Bev Art Brewer & Wine Maker Supply

Well let’s see
Wife buys beer brewing kit last year and it was missing the thermometer. Went back to store and they gave me one.
Today on brew day 20 degrees out and my pale ale kit does not contain the dry malt extract.
It was cold so I substituted 12 oz of honey.
The Muslin bag was put in the pot and little bugs came out of the bag. I dumped 5 gallons of good water down the drain and refilled my pot.
The good thing here is they answer your questions. The bad thing is they answer everybody else’s questions. I went in to buy additional hoops. I like my beer hoop forward. I grabbed what I wanted and had to wait for 15 minutes while some guy asked a bunch of questions about his wine brew.
Some of these guys with beards will tell you 2 oz of hoops and your beer will be ‘hoppy’. I fell for this only once.
The place is set up like a hardware shop.
Watch out on the sidewalk in front of this establishment. I almost stepped in dog feces on 2 separate occasions.
Update: Greg, thanks for the offer. However I don’t write reviews in order to get something free. I wouldn’t consider it a bad experience. The 3 stars takes all aspects into consideration including price. I bought a 12 pack of empty bottles for $ 17 man! Each batch of beer that yields 2 cases is over $ 80. I enjoy the hobby but the price point is high.
Furthermore, I’ll definitely be back due to close proximity to my residence. Sometimes I wish business owners would look at the big picture and invest something back into the business.

I have been enjoying the service of Bev-​Art for decades. Greg, Kaz and the rest of the staff have been helpful, knowledgeable and a pleasure to do business with. Usually the store is well stocked with essential items. Often they will order special items. If there has been a problem, Greg has resolved it to my satisfaction.

This is such a fun place to host a birthday get together. I had a few of my friends get together for a wine making party and it was a blast. Greg one of the co-​owners served plenty of wine for tasting. He gave us a great history lesson on wine and the art of how to properly enjoy it. The wines were delicious and making them was so much fun. Our group just went so we have not bottle yet, but we can’t wait for the bottling process. We are going to order more wine for tasting while we bottle. I definitely recommend this place for all types of occasions. One of the other reviewers made a comment about the store and class room. Unfortunately they are right but the good news is they have purchased a new facility and it is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016. The owners of Bevart know their environment is not the most desirable that is why they are going all out at their new location. For my event I spent a little extra to decorate the venue. Because I was allowed to bring in outside food, I saved a ton on catering. With table cloths, flowers and balloons I transformed the room and no one complained. A good time was had by all.

Bev Art has a really cool deal on Valentine’s day. My boyfriend and I went, it was held at the Marriot in downtown Chicago in a ballroom type area. In the beginning, you mix and make your own wine (red) and get to do a tasting. After that, they let you bottle it, teach you to cork it, and even put the top plastic part on it by using a machine to melt it. It was pretty cool to learn the bottling process. They also had several other wines available (red and white) to drink, as well. So people were drinking and getting loosened up prior to the actual wine making.
After that, we went inside to a classroom type area and learned how they made wine and about where they actually grow their grapes. It was cool, a little too informative, but that is only my opinion, several people enjoyed the process, however, a lot of people took advantage of the drinks in the beginning and didn’t have the patience for it. So that could go either way. The concept, i will say was very cool.
After the presentation, we started making our own wine (we got to pre-​order whatever we wanted) we chose a pinot grigio. We used water and followed the instructions, pour in ingredients, stir etc. It was pretty cool. This lasted about 30 minutes. People were continuing to drink and the couple next to us was really fun so the experience was getting even better.
Later, we moved back into the room at the Marriott and had a grape stomping contest. At this point, you could kind of separate the classier people vs. a few of trashier people that attended (it was mostly classy, young couples looking to have fun) but during the grape stomping, a few drunk girls were falling out of the bucket, being dramatic, crying. I mean, c’mon girls, keep it together. I felt bad for Bev Art’s staff. I would have done this before we did the wine making, as people weren’t as drunk yet and things wouldn’t have been so out of control (not the companies fault, just the timing and the people not being able to control their liquor). This is my only critique of the night. They also gave us boxers that we could put on to stomp so we don’t get dirty and boas and were able to take them home which was cute.
As we moved on to dinner, there was extra wine that they actually let us take home. There was one wine of theirs that I loved and I was able to take it home which I thought was very cool! It was their We moved on from that and went to dinner, it was a private area in the Marriott dining room. We had a four course, very classy meal, oysters, steak, cake, bread, it was great. Drinks werent included but for the price of everything, this was okay and totally acceptable. This was over by around 10:30 pm so we were still able to meet up with another couple afterwards.
The best part about all of this is that it cost us (for two people the entire night) a total of about $ 350-​$ 375. This included the drinks, four course meal, wine tasting, wine educational portion, and the wine we made. The wine we made will make 25 – 30 bottles of wine that we will get to keep once it is ready and bottled! The wine alone, pays for itself, not to mention everything else we got to do!
At the end of the day, I would definitely recommend this company and their activities. It was fun, enjoyable, memorable, and educational. I hear they also have a beer one they do and I would definitely check it out.

