Visit Malt Row

Local Breweries Highlight a Dynamic Community of Small Businesses & Creative Industry

Getting Around

Malt Row is walkable, easily accessible by CTA Brown Line, the UP-North Ravenswood Metra, and has plentiful bike-sharing options. Download a copy of our Malt Row Guidebook and share your experience with us on social media using the hashtag #MaltRow. Welcome to Ravenswood’s Malt Row, cheers!

• Submit your Malt Row Guide challenge

Save the Date!

To highlight the brewers and distillers along Malt Row, the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) coordinates annual Signature Events such as:

• Malt Row on Damen Beer Tasting Stroll
• Ravenswood On Tap Craft Beer & Music Fest
• Malt Row Hoppy Hour
• Taste of Ravenswood

Interested in sponsorship or volunteer opportunties?

History

From Craft Beer to Artisan Spirits: Encouraging Cultural Ferment through Local Events and Programs

In 2017, GRCC kicked off Illinois Craft Beer Week with the announcement of Malt Row. We also released our first guidebook, profiling our neighborhood’s breweries, taprooms, and restaurants. Since the launch, there has been a significant increase in collaborations within the craft beverage community and also between the brewers and local businesses.

As part of our commitment to connecting Malt Row with Ravenswood small businesses, we’ve developed a variety of programs, events, and campaigns that highlight the flavors of Ravenswood. Whether we’re connecting art galleries with the brewers for openings, organizing tap takeovers, coordinating collaborative brew days, or planning summer street festivals, we hope to encourage more visitors to explore all that Malt Row has to offer.

Community of Makers

Along the Metra tracks that cut through Ravenswood Avenue you’ll find dozens of beautiful, massive industrial buildings. Some are home to metalworkers, manufacturers, commercial bakeries, and artist studios. Outside, the greenway along the tracks grass is lined with trees, community gardens, sculptures, and picnic spaces.

The Ravenswood Corridor and surrounding area is home to some of Chicago’s best and most unique craft beer options. Once a turn-of-the-century hub for industry, this stretch of road is now a mosaic of creative businesses and artisans intertwined into a uniquely residential backdrop.

– Jack Muldowney of hopculture.com

The corridor intersects with Montrose Avenue, a trendy commercial district that’s home to a vibrant mix of cafes, taverns, boutiques, and restaurants. Sidewalk patios and murals dot the street, which includes art studios, gift shops, and a home brew supply store.

The CTA’s Brown Line train rattles overhead and the new Metra Station at Lawrence Avenue is bustling; both function as portals from busier, grayer places to scenic Ravenswood.

The Industrial Corridor stretches north of Foster Avenue, into Bowmanville. Hidden in this quiet residential community is Tempel Steel’s enormous campus, and another stretch of industrial buildings along Wolcott and Balmoral. Here again, the corridor is surrounded with community gardens, murals, and mosaic installations. Nearby on Foster and Damen Avenues, you’ll find cafes, pizza parlors, taquerias, and beautiful Winnemac Park.

Perfect Conditions for the Craft Beer Boom

Giants of the Chicago beer scene were born on Malt Row; including Half Acre (still here!) and Metropolitan (celebrated over decade brewing beer in 2021). Other past tenants have included Band of Bohemia (the world’s first Michelin-stared brewpub), Aquanaut Brewing Co., Empirical Brewery, and Letherbee Distillery.

Today, Malt Row is home to upwards of 10 independent craft breweries, an internationally awarded distillery, an innovative winery, and the world headquarters of the Cicerone Certification Program.