Tighthead Brewing Company

Been coming here for many years. Of course beer is subjective but having visited breweries around the world I can say that the beers and ales produced by Tighthead are consistent and delicious! Having a wide variety of tastes from hoppy, piney IPAs to malty, roasted stouts and English style mild ales, my opinion is they're are all pretty great. Also a nice space.

They don't have a mango beer which is usually what I'd like to try. Nothing spectacular but then their beer is not bad either. I would recommend a 4 mixer pack instead of the same beer. Beer sampler like me would like to try as much and give ratings.

Service was quick and friendly. Boxcar Porter tastes great. Decor is decent. Back on St Paddies Day for an Oatmeal stout. Very flavorful and smooth. Highly recommended.

Beer is fantastic and the staff is wonderful. They have a large, gorgeously lit event space where they have live music most Thursdays - Saturdays. Their main front tap room looks into the back brewing area. There is also a large front patio area (with heaters for cooler fall months) and a grassy lawn area/beer garden. Food trucks are there multiple nights throughout the week and there’s trivia night on Wednesdays. Kid-friendly and inclusive, Tighthead is truly the best!

Favourite place in north Chicago! Amazing beer, amazing people, amazing atmosphere. Bring your own food, or get surprised by a food truck! I recommend everyone around to be here anytime you are looking to have some good time

The staff is always awesome... This afternoon, Craig and Stephanie are right on top of everything, and do a GREAT job with people's kids. And the beers? WOW! All taps are winners! Hats off to the brew crew!

I enjoy my visits to Tighthead. All of their beers are excellent. And they have a good selection too. I especially enjoy the outdoor seating area. They don't have a kitchen, but they do allow you to bring in outside food.

Really love the Chilly water beer. Especially really cold on a steamy hot day. Great flavor and low in alcohol percentage. Also had the Peach beer smoothly, sounds weird but was so good.

Travis is the man. Best knowledge of beer of all time. Excellent service and the beers were amazing!

Great brewery in a hard to find location in Mundelein. It's actually close to the Metra station. Tighthead is known for having a pretty good variety. Mostly it's about the beer here. You can also get some frozen drinks, or come for the live music and things like that. After being here a few times, I have tried a few beers. It's about $6.50 a pint. That's not bad for a craft brewery like this. A good one is the 3 Lefts. This is a Mexican lager, and there's a hint of lime and saltiness. If you don't want beer, there's also cider. There's not really much food except the chips and containers of pretzels. Finding it can be hard at first. It's certainly hidden. There's enough people who can find it apparently, because the patio gets pretty hopping for the music or whatever.

This place was packed! Outside seating was filled, and the inside was getting crowded. They also had a cover band playing in the back seating area. My girlfriend and I ordered a couple of beers at the bar and then decided to listen to the cover band. They took Venmo for song requests. Unfortunately, most of their music was country. Most of their beers are IPAs and ales. No sours here #sad. They dont serve food here, but they did have 1 food truck in the parking lot. According to their website, they have different food trucks each day. I thought their Five Guys beer was good. It was a honey ale. Overall, the place was inviting, and the staff was friendly.

Positives Plenty of parking Lots of beer choices are available in 16 Oz or 10 Oz pours Lots of indoor and outdoor seating The staff was very friendly Negatives For as large as this place is there were small bathrooms

I love coming here and have been coming here for years. I used to come every Wednesday nights for trivia, which was so fun. Since I have moved away from the area, I try to come here when I am visiting my family. The beers are so good! My favorites are the Scarlett Fire, Chilly Water, Boxcar Porter, We be Yammin, and Oktoberfest. Last night, I had the Scarlett Fire and it tastes just how I remembered it to taste. Love the red/amber color!

Bartenders are great!!! The beer is excellent. Newly renovated inside. Great place to have a private party

This place is awesome. The bartenders are inviting and funny, it feels like you've stepped into a community that cares about everyone within it. The people that visit (and their dogs) are all great. Awesome vibes and really tasty beers. Must go!

I can't believe I haven't written a review for this place yet! In our area, you have a lot of brewery options, but Tighthead is a consistent favorite of mine. There are tons of seating options, so when you first walk in and only see a small space in the taproom, don't give up. They have a whole other room, that I'm guessing turns into another taproom for either super busy days or events. There's also outdoor seating in a tent, but not sure if that carries on through the winter. There's a wide selection of different types of beers, we tend to hop around the menu to try anything new, but they do maintain their staples. Tighthead doesn't have food, but they are consistently bringing in food trucks, and there are tons of local places that you can order from and bring in. From the posters around the brewery, it looks like they have tons of events all the time, so looking forward to coming back for those.

