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    The Barrel Run

    4.9 (128 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 11:00 pm

    The Barrel Run Photos

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    Michael N.

    The Barrel Run was a fun unique experience. The vehicle itself was classy and awesome! The driver is very knowledgeable and professional. The tours were fun and exciting. Will definitely do it again!

    Sandy H.

    Went on the Barrel Run brewery tour yesterday to celebrate my husband's retirement. The bus itself was so fun and Ted, our tour guide was awesome. Great stories, sociable, and gave great recommendations. Our family of 5 had a blast.

    the inside of a factory
    Michelle W.

    Such a fun, effortless, and unique experience! With so many great breweries in chicago this has got to be one of the best ways to get to and around 3 breweries in about 3 hours and at a super reasonable cost! So if you're in town for a short visit, want to make the best use of your time on a weekend, or just want to have fun - I highly recommend. Pick up and drop off are by the McDonald's on Clark and Ontario across from the former Rainforest Cafe - again making this whole experience super convenient. Aside from the efficiency of it - Dave was a blast to hang with and handles that barrel bus like it's on rails. He rocks a solid playlist, which I happily sang along to, and it ranges from prohibition era tunes to modern day jams. The barrel it's self is so cool to ride around in - it's roomy and the seats are quite comfy. And for added fun, you are allowed to bring on and consume any beverages you purchase for the ride. It can't be open before - it must be opened and only consumed in the bus. On to the tour - First stop of the day, was Pilot Project Brewing which is a brewing incubator on North Milwaukee and they also have another location in Milwaukee, Wi. They give start up brewers a space for them to brew and test out their product. I was a big fan of the fruited pale ale and the pickle beer. It made me want a hot dog real bad! LOL But, seriously. Next stop was is one of my most favorite breweries, Revolution! We had a delicious sun crusher during the fantastic tour and then had their freedom lemonade on tap. It's like summer in your mouth. Last on the trip was Goose Island - Clybourn Brewhouse. Here we had 3 samples, and had time to order some appetizers if we wanted to and I got a ginormous 19.2 oz tropical beer hug. After that we were back to Clark and Ontario to continue our own journey. Thanks for a fantastic day Dave! Cheers!

    The Barrel Run trolley - a unique design and fun tour bus!
    TY Y.

    A must-do, fun for all, 3.5 hour activity for Adults! TBR is a small "touring" business, operated in a uniquely designed bus/trolley that carries up to 36 guests to several local brewery (or other pre-arranged wineries/distilleries for private groups of 18+). David, the owner, is the designer, builder and driver who guided us on this BARREL Bus to 3 craft breweries. Cost was $75pp, which included your ride, brewery visits and sampling at each of the local craft brewers around Chicago - we had a lot of fun on a beautiful Fall day, made new friends, and sampled many tasty brews! Each stop was about 45 min. I had a 5-STAR birthday treat! Our tour stopped at Lake Effect Brewing, Goose Island Brewery and On Tour Brewery. Lake Effect was a small operation, a growing business by brewmaster/owner Clint. We sampled their First Responder (Kolsch style) beer, a heavy Chocolate Stout, and finally a Sour beer - we bought some other crafts for our bus ride and to take home! Goose Island had a nice patio area, where we each got a Pint of our choice. Oktoberfest was seasonal, plus we also tried a couple newer hazy IPA's, and a Pale Ale - all very good. A suggestion is to bring a sandwich or some munchies as not a lot of food was offered at the breweries except our 3rd stop; fortunately we had picked up a couple Italian Beef sandwiches to share before boarding the bus, so it was a perfect compliment to the crafts! On Tour Brewery was our last stop, where we tried a lighter Belgian style beer, an Oktoberfest and finally their signature IPA. All easy to drink and nice sampling variety. On Tour did have some hot tacos/food, and souvenirs available for purchase. Although I described our brewery tastings, this was all made possible with David's TBR bus, a cool way to ride around town and experience a craft brew tour. Next time I think we'll sign up to try the TBR wine or distillery tour. Cheers, ENJOY!!!

    The bus is shaped like a barrel! Unfortunately, it's not filled with beer, though it does go on a brewery tour
    Eric S.

    BOOTLEGGERS This brewery bus tour was fun, despite a few peculiar policies. Our group of 12 booked Barrel Run for a friend's bachelor party on 9/7/19. We were picked up in River North and they took us on a tour of 3 different breweries: Lake Effect Brewing, Revolution Tap Room, and Eris Cider House. The cost was $85 per person, and that included beer at each venue. Shortly after boarding we had to sign a waiver, for what I'm not sure.....maybe so drunk people can't sue if they trip and fall down the stairs? We had to share with another small group, so a strict no-liquor policy was in place and that kinda sucked. The only way we could've had open containers is if we rented out all 20 seats and paid a LOT more money. Barrel Run has guides that talk a little about Chicago and the beer scene; the first guy was a dead fish and couldn't handle our bachelor party. After a bit of heckling, he totally shut down. The second guy was much more suited to dealing with a rowdier bunch and told some good stories. Each brewery had samples ready for us and the guide stayed with us the whole time. I'm pretty sure my buddy Frankie M had a solid time (if he remembers any of it). * TL;DR * To me, this was more like a stylized school bus than a party bus, a limo that we couldn't drink in. Like so many other transportation services in the city, I was under the impression that we'd be able to bring beverages onto the bus with us, and that wasn't the case. Kind of a let-down, really. It was an okay value for the money, considering that everyone was driven to and from the three breweries. I'd recommend Barrel Run to anyone looking for an interesting way of seeing the Windy City.

