Unexpected Craft Brewing Company — Restaurant in Oak Park

Popped into the neighboring Dog&Pony which has very good lighter beers/sours/etc. but the atmosphere is a little too busy & hangout for kids/families. That's fine and good for them, but my partner and I wanted something a little more relaxed or quiet, and also somewhere with more darker beer choices - porters & stouts. This place delivered on all of it! The peanut butter strawberry porter was the star of the show that day - just delicious. And most of the others were fantastic, too. They had two or 3 varieties of BA on tap and most were great - the Caramel one may have been a bad batch but maybe it just wasn't for me. Also tried the radler on the lighter/lower ABV side and it was delicious as well. They also have some smaller finger foods (taquitos, cheese pizzas, etc.) for snacking and the service is friendly and accommodating. The layout of the space is large and while the entire brewing area is open and visible, it's still separated nicely so it still seems cozy and inviting in the bar area. Lots of seating on long tables or at the bar, and the plants in the back entrance near the restrooms are a very nice touch. Also the cloth tapestry hangings nicely break up the otherwise industrial edge of the space - smartly done. All in all, we 'Unexpected'ly really enjoyed this place and prefer it to it's neighbor, and we'll definitely be going...

Apparently this place has been around for a few years but I was just introduced to it a few months ago. I've been back 4 or 5 times since. It's a very small place and the easiest way to describe it is a dive bar/brewery. It has the feel of being that place that the locals come to every afternoon and you could so easily become a regular. But the best thing about this place is the beer. They are always changing up their selection and always experimenting. I'm always impressed how they'll basically try anything. There are plenty of beers that are delicious there, and sometimes not so much. However, it doesn't matter if I don't like the taste of one, I give them full support for trying something new (and besides, you can always try a free sample). There's no food here besides a bag of chips you can buy, and that suits me just fine. It's become the bar I stop at after eating dinner and just want to chill. Besides that, there's great service and inviting people and they let dog owners bring their dogs in. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it.

If you're a fan of trying new beer and enjoy the feel of your local watering hole, please check...

Some of their beers leave a weird aftertaste in my mouth. It seems like they are using artificial flavors to add to their beers, since they seem over the top and chemically tasting. The Peanut Butter taste was hard to get down, it had this off putting peanut butter taste to it, like they used some cheap PB in it. Their stouts dont have a lot of kick to them, they are all pretty much light bodied with not a lot of complexity. I give them credit for trying to change things around all the time, but when I keep coming back and having this same weird artificial taste to what they add to the beers, I wonder if they are using quality ingredients when brewing. I want to be a bigger fan, but im not fawning over them like other people on here. Most people are easily pleased since they havent had that many different kinds of beers out there, locally, across the country or even over seas. Not the stuff that you can buy in the store, but actually going to the places...