This spot has a great outdoor seating patio and grass area. Tons of options on tap and a few slushies options that they switch out. Wish they had a sour but they have great cider options if you're not big into beer. They had food vendor and live music setting up when I visited. Got pretty busy but had good service. Had a small mishap with the tab but was easily and quickly fixed by the kind bartender.

I absolutely love the beer and I love the venue. However there were at least 15 children there on a Friday night. It is a brewery and bar. There were so many children there that I thought a moms group had rented out the big room and I was in the wrong place. I'm a teacher.Not really interested in being around small children on a Friday night... in a bar.

I recently went to Tighthead with my brother. We were meeting up for dinner, but wanted to stop here first! We were so pleasantly surprised! It is such an awesome space on the outside and in! There is a plethora of outdoor seating (covered with heat lamps and uncovered). Inside, you are greeted with the bar. Everyone was so friendly and helped answer all of our questions. We each ordered a flight so we could try a few of their brews. One beer in particular that I loved was "We be Yammin'" it's an American Amber Ale made with Sweet Potato. I would highly recommend trying that! We also loved that on the weekends they have food trucks come. We can't wait to go back and try some more!

For the best selection of Beers and a comfortable place to sit (in or out) go to Tighthead Brewery. On many days you have a great Food Truck waiting outside. Bar personnel KNOWS Beer!

I liked the beer flight I got (IPAs) and enjoyed the outdoor patio- busy for an odd area.

Relaxed atmosphere...quality brews...welcoming staff! BOOM!! They don't sell food but you are allowed to bring outdoor food inside which makes this brewery an affordable hit. Scarlet Fire is my personal fav!! Been enjoying Tighthead since they first open and enjoying seeing them grow! CHEERS!!

The beer and staff here are absolutely top notch. They remember locals and take care of out of towners. Beer is well-priced and they bring in food often and/or have food trucks. You may bring your own food as well! Their Octoberfest is awesome!

First stop on a short brewery tour. Beer flight was pretty good. Place was fairly crowded. No food available but you can bring your on.

Always a favorite local craft brewery in the Chicagoland area! The Boxcar Porter is always a good one. The last time I was in I also tried the Chocolate Malty Balls (a Russian imperial stout), which was excellent. They have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. There are food trucks often on the weekend. We've also ordered food to be delivered there!

Had a great experience stopping in while we were in the area from out of town. Beer was amazing and even had delicious hard seltzer. Food truck on a Friday night was a bonus. Lots of seating indoors and out.

If your looking for great microbrew and local friendly appeal... this is an awesome brewery tasting room. It's order/bring-in so it's not gastropub, but the food trucks elevate it beyond just an awesome tasting room. I really appreciate the team working here making and serving, some of the best beers (unless you like taste-light beers) on this planet. I'm a hop snob so I'm partial to their Irie and Bears Choice, but there's always a diverse selection beyond my core. Perennial pourers are always here Erica, Travis, Stephanie, and even Shane providing great beers and camaraderie. If you don't like beer, not your place; unless you're looking for beer drinkers and friends. Skol!

Tighthead is legit. Sampled a good cross section of their offerings and everything I had tasted spot on and then some. Bears choice was a fine pale ale worth mention, as was their Irie West Coast style IPA, and Scarlet Fire, which I think they have won an award for. Great to see the craft beer movement is alive and well in the the Northern Chicago 'burbs.

Good beer but unfortunately the bartender has a bad demeanor. Not a place I'd race back to.

Everything Tighthead does is excellent. They are quite IPA-centric in my opinion, but they have many other styles of ales and lagers. Their beer is always fresh and nicely carbonated. They also usually have a cask-conditioned offering that is served with one of the old foot pedal pump taps. We went on a quiet weekend afternoon a while ago and the owner offered those of us at the bar a free tour. He also picked up our tab at the end of the visit! It doesn't get much better than that! And on an earlier visit, the beer tender was playing a Minutemen CD on the stereo!! The Minutemen!!! The best post-punk trio to ever emerge from San Pedro, and the United States while you mention it! Later we heard The Wheel by Jerry Garcia/ The Dead. Perfect music to enjoy some beers with while hanging with friends or just stopping in for a beer on the way home. This is also a dog-friendly place with lots of room to park your bicycle. Tighthead is available in stores all over Lake County and northern Cook so it's easy to grab a 4 pack if you can't get to the brewery. If you love fresh beer and have an affinity for IPA's, Tighthead will make you very happy!! Bring your dog and your bike!

A gem of a brewery tucked away! We were at Smalltown Brewery and we're looking for a more tradition brewing company and this place came highly recommended. So obviously we had to hit it up. In the middle of winter. In the middle of a snow storm. Makes perfect sense to me. I stuck with my tried and true love of stouts and they definitely didn't disappoint. My girl got some IPAs and a lager and she was very satisfied. This was very busy for the kind of weathery weather that we went out in. The people genuinely seemed to enjoy the company and overall it was a very good and tight knit brewery setup. I will definitely be hitting this place up again.