Mad scientists… beer makers… wine snobs… nosy people. They will all love this place. I mainly buy my yeast here. No not bread yeast. Beer… They also have any material you would need for brewing or wine making. Knowledgeable staff and classes offered for the newbies. Enjoy.

I purchased my boyfriend a brewing gift certificate so that we could brew and bottle our own beer. We are definitely into the craft beer scene so we were excited to learn how to make our own. The class is listed as taking 2 hours. Truthfully, the actually brewing takes approximately 45 minutes. Our instructor was sharing some basic brew knowledge with us for the first hour before we started brewing. We then scheduled to come back 2 – 3 weeks later to bottle our brew. Bottling took about 30 minutes for 48 bottles. We learned a lot about the process, sanitation, and it was very nice to not have to purchase/​clean all of the equipment needed for brewing.
The reason that I did not give Bev Art 4 – 5 stars is because the actual facility gives the vibe that you should not be there. Both the brew site and the store are unkept and in need of some updating. I am struggling with the idea of recommending this place to friends because I know that the facility is not a welcoming environment — though the people that we worked with were all kind.

Really good place to learn more about making wine and getting all the supplies You need. I went for my birthday with my mom and we had a blast. Definitely would go again and learn to make beer next. they literally have everything you need!

I received the beer making class as a gift. Overall the class and making beer portion turned out well. They were informative and kind and well spoken. They taught us about the science behind it while still keeping it pretty interesting. The major complaint is the end result beer. We chose to brew an IPA. The end result, more of a brown ale or amber beer. No hop presence and super malt forward. I emailed them multiple times asking to see if there was a mix up and we bottled the wrong beer. Also sent a picture of the beer in a glass to show them the result. No response. This place had so much upside, but in the end horribly disappointed.

Me and my girlfriend took a wine making class here over the winter. While the staff was very friendly, knowlagable, and very accommodating, there were a few instances where I felt that we could of learned more, or it could of been more engaging at times. With that said, I would recommend this to my friends and we are talking about coming back.

Best brew supplies in Chicago. Cool staff and helpful. I want to take a class here.

Surprised my girlfriend with a winemaking class and the take home wine kit about a week ago. She absolutely loved it! We drank all different kinds of wine while we learned about wine making, then we made our own batch of Cabernet and are really looking forward to the final product in a few months. This place was great, very friendly and educated staff. We’ll be going back I’m sure, maybe for a brewing class next time!

I took the winemaking class here in 2007 and was blown away by the knowledge and helpfulness of the owner. I have since bought all of the equipment and made 7 batches of wine…#8 goes into bottles next week! I’ve also taken the beer making and cheese making classes. This is THE place to go whether you are a novice or expert!

I bought a Groupon for a beer making course. I had been homebrewing for sometime when I went, so the course was a review for me. The instructors knew what they were talking about, and they gave us some samples of beer and the mead that they make. My buddy and I were the only pair there that weren’t also a couple (whoops!). We made a triple belgian that they chose the ingredients for. The beer turned out pretty good even if it was a little on the sweet side. They have an excellent selection of malts, hops, extracts, equipment, etc. They have everything. It is a long drive for me to get to here, but the Groupon was a good value, and I hope to make it back some time for a partial or full grain brew course.

Ok… there is a place that offers wine making classes, cider making classes, and beer brewing classes (After class and material fees, each bottle of wine I made came to about $ 8 a bottle. Holy awesome!!)?!? Pinch me! I must be dreaming!!!
In December, my sister and I embarked on our first wine making classes. After a few hours of wine tasting, cracker eating, wine pouring and swirling, we made the equivalence of 2+ cases. i didn’t realize it had to ferment (oops!) and we had to wait 8 – 10 weeks to bottle our concoction.
We went on Monday to finish the wine fun and bottle and cork our «magic juice». Yes, it was supposed to take us about 1 hour, but we ended up being there 2+ hours! We had to taste our wines several times (and add a little of this and a little of that) to make sure that our palates were happy.
Greg, the owner, was there every step of the way, and went up and beyond when it came to service. We had countless questions and could not stop giggling and often brought him into our giddiness.
Bev-​Art also makes various honey wines and some red wines. Many honey wines can be purchased at Binny’s and In Fine Spirits (among other stores around the Chicagoland area).
If I am not mistaken, there was a «wine making» event in either Lakeview or Lincoln Park and know that it has been closed down for awhile. I have never been there, but never drawn to the idea, seemed rather rushed.
The place is the real deal! A group of us are already planning our next field trip!

