixed with tap lemon/lime soda is amazing! - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great examples of traditional German / European style beers with a few surprises thrown in the mix, including several radlers on tap (smoky rauchbier plus root beer...who would have thought of that?). They also have a small list of snacks available in case you're hungry. (P.S. They also host private events. Someone was throwing a wedding reception while we were there - how fun is that?) Most of all, LOVE that they're dog friendly (although half of their downstairs tables are high, so not as good if you have your four-legged friend with you). I asked one of the bartender if dogs were allowed, and I got a very enthusiastic "of course, do you need a water bowl?" in response. We'll definitely be back! read more

Over the summer, we did a 5K here as part of the Brewery Running Series in Chicago. The event was well organized and we hung out a bit afterward to have a few beers. The service was excellent considering it was PACKED with thirsty runners, all clamoring for a beer. We got our beers and sat down to enjoy and talked to some other folks in the bar. There are many options in the City of Chicago, but this was a nice place. So far, all of our brewery experiences have been top notch. read more

Dovetail has some time intensive brewing processes not many breweries employ. I'd like to take the tour they offer on Saturdays to get a better understanding. They offer around 4-5 beers on draft, all German style, which I really haven't been drinking much of for years. The Hefeweizen was one of the best I've ever had, $7 for a half liter glass. The beer comes in a smaller size for $5. I also sampled one of the smoked beers and liked it. Although they have a few snacks like pretzels, pickled eggs and dried sausages on their menu, this is a taproom, not a brewpub. There's lots of street parking and parking right along the building. On October 15, they are blocking off part of Belle Plaine, tapping a new beer and having an Octoberfest party along with Begyle Brewery. Food trucks and music. (and beer!) Sounds like fun! read more

Dovetail Brewery - Hefeweizen in the 0.5 liter glass - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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On the one hand I was devastated by how awful the overall service/experience was. On the other hand, it did give us quite a bit of material to laugh about. Expect the following: - 20% tip required even tho the staff refuses to assist you or enhance your experience in any conceivable way - pay for your water - Billy Joel + Christian rock on repeat - if you have to use the restroom your only option is a porta potty literally 6 inches from the bouncer - saw a family with a newborn get denied entrance bc their baby wasn't 21 (????) Will never return. Will never buy their beer again. Truly confused about people who work in hospitality extend zero semblance of hospitality to the guests while auto-grating 20% read more

Great beer! Fun place! Loved the dovetail white, Hefeweizen and Helles. Got a flight of 3 for $10. So nice to go to a brewery that does not have all IPAs. Easy to park. No food but there was a food truck in front. We got there on a Saturday around 5 and the place was packed. I was surprised it was so crowded that early. Cleared out a lot by 7. Will definitely be back. read more

I am fortunate enough to live in Ravenswood and be near so many great breweries like Begyle, Half Acre, Empirical and Dovetail. But I have to say that Dovetail is by far my favorite. They brew great German beer that is easy-drinking and to the point. They also have some killer radlers if you are looking for something sweet and refreshing on a summer day. Go here ! Get drunk. It's fun. read more

Delicious beer and a socially distanced outdoor space! Just be sure to bundle up and you'll have a good time

You gotta like lagers to come here. You gotta like the giant pretzel on the wall. You gotta like dog bars. These are my wife's recommendation, and she says it's a total chick brewery. The hefeweizen was the only ale on the menu and it was good. The brewers look like brewers in the old German style. I'm looking forward to Begyle. read more

Dovetail Brewery - Helefeizen and flight. 200ml is a lot - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Dovetail is such a relaxed adult place to hang out. It's so nice to actually hear the person you're with without shouting. The menu is short and simple, but the beer is great. There isn't a food menu, but a guy came in selling pizza and wings from a local spot. Definitely worth going back. read more

