Chain O’Lakes Brewing Company

Loved how this place looked inside with barrel seating and how they wrote name of beer on flight. Good Selection for a great price! Played shuffle board which was nice however it was $ 2.00 but for a half hour so that was fine. The bartender was a nice man. My favorite was the Black Hawk 2x IPA. All pretty good though.

Very friendly great micro brew house. Say Hi to Curt the owner. Malt centered brews so for those of us tired of the low flavor high hop offerings, this is the place. Out of 43 tastings at other houses, this is the only place I not only finished every sample but wanted more and left with two grumblers (their version of a howler). My new favorite out of over 50 microbreweries.

Great beer, awesome company. The Fox River Scotch Ale is my favorite so far. They release new brews every Friday to keep it interesting. No food but Green Pea Pod is right down the road and they deliver. Flip over the coasters and they have a notes part where you can leave words of wisdom for future patrons.

Pretty cool concept, and watering hole. Stopped over passing by. The beers are very nice, and the atmosphere is a medium sized bar that serves micro brews. The set up reminds me of somebody’s house, but that somebody happens to be an awesome brewer and have great making beer equipment in the window. I do not believe they have food, and a bunch of people were coming in & out for their growler refills.

They only had 3 (west coast ale & scotch ale were tasty) of the usual 6 beers available? Curt the brewer maybe the owner was cool came out and asked what I liked. Surprise firken of New Holland Dragons Milk was tapped too. :)

Heard about this place through a friend but I didn’t expect what I saw upon my 1^st visit! I’m being very biased here because when I first walked in I saw they had Semper Fi Stout on tap. And any true Marine would never order anything different! The place is small but that adds to it’s greatness! After having a pint of the SFS I ventured to a few other brews that definitely were up to par! My only negative about the place is that they were sold out of the growlers so I had to settle with buying a grumbler to get me through the evening! All in all a great place to enjoy a beverage.

We had our holiday party here since they let us bring our own food. I had never been in there, so didn’t know what to expect.
The main thing — the beer — was excellent. They had three of their own on tap, and some guest beers on tap as well. Prices were reasonable and the service was great!
The atmosphere leaves much to be desired. Not much seating is available. They could use some high tables with stools I stead of the bench they have along the wall. They aren’t open during «bar hopping» hours, but it’s definitely worth the trip out there to pick up a growler. Or three. :-)
Overall, a great establishment. Very accommodating for our event, and it’s family owned and operated. We will definitely be going there again!

I visited here with a large group of people recently. First thing that must be said is they are really not set up for groups of people larger than 3. Working together, everyone made the best of the situation and we had a great time.
All pints are $ 5 and a flight of 8 oz beers is $ 8. They only serve the beers brewed in the brewery with some «guest» microbrews from time to time and everything is only served on tap. They now have a cooler of sodas but this is the only exception to the above.
They do have some merchandise available but all items are paid for cash only– no credit cards are accepted.
You can ask for the menu books of downtown McHenry places that will deliver to COL Brewing. You may order for delivery or bring in your own food but none is available otherwise. We ordered from Fox Hole Pizza and had a couple of nice pies delivered.
I felt it was a good experience and as time goes on I am sure that more seating will be available and other facility upgrades.

We had no idea it was their Grand Opening celebration until we arrived here on Saturday afternoon. The event itself was pretty awesome, but I don’t feel like I truly got to experience the brewery itself. By the time we arrived they had completely run out of all their house brews and were serving other craft beers.
To limit transactions at the bar (which I totally get for an event like this), you had to buy chips at the door. It was $ 5 a chip which could be redeemed for a beer. Not a bar price, but they weren’t serving full pints either. It also seemed to be cash only. I don’t know if that’s usually the case, but we were prepared for that.
They had tents, a pretty good bluegrass band, and a food truck (They don’t serve food here, but you can bring it in with you or have it delivered here.) all set up in the parking lot. There was also a bag set in the middle of the lot. We played a round of bags while we sipped our first beers and then headed back inside since it was hot out!
Inside was very neat. The décor was pretty minimalist and location oriented — lots of maps and picture of the lakes. It was crazy loud inside and seating was minimal. Not sure if they usually have more tables, but it was a couple tables and a bench running the length of the side wall with some kegs that had been painted and turned into side tables.
So a solid 4 stars for putting on a cool event, but I don’t feel like I can legitimately give them 5 stars at this point. I didn’t get to try their beer or experience the place on a «normal» day, but I would definitely like to come back and check them out again!