With so many of these craft beer breweries, what really makes the experience for me is the staff. There was just one guy working when we went on a Sunday afternoon. He was so nice and well informed, I overheard him telling another customer he's pretty sure he has the best job in the world (aka he was HAPPY to be at work and enjoying it), plus was very personable. During my few hours at Tighthead, it was clear I wasn't the only one who felt this way as people mulled in and out, everyone knew him by name! They greeted him, said bye to him, chatted it up. Tighthead has a real hometown type feeling and the bartender truly adds to that. Pro-Tip: Tighthead is right off of the Metra stop! I had no idea so next time I go up to Mundelein, I will definitely be training it there. However, it doesn't seem the train runs weekends or Friday nights. Wah wah. When I first walked got to Tighthead, I walked enviously past the four packed tables outside. They were enjoying their beers in the amazing weather with a nice breeze on a Sunday afternoon. That's pretty much my dream day. When I walked inside, I was a bit worried I wasn't going to like it there. Even though it was pretty full, it was nearly silent. People were sitting around drinking their beers but there wasn't any noise of people having fun and chatting it up. It weirded me out but of course I can't hold that against the brewery, just a weird client base that afternoon I guess. Outside of that eerie first impression, I really liked the atmosphere of Tighthead. They were playing older 60s music and if a place plays The Beatles, well they're alright by me. In retrospect, it was good we had seats inside at first as we got to chat with that awesome bartender and just generally see the inner workings of things. Don't worry though, I eventually got my super chill outdoor seat to round off my afternoon. I'm proud [or embarrassed] to say I tried every beer they had on tap that day. They numbered 15. Yes, I had 15 beers in one day. Now mind you, they were taster portions...I ended up sharing some with my buddy...but it was like my own personal beer festival! I had the... ~ready ~set ~go Boxcar Porter, Coffee Boxcar Porter on Cask (and significantly better), Go-Go Wit, Powerful Pils, Irie IPA, Chilly Water, Scarlet Fire, Tube, Mechanics Grove Maibock, Comfortably Blonde Ale, ReplicAle, Paint It Brown and then my favorite's of the days ~ Bear's Choice (a citrus IPA). Old Dog Kaya (2014 barrel aged barley wine) and Awesome Sauce (Imperial Brown Ale aged in 2nd use Woodford Reserve Barrels). Overall, I found most of the beers okay with those three significant standouts. They offer a flight of their 7 signature beers (Irie, Go-Go, Powerful, Boxcar, Blonde, Scarlet Red, & Chilly Water) for $14. But if they don't have your favorite in the flight, don't fret. They offer all beers in 5 oz tasting sizes for $1.50-3.50 depending on which it is. My friend also loved that they offered half pints! I think that's a great option for those who want something a bit in-between a pint & a taster. What's more, they don't just offer growlers for filling...but they offers squealers!!! Squealers are half a growler size, super cute and I had to get a squealer of the Old Dog Kaya for the road. More Pro-Tips ~ +Never had a Tighthead brew? Start with their signature flight & work your way from there. +When driving here for the first time, if you think you're in the wrong place, you're in the right place. It's in the way back of an industrial area. +If you get a growler or squealer, be sure to get their growler card to work towards a free one! +Wednesday is trivia night at Tighthead! +Monday & Tuesdays $1 off each pint! +Many Fridays have food trucks on site, check their calendar! +Bring Your Own Food! Or pick a place to deliver from their binder of local options. +They have an awesome shirt I bought that said "Support Your Local Brewer" but under the word Brewer was the word Hooker scratched out. YESH. +Sarah S. is fo' sho' coming back so you might just catch her when you go.

Could be a great place but the arrogance of the bartender was too much to deal with. I want to relax not be interrogated by a guy with an attitude.

Small but very nice brewing company with some nice crafty craft beer. Wish they sold some snacks too to go with the IPAs. Keep it up !!

Decent beer and nice ambiance. Too bad the bartender is such a condescending ass. Definitely won't be back or seek their beer at retail.

Growing up in Mundelein we had nothing this cool! So glad to see a wonderful place to get a well-crafted beer along with good company and environment. It seems like everyone meets here and uses it as a true community hub. They allow food to be brought in, which is fantastic. I ordered to here twice (2 different visits...) and my friends and I were able to enjoy our time here longer. They have a table shuffle board which makes for a good time! Both IPAs I tried were fantastic. They have a wide selection with some interesting experimental beers. Highly recommend.

It took me about two years of living in the area to make my way over to Tighthead Brewing Company. On arrival I was surprised how busy they were in the mid-afternoon, by 5 PM, they cleared out however. The beers weren't bad, but not super great either - maybe its because I'm not a huge beer fan. I did like that they small sizes to try many different types. It would be better if they had a food menu as well. It sounds like they might eventually get a kitchen, but just not right now. It's also is a pretty industrial park type area -- the area plan is to have more of a downtown, it just hasn't happened yet! The staff is friendly. Overall, not a bad visit!

