The Beer Temple

First time here, I’m from Oklahoma so I wanted to get some good Chicago beer. Selection was good, I got the two beers I was searching for. It’s a little small, but I think the selection is decent. Friendly staff. Park in the back, they’re at a corner and I drove past it twice trying to find it haha.

not much of a temple, i was looking for my fav weiss beer, it is non alcohol, and is served with a slice of lemon, and i was informed they do not have non alcohol beer, so actually jewel has them beat by far. another stupid idea, not really worth seeing, but there is a good mexican restaurant across the street.

I have not had very positive experiences with this store. My first experience with them was ordering online. I ordered Boulevard Saison-​Brett, but received Tank 7, a considerably less expensive beer. Mistakes happen, I get that, so when I finally did come to Chicago I figured I’d give the actual store a shot. The two people working here were rude. They had a sign that said «Now Tasting,» with two beers listed under it. I asked, «oh, you guys are doing a tasting?» and the dude behind the register just gave a snippy «yeah.» No, «yeah, would you like a pour?» or something to that affect. I was with 3 other people, all making purchases, and my friend who was next in line asked towards the end of the purchase «oh, did you get this?» It was a keychain bottle opener. The same guy said «no,» and just started to ring up the next customer. So that was two inquiries that were responded to snippily and honestly, not addressed at all. I cannot stand rude service people. I will never be ordering online or visiting them again. Go to Binny’s, they have a selection that’s about on par with The Beer Temple and the workers aren’t insert derogatory word here.

Great beer selection. Being an out of towner from Connecticut I was treated really well.

Great local shop with knowledge staff, incredible selection, and typically the best prices in the city. Fresh IPAs, free parking, plus daily tastings — nothing not to love here. I’ll pass many other shops in order to make sure I support Chris and everyone at The Beer Temple

Always parking in the back, and there is always a good selection of craft beer/​cider/​mead on site. Good mix of American and imports (large and small format), with plenty of standard 6 pack craft/​cider/​mead kept cold for your immediate party needs. There are consistent updates on new shipments posted with pictures on Facebook and Twitter so you can see what is arriving multiple times a week.
Staff is amazing, always friendly and always willing to help you find what you are looking for. If you are looking for a flavor profile, they can help point you in the right direction. Something that is lacking in other bottle stores around the city: A hanging plate with price, beer name and type right on the shelf. No need to guess if that vaguely named beer is a red or an IPA. The staff is also willing to pull beers up on the internet at the counter if needed.
Prices are fair for the city and usually competitive to all the local stores.
There is always a bottle open for tasting at the counter, often there are multiple bottles. Friends of the store bring in hard to find beers and the store shares them with customers that walk in. Again, this is something you can find on the social media sites.
Chris, the owner and Cicerone, is also about beer education which has earned him respect from consumers and those in the industry. His VLOG was online long before the store opened and he has continued his regular episodes since opening the store two years ago.
If you are looking for a massive beer warehouse, don’t stop here. But if you are looking for a boutique bottle shop that only carries the best beer around, then this is your store. This is easily one of the top three beer stores in the city and worth your time there.

Beer is treated like a fine wine, beautifully displayed, with some of the nice collection of the large format beers — what are they called… bombers?
For the beer loving friend, these make great gifts. You can find hard to find Monk monastic beer to the kooky local Chicago brews. I got lucky and the staff were sampling beers and invited me to sample some of their bottles. The location is awkward and remote from the L on the 6 corners of Belmont, Elston and California, but if you identify and practice beer geekery, a pilgramage to the Beer Temple is required.

I just moved to the ‘hood and am ecstatic to have a bottle shop as amazing as Beer Temple within walking distance. Super Score for Sarah!
Beer Temple has quite a good selection including shelf after shelf of large format bottles… and that’s my weakness. Some girls may be into buying shoes or jewelry… or whatever it is normal girls buy. Well, I’m not a normal girl. A liquor store is my weakness and I could go in looking to buy a good bomber or two — next thing I know I’ve dropped a hundy because I thought the labels were cute or I saw some exotic ingredient listed.
Beer Temple does a good job of feeding my addiction with friendly service, daily tastings and a rewards program. I’m not worthy of thee, ye divine temple of hops & barley.

Some friends and I visited over the weekend from Indiana. Our trip to The Beer Temple was based solely on Unilocal reviews. The selection here was vast and there were many beers we had been looking for that aren’t sold in Indiana. I like that there is a section devoted for local Chicago brews. Chris was extremely helpful with his recommendations on beer and where we should go to drink good beer in the city. He really made our experience great. Would highly recommend this place and I plan to go back whenever I’m in Chicago.

I’ve ordered twice now from the Beer Temple here in PA and both times have been great experiences. Fast shipping and the products are perfect. Will do business with them again!

Great selection. Chris is friendly and gives great suggestions. Small parking lot but I live a few blocks away so walking is no issue. Free samples!

My hubby, friends and I love craft beer! And, when we visit Chicago we always try to find a good beer store that carries good local brews from Pipeworks, Only Child, Spiteful Brewing, etc along with hard to get beers. We visited Piece Pizza first (yum!) and then headed a few miles north to this gem. At first we weren’t sure where to park and went around the block a time or two. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, we saw a big sign pointing to their private lot that was right behind the store (duh!!).
We parked our oversized suburbanite vehicle and walked about 15 steps into the store. It was fairly crowded and isn’t huge but they definitely do well with the space they have. They had a lot of good beers. We found some barrel aged Hoppin’ Frog that we’d been looking for along with an Evil Twin ‘Even more Jesus’ that we hadn’t seen before. They carry lots of Pipeworks beers along with many other locals and even a good selection of European beers.
The guys working there were helpful and offered us some tasters. Their prices are no worse than any other beer store we’ve visited and are actually along the lines of Binnys. We will return and would recommend it to other craft beer lovers.

