Mickey Finn’s Brewery

September 27, 2008
Been here a few times over the years, a Lush cousin of mine lives in Libertyville and we hit this place every time i’m in town. Classic Midwest lounge with lots of dark wood decor, I like the set up here because it’s separated from the main dining area. Beers are decent enough, nothing that will rock your socks off. Food is pretty good. Nice place to hang and pound a few.

April 22, 2008
nice warm oaky place...service was good and the staff was friendly...northing really interesting on tap, and in fact one of the beers was bad...like bad bad too old to serve...like they just needed to blow through it already to put something new on...

January 21, 2008
Friday evening found the place pretty well packed. A lot of this crowd was people waiting to be seated in the restaurant, but I still could only find one bar stool open. This looks like an old bar in an old downtown, and decor reflects it, too. personable regulars, and two bar staff keeping tabs on me as I wandered through their sampler. Notbale in that they set out tasters for both the nitro and draft versions of their IPA. Can’t say I had the food, but in our state’s new smoke-free atmosphere, I now found I couldn’t smell the beer because of the yummy smell of the cheeseburger the guy next to me had. Still, nice selection of beers.

January 14, 2008
I stopped by on a weekday evening, and the bar was surprisingly sparsely populated. The bar area was darker with a checkered floor, darker woods, and a very cool feel to it. I also noticed some lounge-type seating, and the place serves as a concert venue (not the night I was there). They had several beers on tap, which were average to slightly above average. Service was very good. This was a good stop.

July 22, 2007
Stopped by on a Sunday (late lunch or early dinner). They had a nice crowd. The food was mediocre (the pita for my hummus was dry and my ahi tuna was also dry). 7 beers on tap (but most average and nothing to shout about).

June 10, 2007
Went here on a Friday around noon. Crowded and very noisy, nice that there was no smoke though. Sat down, was served my sampler, and then nobody even noticed I had a menu and was ready to order the entire time. Service, therefore, was nonexistant. Seven beers on draught, all theirs, and they were all over the place, some were outstanding, others were very mediocre. I don’t know -- I’ll be back but not anytime soon.

March 31, 2007
Sat outside on the patio a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. It was a week night, and the crowd was small and family style. Food was good, and so was the beer.

August 16, 2006 [ Updated February 20, 2008 ]
First of all, the parking situation was definitely annoying on my trip. The pub itself is small and has a British-style feel. I was here around happy hour and it was filled with very loud barflies. The beer selection was quite disappointing featuring three wheat beers and a light Mexican-style brew.

August 12, 2006
Okay parking and the bar has a dark wood olde school feel. The outdoor patio was packed when I arrived due to a gathering across the way. Most of the staff seemed college age. The beer selection on this day left something to be desired with 3 different wheat-based beers. Will need to check it out in the fall time for a better selection.

February 20, 2006 [ Updated December 4, 2006 ]
Dining room downstairs seemed open yet uncomfortable and I’m glad we ventured upstairs to the "Amber Room" on a busy Friday evening. Here we found a relaxing lounge environment that was able to host a decent rock band and accomodate a fairly large crowd. Pleasant, subdued décor with mocha paint, plenty of wood & earthen tile complementing a massive, marble bar under soft incidentals and Italian lights. A smattering of "classy" thrift store furniture adds to the ambiance (but not necessarily the comfort, as some chairs and couches were "well worn"). Vivid flat screens compete with soft, surrealist oils. Restrooms seem small but innovative with fully enclosed water closets for your added privacy.

The crowd here is college/yuppie mix, but what are you really looking for in a brewpub? Bartenders work well under pressure and the bus staff is highly attentive. As far as food, we enjoyed some lip-numbing hot wings while others around us seemed satisfied by a variety of pub fare.

Beer selection was more than adequate for most palates and the fact that they change their beers with regularity is a plus. As far as beer quality, all were above par and they did a nice job of replicating styles. There were a fair share of macros being handed out, but it may be understandable considering today’s weakest house beer was a 5.2% ESB. My wife and I will definitely return.