My wife and I took the brewing course in mid October, and I have nothing but good things to say about it, and the guys at Bev-​Art. We were in the area one day, so we stopped in to talk with them, and to sign up for the course if we felt like it would be a worthwhile time. It was and we did.
The shop itself is full of brewing paraphernalia (tools, ingredients, books, etc.) as one might expect, with a couple workers on staff milling about, answering questions. The guys we spoke with when we signed up were not beer snobs in any way; they just seemed genuinely interested in the topic, and were happy to share their knowledge with us.
We showed up a little early for the class on a Saturday morning, and were taken across the street to another location, which has tables, chairs, and lots of brewing going on. Greg was already there, and welcomed us in and explained what was going on and what he was doing. As others started arriving, he repeated the process and we were all up to speed, ready to go.
The brewing itself was informative and actually fun. We met a couple nice people from Naperville, and learned quite a bit about the elixir we have been drinking for several decades. The lecture/​description of what we were doing was on-​point and lighthearted, and I had no trouble listening and following along rather than looking at all the cool equipment around me.
Two weeks later, I returned to siphon the ‘beer’ into a second fermenter, and two weeks after that, we returned to bottle our beer, which is now sitting in the second shower at home as it does a final carbonation in the bottle itself. A week from now, I expect to be drinking a decently hoppy IPA!
I had hoped and expected that the class and experience would be great, and it was. The guys were great to work with, and I know I’ll be driving back out there often as we get into this new hobby of ours!

I’ve been here quite a few times, and everyone I’ve dealt with has been great. They really know their stuff. They have everything you need to make your own wine, beer, and mead.
Ask for a free sample of their mead, they’ll be more than happy to share the end result of their hard work with you. When you try their meads, it becomes very apparent that they know their stuff.
They sell beginner kits with all the equipment you need.
I made my first batch of mead with their help, and it turned out great! I wanted to bottle my mead in small servings, and they had these EZ cap bottles, that are basically a swing-​top Grolsch style bottle, except in dark brown.
Some of their prices are as low as or even lower than online stores, some of them are higher, it about evens out in the end. I couldn’t believe there was a place so close to home I could go to for last-​minute equipment.
I also wanted to say that they are not as – I guess the word would be snobby — as other places I’ve been to. They asked what I was making, I told them since it was my first attempt, I was using honey from Costco to make an orange/​cinnamon/​clove mead, and they informed me that years ago they had tried honey and welch’s grape juice to make mead!
Great, down to Earth people, great selection. 5 Stars!

My visiting friend somehow found this place while preparing for her trip to visit me. She told me that had mead (honey wine) tastings and that they were a brewer and that the tasting was free. Free booze was pretty much all I needed to know in order to agree to this trip.
So we walk into this storefront and I was very confused. It looks like a shop to buy brewing supplies. We kindly asked the guy behind the counter if they offered tastings and they do. For some reason while they brew and sell supplies to brew on site they are unable to actually sell the booze. Their side of the street is «dry» and you need to go across the street to buy the wine/​beer/​mead that you like.
So we tried many times of mead: A regular dry mead, cranberry mead, blueberry, cherry, chocolate, and bourbon mead. Most were very good and it was interesting to try something new. Since mead is very sweet it’s not for everyone but I find it a refreshing summer drink.
The guy that helped us with the tasting was great. I think his name was Greg, and he was very informative about everything. It’s interesting to hear where the fruit and honey come from and that everything is then fermented. He was also very friendly an accommodating to us.
Their stuff is sold in most Binny’s so should I want to buy anything I don’t have to drive all the way down south. I would have to say that my friend did a good job at finding something to do in Chicago that I would never have thought to do.

It seems to be the best brewing supply store in the city. In addition to brewing supplies, they have wine making supplies, wine tastings and I don’t even know what else. Very helpful staff, good prices. Well worth the trip down to the south side!

It would seem as though the first time I visited here, I just had the wrong guy behind the counter. And frankly, that is the reason the update review isn’t higher. But after needing to journey here because my brew store of choice was out of bottles, I had a very good experience with a very friendly and helpful gentlemen. So much so, that I felt the need to say that they seem to have a good selection and, on occasion, very helpful and friendly staff.
Sadly, this does not trump my first visit; though I will no longer be so reluctant to return whenever needed.

There aren’t many good brewer supply stores in the city, and if there are, then they aren’t as good as this place. This small little store seems to be a «mom and pop» type place. The owners are extremely knowledgeable in their field, and are very nice.
You feel like you get more personal care while at this place as compared to some big company looking to throw some bull squabble at you just to get your bucks.
Want to start brewing but don’t know how? Take one of their classes. It’s a great way to start, plus, you get your full fill of the 5 gallons of the beer of your choice you’ve decided to make. Then, when you’re ready, pick up your Ale Pails and carboy needs. Excellent! I like my beer ingredients to come from here.