The newest Guinness Open Gate Brewery will, finally, be opening at 901 W. Kinzie in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, September 28.
"We’re just as eager to open our doors as you are Chicago, but it turns out there’s a lot that goes into converting an old train depot into a state-of-the-art brewhouse and community hub," Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago said in a social media blast this month.
"Like we’ve always said, 'good things come to those who wait.'
"Just a little longer, friends. #SeeYouSept28."
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The new West Loop outpost, which was announced back in 2021, was due to open over the summer, but renovations took longer than anticipated. It follows the success of the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, Maryland, which opened in 2018.
The Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago will feature a taproom, restaurant, and the first-ever Guinness Bakery, and will further feature a number of beer releases, food-focused experiences, and events throughout the year.
The taps at Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago will feature 12-16 rotating experimental draughts brewed on-site alongside signatures like Guinness Draught Stout, straight from Dublin.
Meanwhile, the food menus will draw inspiration from the brewery’s Irish roots and global footprint alongside reimagined Chicago classics.
“An important part of what Guinness has become over the last 260-plus years is the fact that we’re willing to ask people to maybe take a bit of a different journey than they’re expecting,” Ryan Wagner, Guinness’ head of marketing and national ambassador, recently told Chicago Eater.
Wagner added: "Quality plays a huge role — there’s such a delicate balance between the freshness of the beer, the cleanliness of the lines, the appropriate pressure, the appropriate temperature.
“When all those things are in harmony, a Guinness Draught Stout poured in the US is going to taste every bit as good as a Guinness Draught Stout poured in Ireland and that’s what we’ll do here.”
Wagner also chatted with NBC Chicago, which got a behind-the-scenes look at the soon-to-be-opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery.
Wagner noted that Guinness brews beer at 50 breweries around the world, but there are only three where people can walk in for a visit - Dublin, Baltimore, and now, Chicago.
A key feature of the new Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago is "a modern interpretation of the harp that hangs over our taproom, as much music to the eye as our beer is to your tastebuds."
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Ahead of its opening, Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Chicago got a shoutout from J. B. Pritzker, the Governor of Illinois:
What better place to expand in the nation than Illinois?
Guinness’ taps start pouring later this month in Chicago, their now second US outpost. Sláinte! https://t.co/Ah7eauHPPU
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 14, 2023
Earlier this year, Diageo, the parent company of Guinness, said that the Chicago location plans to work with Chicago-based coffee company Intelligentsia on developing and implementing its coffee program and will continue its partnership with Baltimore's Cane Collective on the development of both beer cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails.
Additionally, Guinness will bring parent company Diageo's Learning Skills for Life program, which provides unemployed and underemployed individuals with free hospitality and employability skills training, to Chicago.
Diageo noted that since the first barrels of its famous Extra Stout rolled into the Windy City in 1910, Guinness' story has also been a part of Chicago's rich history. Arthur Shand, Guinness World Traveller, remarked in 1911 that Chicago has and will always be an important point for Guinness Stout. Over a century later, the iconic brand is proud to further that statement as it extends its reach in the US.
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