Beermiscuous

Last night I made my second visit to Beermiscuous, which is West Lakeview's new "beer cafe." This place could quickly become my favorite craft beer destination within the city.

If you haven't heard about it yet, here's the concept: It's a coffeeshop-like spot that sells beer instead of coffee drinks. They have about 250 beers in bottles and cans -- everything cold, each sold individually -- plus a dozen beers on tap. Make your selection and bring it up to the counter where the "beerista" will ring you up. As is common in some European countries, there's a dual price scheme: You pay a lower price if you're buying the beer to go, and a higher price if you're drinking the beer there. If you're consuming it on site, the staff will open and pour it for you (into the appropriate glassware) and you then take it back to your table.

In keeping with the idea that Beermiscuous is more like a coffee shop than a bar, there's an assortment of seating options. A lot of two-top tables that can be pushed together for larger groups, some sofas, upholstered chairs near the fireplace, etc. There are a few counter seats available near the beer taps, but other than that, it doesn't feel like a bar. It's predominately small groups socializing, plus some folks were their solo, working on their laptops while drinking their beer. For those of us who love great beer, but don't particularly like hanging out in bars, it's an attractive alternative. Oh, and they don't keep "bar hours." Last night they closed at 10 pm -- they don't seem to rush to kick anyone out, but they do stop sales at that point.

What I love:
* The beer selection. Whoever picked the beers did a nice job. I'll be curious to see how it evolves as they start building brewery/distributor relationships and possibly getting their hands on some rarer stuff.

* That all of the beers are color coded by style. I love having so many choices, but I could stare at the coolers for hours. It makes it much easier to scan through a couple hundred beers if I can quickly look at the tags and separate out all of the stouts, for example.

* As a woman, I would feel perfectly comfortable walking in here alone to drink a beer while reading a book or finishing up work on my laptop. (And I wouldn't do that at a bar.)

* That it's in my neighborhood! I love the craft beer spots in Bucktown and Logan Square and Andersonville, but $20 cab rides add up quickly. This is the kind of spot that Lakeview needs. (Reaffirmed by the fact that I unexpectedly ran into neighborhood friends when I was there last night...they're also beer people who aren't bar people, and said it's becoming their favorite local spot.)

* The overall design and the artwork. I don't know who came up with the idea of the L-style beer map of Chicago-area breweries, but it's pretty cool.

What I'm a little less enthusiastic about:

* No food except for free pretzels or bags of nuts available for purchase. They're perfectly happy if you want to BYOF or get something delivered, but I'd love to see something more to eat. (The friends I saw their last night said there was a food truck outside on a previous visit...that sounds like a terrific idea.)

* The acoustics. Last night we were sitting in the very back near the windows overlooking Diversey and I was having trouble hearing my friends sitting 3 feet away. Granted, we were probably in the worst spot in the room, from an acoustics perspective, but I'd like to see them do something to dampen the sound a bit.

2812 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago IL 60657 (northwest corner of Lincoln, Diversey & Racine)
Phone: 855.450.2337

Hours of Operation:
Monday: closed
Tuesday - Thursday: noon to 10 pm
Friday - Saturday: noon to 11 pm
Sunday: noon to 7 pm

(Obligatory disclaimer: A friend is doing some consulting for them. I got invited to the Friends & Family soft opening a few weeks ago, where I received two free beers.)

I'd add the name to the dislike list--it's really silly

boudreaulicious wrote:I'd add the name to the dislike list--it's really silly

LOL...I read your comment first and then scrolled up to see who made it! Auto-correct on my cell phone doesn't like the name either. Twice I've mistakenly texted friends to make plans to meet at Promiscuous.

I groaned when I first heard it and every time since

Sounds interesting. Am I correct in assuming there's wifi?

I'm almost certain I saw WiFi info posted,

Apologies in advance, but

Speaking of names,

I just thought of a great name for a chain of barbecue joints:

'cue-biquitous

Trademark it, Roger!

Glad to hear this beer place (with the silly name) is making it. It's our neighborhood also, and, along with Gyros on the Spit, the place has the potential to revivify that stretch of Lincoln. We popped in on what I think was their opening night, not to partake but just to check it out. (The friendly owner actually beckoned us in as we peered curiously through the glass.) I too was intrigued by the refrigerated cases of what seemed like an infinite choice of beers. Had not heard of this concept before.

(Edited to change "revivify that stretch of Diversey" to "revivify that stretch of Lincoln," since this is what I meant.)

The Lakeview bar doubling as a bottle shop, wrapped in an easygoing coffee shop vibe, plans to open this fall in downtown Highwood. Beermiscuous founder Paul Leamon said he hopes to open by October at 552 Sheridan Road, in a space formerly occupied by The Art of Beer, which was also a bar and beer store.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct ... story.html