    Allison P.

    I highly recommend this adventure! Despite being a resident in Chicago and having already explored many of the breweries, I still managed to learn new things, try new beer & have an incredible time! Whether you are exploring the city for the first time or celebrating something exciting, I highly encourage the Barrel Run for large and small groups alike! Our tour guides were also very fun, welcoming and knowledgeable! 10/10 experience.

    Madison N.

    Booked the Barrel Run private tour for my birthday and it was a great experience. From planning to going I could not recommend it more! The company provides a few options for brewery stops for the private tour package and then reaches out to them to do the booking. David, the founder, was our host and driver and was very informative and a great guide. We were able to BYOB and snacks on the bus and ice and trash bins were provided. The bus itself was clean, spacious, and so fun! If you are on the fence - book this experience now, you won't regret it!

    Revolution brewery can art

    Such a fun tour, loved the Barrel Bus! We visited 3 locations -District Brew Yards, Revolution and Pilot Project. District Brew Yards was our favorite, we were given a pre-loaded $10 gift card and used it to pour our own beer samples. We then had a full tour of the production facility at Revolution, learned a great deal about the whole brewing process while sipping on a can ! Pilot Project was our last stop and our least favorite, purely based on the beers that were sampled, some of the folks in our group ordered food there though and that looked amazing. Our tour guide/driver, David was amazing throughout- he gave some history on Chicago's prohibition era and ensured the whole tour went smoothly. We had a great afternoon, met some lovely folks from across the globe, definitely recommend.

    Courtney B.

    Such a fun private event!! They made the planning seamless by keeping in touch through very detailed emails and planning ahead with the breweries I chose. The barrel is a unique and cute mode of transportation, you can connect your music and BYOB on the bus as well. You also can bring snacks on the ride which is fun! The driver was very friendly and social too. We all had a great time!

    Marianne D.

    Celebrating our kids' wedding, they chose this tour company to do a family fun day together after their reception the day before. We went on a brewery tour with Dave in the keg bus. What fun! Dave actually built the bus and it's so unique. The seating is very comfortable in the bus. There were two containers in the middle of the aisle, one with ice, so you can bring your own beverages on board. Dave arranged lunch for us at Goose Island, which was our first stop on the tour. We tasted three different beers there. I recommend having Dave arrange a lunch so you have something in your stomach while drinking beer over the 3-1/2 hours. Our next stop was Revolution Brewery. This was a cool place. There wasn't a tasting there, just order a beer from the menu at the bar. There was a shuffleboard table, which was fun. Our final stop was at Smylie Bros Brewing. We had the place to ourselves as it didn't open until later in the day. The guys running the bar were great and we had a tasting of a couple beers there. We enjoyed all three stops that were on the tour. Dave efficiently navigated the bus through the city streets and also on the highway. My husband made the comment that Dave knew his way around so we didn't get stuck in traffic. That's a plus! The Barrel Run has a couple different other options like a prohibition tour and a gangster tour. I think Dave would work with you on anything you'd like to do. We will definitely be back to do another tour with Dave. I highly recommend this for a unique and fun activity while in the city.

    Maurice M.

    Great beer tour that takes you through several interesting Chicago neighborhoods to visit three various sized breweries. Our driver/guide, Ted, was a very cool and very safe driver (even held on to my friend's lost cell phone after the tour had concluded). Plenty of samples, I believe 11 in total on our tour, to help create an intoxicating adventure.

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    David B.

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    2 years ago

    Ted our host/guide was great! had so much fun at the breweries we visited. would highly recommend this tour in Chicago!

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    2 years ago

    We had a great time with our guide Ted! Highly recommend this tour if you are looking to check out some great local breweries.

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    3 years ago

    David was phenomenal to work with. We chartered the bus for a two day event and David was integral in the event running so smoothly.

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    2 years ago

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    David B.

    Thank you Nancy. We hope to see you again on The Barrel Run!

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Ted gave us a great tour. Revolution Brewery was our favorite. Fun people on the bus too. All made for a great experience.

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    3 years ago

    We booked a brewery tour and had an absolute blast. The cost was unbelievably reasonable too. I highly recommend The Barrel Run.

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    3 years ago

    So much fun, great guides and breweries. Well worth the price! Guides were knowledgeable and made the tour very fun

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - The Barrel Run

    Review Highlights - The Barrel Run

    David, the owner, is the designer, builder and driver who guided us on this BARREL Bus to 3 craft breweries.

    Mentioned in 13 reviews

    Read more highlights

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