beer bars in Champaign

Some friends & I are going to the U of I this coming weekend for the PSU game. We get down there about once per year. And for the last few years we would go to either Joe’s Brewery or Murphy’s Pub before/after the game. I was wondering if there are more adult beer bars down there with a nice selection. Off-campus is probably preferred. Someone at work mentioned Mike & Molly’s.

Any thoughts, or other recommendations?

D.

The best bar for beers in Champaign, in my opinion, is the Blind Pig. It's in downtown Champaign, well off campus, and there will be few - if any - undergraduates there. The website below lists their beer selections, though they do change their offerings fairly regularly.

The Blind Pig
www.blindpigco.com
120 N Walnut St
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 398-1532

Mike and Molly's is another good option, as is Crane Alley in Urbana.

Crane Alley
115 W Main St, Urbana
(217) 384-7526

Mike and Molly's
105 N Market St
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 355-1236

I also like Esquire. Their beer selection is good, though not as extensive as the others.

Esquire
http://www.esquirelounge.com/
106 N Walnut St, Champaign, IL
(217) 398-5858

The Blind Pig, Mike and Molly's, and Esquire are within 2 blocks of one another. There's probably about 5 other good bars nearby, though the ones above have the best beer selections, in my opinion.

Another thumbs up for the Blind Pig. And what's that place on Neil Street in the old Coke building? I don't know what their beer selection is like, but it's got some pool tables.

Radio Maria has a great tap and bottle list in addition to serving decent tapas.....

http://www.radiomariarestaurant.com/rmsite.html

I second Radio Maria - the food is great and the new bar selection is really cool and unique. The best part is after dinner and drinks at Radio Maria, you can wander across the street to have a few more at Blind Pig!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. After the game we went to Radio Maria and sat outside (what a great afternoon). We had 2 Kulmbachers, 1 Rogue Dead Guy Ale, 1 Dogfish Head IPA, and a Porter, I can’t remember its name. All were on draft. The guys thought everyone was excellent, although I thought the Porter was a little hoppy for my tastes.

We split a Cuban pork bocadito and a Latin burger bocadito. I didn’t remember these either, but the menu is on line and that helped my memory. I had half the pork which was very good.

We then went across the street to the Blind Pig. Another great choice, unfortunately I forgot what everyone had. I know I had a Belgium triple which I enjoyed a lot. We then went to Mike & Molly’s just to check it out. I thought it was a little dingy and the other two places looked a lot better.

My friend’s son goes to Illinois, so since he drove, we ran some errands for his son and picked up some supplies.

His son then wanted to go out to Alexander’s Steak house (202 W Anthony Dr) for dinner. It was not a great steak, but we all thought they were very good. It was kind of a neat concept. For $20 you got the salad bar, a decent size steak, baked potato, and a domestic beer (Miller/Bud).

The neat thing is you cook your own over a big grill. So we stood around the grill, talked about the game, drank our beer, and played with our meat (so to speak). With the win, this was an excellent weekend. I can recommend all the places we went to.

Thanks again.

D.