Kinslahger - A Great Neighborhood Taproom [long]

Kinslahger Brewing Company
6806 Roosevelt Rd, Oak Park


Yeah, yeah. Not a restaurant but food does make its way into this story.

Did a search on the site and not one mention (not even a whisper)? Maybe an issue with searching using the phone?

This week has been their 2nd Anniversary (5 day celebration) and My Bride and I have committed to stopping by for at least one beer each day during this time.

As a bonus they have been having food vendors for the event on Friday night and all day Saturday. Not just any vendors either...

Their regular Friday night vendor (in their food truck) is the esteemed ...

Carnivore Meats and Seafood
1042 Pleasant St, Oak Park

A rotating and inventive menu, this Friday the two sandwich offerings were Hot Swiss and Swine (ham) and a (3 kinds of) fish sandwich (not tried). Soups were Turkey with Wild Rice and Chicken Noodle.


The Turkey with Wild Rice had a very rich broth with big chunks of tender turkey, the Ham and the Cheese was top notch all on a tender bread. Lightly toasted tith a tangy mustard. As a side for the sandwich was chunks of potato with a creamy, tangy sauce.

Saturday brought in two vendors, early in the day was brought to you by...

Paisans Pizzeria
6226 Ogden Ave, Berwyn

Their pizza (3 types) is serviceable but the highlight was their excellent Dragon Wings. A sweet and tangy sauce with a heat level to satisfy any hot wing fan.



Later in the day a new vendor...

Spilt Milk (premium) Bakery
103 S Oak Park Ave, Oak Park

... was on hand with a nice selection of savory pies. Besides the delightful Chicken Pot Pie consisting of big and tender chunks of chicken, vegetables in a buttery crust, there were also 3 kinds of hand pies (think empanada), Cochinita Pibil, Pizza and Vegetable.


The hand pies had somewhat of a solid consistency with a good flavor. Maybe could of had a little more of their respective origin flavors, a little more sauce?

It was mentioned that maybe the Pizza Hand Pie was too good? Not greasy or flaky enough.

Spilt Milk Bakery also provides the taproom with big pretzels which shares the taproom menu with some cheese or hard sausage.

The beers, produced in the back room, are solid with several available in 4 packs at finer liquor stores. One of the favorites is the Baltic Porter which is often available in different preparations, straight, a nitro, and this week a Toasted Coconut Baltic Porter. During other visits I have also had a Chili infused version.

The anniversary beer was Ein Bier #3 which is a slightly cloudy Weiss style beer. Rumor has it that the recipe for this beer is the very first batch they made. They had designs for another style of beer but it didn’t work out the way they intended and this was the result. Actually a very smooth and drinkable beer with a light cloudiness.

They always have about 8 beers on tap, 2 house made sodas and a nitro cold coffee.

No TV’s (what!) fosters an environment where people actually put down their phones and talk to each other and also to strangers to each side.

Traditional bar with stools with a continuous padded bench on the other wall with tables with a chair.

Wednesday, the start of the celebration, brought the taproom to standing room only as well as most of the day today. Not to worry though as with guests coming and going you won’t wait long for a table.

The quadrupled their production capabilities late last year as well as started outsourcing some of the production (for their canned products).

Stop by now before they outgrow their charm. Of the three owners, they can often be found onsite, serving or just occupying a table with guests.

Just great.

Well Sunday was the last day of their anniversary celebration. A good and lively crowd!

No food service but we did enjoy one of the pretzels supplied by Spilt Milk.


They were also running an hourly raffle for a Crowler of their beer of which we won one.


Also talking with the owners, they mentioned that the latest brewery located at Lake and Austin will be called...

Lake Street Brewery

They are adding a rooftop bar with great views of downtown.

Huge tap room fan here and this one is going on our list to visit. We are regulars at Temperance in Evanston and Alarmist in our ‘hood. Alarmist frequently pairs up with food pop-ups/trucks.
We love the family-friendly aspect of the venues and the opportunity to support local businesses.

Alarmist Brewing
4055 W Peterson

I live way too close to "Da Kinz" as I've grown fond of calling it. It is nice to have a place that isn't heavily focused on ales but is doing very interesting things in the lager space. I think they're Nitro Baltic Porter is one of the best tasting things you can get in Chicagoland and we have found the Common to be very crowd-pleasing.

We've made a few meals on Friday nights using the Carnivore truck's always reliable offerings. It's great to have that place in the neighborhood.

I've been here a couple of times. It is a solid venue. If you visit on a weekday, I can recommend bringing in an Italian Beef sandwich from the original Buona Beef across the corner from it.
What should have been mentioned, but as yet has not, is Kinslahger is credit card only.

Panther in the Den wrote:Also talking with the owners, they mentioned that the latest brewery located at Lake and Austin will be called...

Lake Street Brewery

They are adding a rooftop bar with great views of downtown.

Did they share any timeline on this place? I feel like it's been gutted for quite a while without much if any progress made. You can tell though that there is a basic structure assembled on the roof now.

bierz wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Also talking with the owners, they mentioned that the latest brewery located at Lake and Austin will be called...

Lake Street Brewery

They are adding a rooftop bar with great views of downtown.

Did they share any timeline on this place? I feel like it's been gutted for quite a while without much if any progress made. You can tell though that there is a basic structure assembled on the roof now.

I have learned to take opening estimates with a grain of salt.

I am sure Steve, the head brewmaster at Kinderhook, might of mentioned something but it just passed through my head.

I seem to remember it will be this summer.