Illuminated Brew Works

I really really wanted to love Illuminated Brew Works. Unfortunately none of the beer I found to be enjoyable.

The staff were very easy going and patient with my group. I absolutely loved the decor and the disco lights in the restrooms!

Great selection of beers on tab. I suggest the sampler to try a few before committing to a glass. During happy hour a sampler flight of 4 beers is just 11 dollar. The atmosphere is chill and the staff is great.

I absolutely loved IBW. This place is the type of vibe that I want when going to a brewery - super low key and good beer.
It was really hard to actually find IBW, because it's located in between a car wash and some other store. If you see Zia's down the street, you've gone too far. Once we actually found it, it's actually a bit bigger than I was expecting. Plenty of tables and a pretty large bar area to sit at. When it's nice out, they do have an outdoor area as well.
The beers were fantastic. We tasted a few of them and would definitely come back on this aspect alone. The bartender was super nice and even though it was really busy, we always got our beer fast.
My favorite find in this place was the bathroom - I know what you're thinking, "what does that mean?!" - Just trust me and go in. You'll have a BALL.

Brewery in an odd location. Illuminated is a fairly new and small one in Norwood Park. Located in a very small plaza next to a car wash. Hard to notice unless you're actually looking for it, and it's still hard. This still took us a few times going by before finding it.

After looking up local breweries, I was interested in making my way here. It's a fairly new brewery with a lot of sour beers, good stuff. There's a pretty nice variety. Has some to go cans. They also fill up growlers. Came with the girl to have a pint or a few. Turned out to be a few, too good for only one though. It's about $7 a pint. That limited us because I definitely would have had more of this. I had the Fruit Creep. This is a double IPA. It's not too hoppy. This was tamed a bit by the fruity notes. Also good is the Wiccan Chicken. This has more than just a cool name. Also there's slushies if you want something frozen. These are made with a sour beer, cool literally.

Has a very interesting location and very interesting beers. It's close to the Metra station a few blocks from here. This makes it convenient to get to by public transportation.

IBW beer has been around for a while, I've had several of their beers over the years, but they've now finally opened up their own taproom, up on the far NW side in Norwood Park. It's a bit far, but not super hard to get to, it's not far from the Harlem exit on the Kennedy. And it's good that there's a brewery up in that neighborhood now. I will say it's quite the impressive taproom, with so many cool horror and rock and satanic decorations and memorabilia all over, way more than you usually see in a taproom. They have about 10 drafts, and then they offer can pours which is real cool, if you don't want to buy a 4pack of something that's not currently on draft. Bartenders were all real cool, there's indoor and outdoor seating out back. They share a small parking lot, but street parking isn't too bad up there. I'd gladly go back and hope to more whenever I'm back up that a ways again.

Recently I went out with da guys as we were booted out by our respective spouses, since da gals were staying in for a pizza and games evening. Two of da guys had the home field advantage of living in the Norwood Park neighborhood, so we wound up at Illuminated Brew Works for pre-dinner drinks.

IBW is a fairly new tap room with an obscure location on Northwest Highway. It's a chill environment to hang out whether you are a human or a dog. There is a central bar along with a few tables in the adjacent area. The beers have funky names such as War on Xmas, Solstice Sacrifice, and the very yummy Orange Sunshine. The industrial interior sports some artwork with an attitude, and the bathrooms are wallpapered with their beer can labels.

IBW is near our friends' homes, so, along with them, we have become huge fans of the place. We love the beers, and service is always exemplary even when a lone bartender becomes a bit busy. We have attended a trivia night, which is a great time. I love the interior and the labels all over the bathroom walls. The whole vibe is chill and the patrons are all pretty cool from what I've seen.

While a strange and curious location tucked between a hand car wash and a wine place, Illuminated is nice enough to offer masks and buttons upon entering.
Notice the brewery floor in front of you right when you walk in and the free masks and buttons as well. You'll see ALL the beer options in cans on the left. Once you make your way toward the large square bar, you will see lots of seating options for groups of people.
What was the most surprising is I notice a good balance of women and men here. A nice surprise.

Find a seat at the bar and the female bartender will direct you to the sign above for beer options.
Don't forget you can get the canned options too! Maybe split it amongst the people around you if you're up for trying it out.
I did this with the Wiccan Chicken. The bartender poured some in glasses for 4 of us and we all got to try something that, honestly, was underwhelming. Strange enough the male behind the counter did not have any words to describe this beer we were drinking. And neither did the bartender. So bust out the Untapped in this place to get a description of what you see on on tap or in the cans.

What did taste great was the Outer Space. There was an offer to have a side by side pour with the Inner Space for $9, but I wasn't feeling having more than one when I first sat down. I posted a picture of what the difference is between these 2.

Really glad I stopped in for a beer! And will be back as I tried another brew on tap that was a Slushy Thing, a fruited sour.

Not comparable to the Fruit Creep I had back in Oct. 2020 which I found was both dank and delicious.
And I really need to get my brain around their assortment of varieties. But hey, new brewery in my hood, I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Last thing: I Wish they had an option to get an assortment of canned brews.

This place is a strange place hidden in the back alley. I tried all the beers on tap and could not find one decently tasting beer. As for the bartender he had no clue about anything. He may as well be a fly on the wall or bump on a log.
Dresses up as a biker but is not in a biker club or even owns a motorbike.
If the beer was good I could get over the rest but with a bar stuck in the alley, a biker that's not a biker and shit beer is enough for me to avoid this place.
Like I said overall a strange place.

A brewery on the outskirts of Chicago that's seems to be a gay brewery as there are like three or four gay flags everywhere the beer here was very good if pricey and the overall look is a very unique Style for a brewery and I like everything about this place. This place is not easy to find and you might have to get out of your car and look for it it is very clean inside and has the usual Brewery type activity of games and so forth board games