Dovetail Brewery - Local art work on the walls. Love it - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've always loved Dovetail and was excited to finally get out after being pregnant and then COVID. We bragged to our friends about it and invited them to join us on one of our first outings with baby. When we arrived, we were turned away because my infant does not meet the 21+ requirement. I mean, I get it, obviously she's not 21 but she was napping, we were willing to wait, etc. so it was a shame. We went elsewhere where we weren't turned away. It may be helpful to include that info here so that parents know ahead of time, especially since it's such a family friendly neighborhood. read more

So, I came back here over the weekend to try their flights. the menu has not changed, but at least one beer has been added. The light beers were great, and I imagine variety will improve as more people hear about this place. Still need to come back on a day other than Sunday to try the snacks. -Cheers read more

Came here with a friend on the recommendation of another friend ("Dovetail is the only memorable brewery I've been to in Chicago") - I really enjoyed the industrial feel to the taproom. They had 4 beers on tap - a pilsner, lager, hefeweizen, and a rauchbier. I tried the Hefeweizen and rauchbier which were both delicious. It was a great throwback to my semester in Germany. The food options were a minimal - mostly cheese and some sausages. Additionally, If you enjoy more "pale" beers, this may not be the place for you. Overall, I had a good experience, and would definitely go again. read more

I came here last week for the very first time and I already can't wait to go back. First of all, the space is clean, modern and has a lot of seating. Second, and very important to me, it is dog friendly! And finally, the beer was fantastic. I only tried the dunkelweizen as, after having traveled to Germany, I am a huge lover of dunkel. I was transported right back to Munchen - the beer was that good. They also offer pretzels which were soft and very fitting considering it's a German brewery. Prices were very inexpensive and everyone was super attentive - they even served my dogs a bowl of water first thing and stopped over to say hello to them! read more

Neat place and kind of tucked away. Had a food truck outside. I had two of their beers on tap and was in the event space which had the string lights and barrels. Neat atmosphere. read more

Wonderful beer! If you want to try out some great beer, please come here! We loved it and it was wonderful! For a Saturday night Brewery in Chicago, it was pleasant and not as loud as I was thinking, they put up sound dampeners to help with the noise which was very smart considering the size. Very nice knowledgeable beer tenders to help make a thorough recommendation. If you want something super different, give the Rauchbier a try! Dark, Smoky, beer! Unlike anything we've ever had! No food, but have food trucks so if you need food, be sure to call ahead to ask if there's food truck for the night! Amazing time, come check it out if you want good beer! read more

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One of my favorite things to do is go on brewery tours, and I've been on a good dozen of them in Chicago alone. Dovetail does one of the best brewery tours you'll ever go on, along with producing some of the best German style beers you'll get this side of the Rhineland. One of the two founders accompanies groups on every tour, and this personal touch really sets the tone. They care about beer more than I thought was possible, but the light hearted tour never feels snobby or exclusive, but stays fun throughout. If you don't have time for the tour, then I still recommend grabbing a few beers in the tap room. I can't comment on the food (I've never had it!) but they do have a small "snack" focused menu to compliment their brews. p.s. Get the Heferwirzen. You won't regret it. read more

I went for a tour of this German style Chicago brewery. It is $15 and they do them every Saturday at 11 am. We got a little lost (on the wrong side of the train tracks) so we didn't get there until exactly 11, but there were still a ton of spaces open on the tour so we were fine. The tour was led by one of the co-founders and lasted about 2 hours. It was fantastic! A very technical tour that included trying many of the ingredients of the beers. We even got to taste test right out of the barrels! I didn't stay and enjoy the taproom but I look forward to coming back to do so. The bar tenders were all friendly and the decor has a great vibe. Not to mention the beer was great! read more