Can’t believe I had never been to this place! Parking in REAR if you’ve never been which definitely helps. Inside, they have an amazing variety! Staff very helpful if you have any questions and prices are about average. Think of «East Lakeview» times three! get dat did

They treat beer like wine, and wine like beer. Beers are separated by origin, and the sommelier behind the counter will tell you which beer goes best with grilled shrimp if you’d like the advice.
Beer deserves respect, and the Beer Temple delivers.

Updated after multiple visits:
This is everything a beer store should be. A knowledgable, friendly staff. Good, rare and steady beers. And not super huge. There are daily tastings of beers too. Some of which you cannot purchase in Illinois, but the owner wants to show the great beers of other places and chat about what makes those beers great.
Let me repeat that last sentence, he wants to chat about what makes those beers great. He enjoys listening to others opinions and share his as well. He won’t tell you what you should taste. He won’t talk at you about the beer. he wants to have a conversation about what makes the beer.
THAT makes this place a gem ⁵⁄₅!

Beer Temple has an outstanding handpicked craft & import selection, with super attention to detail (such as UV-​film coated windows to protect from sunlight), fresh beer is emphasized with marked bottling dates on everything. This is the antithesis of a sprawling megastore filled with dusty, outdated beer. Free daily tastings of new and obscure beers, as well as old favorites.
The store is very clean and easy to navigate, with a cool collection of assorted breweriana on the walls, and even beer-​related art for sale. A respectable handpicked selection of wine, cider, and spirits here as well, though beer is clearly #1. Very helpful and friendly staff that will chat or give recommendations. Easy free parking and 2^nd entrance around back, shared with Pork Shoppe and the lamp shop.
Pricing is very fair and competitive, and a refreshing change from other gouge-​happy shops around town. It’s clear the owners are a part of the craft beer community, they are extremely invested and put their heart and soul into it.
As a weekly shopper here, i’ve never had an issue with anything. A couple «reviewers» here are clearly misguided… a narcissist perceiving nonexistent personal insults, and another who never actually set foot in the store. These aren’t reliable reviews, and frankly pretty laughable if you ask me.

I’ve been to several bottle shops around the country, but I must boast that the best bottle shop I’ve ever been to is located here in my home city. Entering the store, I am completely overwhelmed with beers I’ve been looking for, new releases, and beers that I was unaware of.
Chris and Aaron have always made a point to converse each time I am in there. I can’t articulate their enthusiasm and knowledge for beer.
Every day at Beer Temple, there is a tasting of usually between 2 – 3 beers. There has been several times where the beer tasting is a whale, something out of our distribution area, or something hard to find. (Most of this comes from Chris’ stash, so add generous to the final bill of asskissing he greatly deserves.)
While you will find several bombers that are worth bending your budget, there is also a great collection of 6-​ers that will make you finish that week so you can come back and get some more.
It’s worth noting that the Beer Temple website is a great tool for learning about craft beer (From beginner to expert.) Chris’ tastings are worth watching, as it can give you an idea of what to purchase in the future.
My only complaint is that this place opened not too long after I moved from this neighborhood. I was a block away! C’MON!

The Beer Temple is a little slice of heaven for lovers of craft and imported brews residing in Avondale. When I undertook the migration out of Logan Square into this fine neighborhood, I was heartened to know that the Beer Temple would be a mere block away.
The Beer Temple is a clean, well lit space that specializes in having complete (or near complete) lines of American Microbreweries and several European brews, including many German pilsners. Service is very friendly, and beer prices here are comparable to larger neighborhood liquor stores, like VAs Foremost down the line on California/​Milwaukee.
They have a small booze selection as well, including some choice bourbons, but I did not inspect their price points. This IS the BEER temple, after all, but it is nice to see that they welcome all denominations — an alcohol soaked Unitarianism, after a fashion.
My one quibble is they did not have O’Fallon’s Hemp Hop Rye on my last visit. As that is the six pack upon which I currently worship, I felt forsaken. I hope this iniquity will be cleansed in the future. The very NEAR future, as Hemp or no Hemp, I shall return.

Wow! As good as it gets indeed! If there is beer in the afterlife, I can only imagine the selection is similar to The Beer Temple.
Being a beer advocate and homebrewer, I am pretty familiar with micro beers as well as beers from around the world, but there are beers stocked here I have never seen or heard of = beer heaven.
I could not restrain myself from grabbing a basket and loading it up with six+ 22oz bottles. I bought beers from Belgium, Finland, and the US (micros). Also, the owner seemed extremely knowledgeable on very random beers in the store, having personally tried them.
I would highly recommend this store to any beer fanatic in the Chicago area!

I would like to congregate at this particular temple and pray to their boozy gods.
They have Bees Knees nut products and a reasonable selection of spirits and wines.
The real offerings on the alter include an excellent collection of beers both micro and macro, with most of them also available in the cooler for instant gratification. The staff is friendly and willing to educate even alcohol novices.
They are well-​placed, just around the corner from the Pork Shoppe and within easy walking distance of a bunch of BYOB places.
The only thing missing is an adjacent café setting to sit down and drink at.