A startup brewery, opened in June 2016. An open room, mostly painted brick and random "distressed" wood. 16-seat bar, and an assortment of table sizes. About six other patrons just after the 2:00 Friday opening, running to youngish locals. Limited snacks available: pretzels and Landjager sausages. And a dessert: three varieties of Argentine alfajores from a neighborhood bakery, two cookies sandwiching a layer of dulce de leche. Sort of an Oreo raised to the gates of Heaven. The brewery specializes in dead-on renditions of German and Czech styles. Currently only three selections, with some seasonal rotation planned. No sampler tray, but they gladly gave tasters of all three. .3 liter pours are $5, .5 L $7. The three current items: - Lager. 4.8%, 22 IBU. Clear gold, heavy head. Aromatic hop nose, classic Edelhopf flavor profile. - Hefeweizen. 4.8%, 22 IBU. Slightly cloudy brass, light head. Clove nose. Wheat, yeast, and spice flavor elements. - Rauchbier. My favorite. 5.3%, 30 IBU. Near-opaque brown with amber highlights. Heavy head, with lace on the glass. Nose and taste dominated by smoke; would go well with smoked cheese and/or sausage. Also three Radler variants made with house beers, and Filbert's draft artisanal sodas. Two blocks from the Irving Park station on the Brown Line (elevator accessible). One block from Begyle, making for a natural pub crawl. Resi's Bierstube and Karl Laschet's are a few blocks west along Irving Park. The 50-Damen bus, one-quarter mile west, gives good connections to or near Links, the Map Room, Village Tap, Fountainhead, Empirical, Hopleaf, and Andersonville (Hamburger Mary's). One block off the 80-Irving Park bus line. read more

A new craft brewery in North Center that specializes in lagered beers using traditional brewing methods. So refreshing to drink a locally brewed Pilsner instead of another over hopped IPA, porter or pale ale which every other craft brewery cranks out. I tried their helles lager and Czech style Pilsner. Both were very good - clean and well-balanced. The space is very nice with lots of seating and a friendly staff. They also serve pretzels, landjaeger sausage and pickled eggs. Highly recommend this brewery if you're a fan of well made lagered beers. read more

Visited here last night. When I called the day before to check hours and when we had several drinks in the tasting room, the staff were ridiculously nice. Great beer. Amazing service. Beautiful tasting room. read more

Dovetail Brewery - Beautiful tasting room. - Breweries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Bill and Hagen are two top notch guys and Brewers. Their brewery is old school, and nothing I've ever seen rivals this me technique. Big things in the future for Dovetail read more

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Love this place. The people, the beer, the food, the honesty, the music, the vibe. It's truly a neighborhood gem. Cannot say enough good things about Dovetail. read more

If I was rating the beers alone on their quality, I'd give them 5 stars. That's how great the 3 I've tried from them(1 at the Ravenswood On Tap festival IIRC the name, outside of Empirical Brewing, and 2 in Dovetail's taproom), have been. The minus 1 star unfortunately, comes from the fact they still don't do beer flights here. And to get their smallest beer glass size(the size of a small beer stein), it's $5, which stinks a little bit. Which is Begyle's advantage(that you can do flights there), of the 2 breweries right along this part of Ravenswood. That said, I did have a good experience here, and I hope they decide in the future to change that negative and allow customers here to do small 5 ounce(along the lines of that size) beer flights if they want to. And having a BYO food policy is always a good plus for a brewery to do, which I was sad when Half Acre stopped allowing that in early 2016. I'd suggest getting some food from nearby Snappy's Shrimp House, if you find them open. read more

Very enthusiastic review of this spot. We have done our fair share of brewery tours, but this one was unique. Their space and equipment was impressive, and it's clear the owners really put thought into their brews and are passionate about doing things a certain way. You won't find any IPAs, Russian imperial stouts... just the basics. And that's refreshing once in a while. Tours are $15 and include 3 beers - our favorite being the Rauchbier. It was surprisingly smokey, and we ended up getting a growler fill to take home. We had a winter bock in the taproom which was one of their stronger beers, most being 5% and this one teetering towards 7% (I believe). It was unexpectedly sweet and fruity, but not sickeningly sweet shandy fruity. They had some snacks for purchase from other local spots. We did not indulge, but the pretzels looked awesome. There were also radlers that sounded interesting, including the above Rachbier mixed with root beer. Yum. The taproom itself had plenty of space, and had a nice brick and reclaimed wood kind of feel. Definitely check this out if you are in the area. Don't be deterred if you've done tours before, this one was definitely the most informative and interesting we've done thus far. read more