Oh calm down. Everyone acts like this place is magical just because it's a little hidden. Truth is, everyone is gaga over this brewery only because it's a local place and serves as a hangout. First of all, there's no food. You may find some candy on the bar counter but that's about it. The choice of beers are alright. I only found one or two that are stellar. Their infamous barley wine was so bad I couldn't finish it. If you want to grab a beer and sit around with some friends while pretending you're in a hipster dive place, come here I suppose.

Not a fan. Beer is mediocre, place is packed and not really the type of place you would want to hang out/relax at.

So great, with a food truck out front to a knowledgeable group behind the bar to ultimately the tasty brews. Go

Amazing brewery and staff! Would be 5 stars but there's no outdoor speakers. What is this 1963? Update: Outdoor speakers installed! Party like it's 2004

Discovered this gem looking for local breweries around the area to try. The first time I went here, I didn't know what to expect as this place was relatively new(at least to me and my northern IL suburbs knowledge.) Well, I can definitely say this one of my favorite local breweries. This is located right by the Mundelein Metra train stop. They have a very good selection of beer available. If you're not a fan of IPA's (Although, I definitely recommend the Irie IPA if you do like them), they have a variety of other styles of beer to choose from. They have two versions of Barleywine (Kayadog 2015 and a Kayadog 2016) that I love. Both are worth tasting as both are different. Service has always been good when I've been there and this place can get busy in the main bar area. They also have tables to sit at as well. I took some friends here the second time and they enjoyed it as much as I did, so this place definitely has a lot going for it. They have snacks behind the bar for purchase, but they do let you bring in your own food from local restaurants as well. Overall, I will keep coming back for some great local beer and fun atmosphere.

So I have been wandering some of the breweries of Lake County (Tighthead, Lake Bluff, Light the Lamp and Onion) and this might be my fave of that list. I will caution you that like Light the Lamp there is no food (but LTL does have free popcorn). Tighthead has a great list though I mean wow!! Given the nearness to my house I frequently swing by with a growler or two to refill (current I am crushing the Boxcar Porter and Marzen). Friendly staff and based on what I've seen you can bring food in. So stop at Bi's and grab a pizza and head on in for a great sampler and then but a growler to being home.

Took a few guys here as part of a bachelor party to try some new local beer. We didn't know what to expect but it was interesting to say the least. You pull up and it's in an industrial park, I almost thought my GPS had taken us to the wrong place. We arrived after lunch on a Saturday and the place was packed. We finally got a table when people decided to leave. The beer for the most part was above average but the barrel aged beer they had on tap that day was one of the best beers I've ever had. I found it odd that this place is a brewery, all they do is serve beer.. and yet people thought it was a great idea to bring their children. Also apparently you're allowed to bring your dogs in, and they encourage it as there are dog treats on the counter.

Amazing place, support local! Great beers, love you Tighthead! Big variety of premium beers, I wish I could recommend just 1 but I pretty much like them all. Scarlet fire is good as well as the Chilly water. It's nice to be able to bring your own food locally in the area from nearby restaurants if you wish and have some food with your drinks. It's a tucked away gem in Mundelein! When I first came here I was just shocked that it was hidden within my house, wished I knew about it earlier!

What a fun, excellent brewery! We have been here four times! Tighthead Brewing Company has excellent beer, service and a friendly environment to spend time in. There is no food so you may bring your own. They have trivia on Wednesday nights which was why we were in the area last night. You should put Tighthead Brewing Company on your Beer Bucket List and make sure you come back as often as you can.

I'm going to be spreading the love for Tighthead Brewing. Not only do they have over a dozen beers on tap covering the gamut of lagers, IPA's and Porters but they have a friendly staff that appreciate that you stopped in. (Unlike that brewery in Naperville.) If you are not sure where to start, you may want to begin with a signature flight which includes 7- 5 ounce pours for $13. You can't beat the price. Another thing that I like is you have a lot of options in terms of size of pour; 5 ounce, half pint or full pint. This way you can sample your way down the row of tap handles if you like. My Tighthead favorites are Scarlet Fire and Boxcar Porter. The taproom is very comfortable and as Sarah pointed out they play some cool, retro tunes. (Love the Talking Heads track while I was there.) You know, I can't top Sarah's review of Tighthead. I'm 100% in agreement with her. Please be sure to check out Sarah's review from 2015. I'm a big fan of Tighthead and will be returning soon.

We tried a 7-beer flight, and 2 more small pours at their tap room. Of 9 beers tried, we really liked 4 of them and the rest were only ok, which isn't a great ratio, in my opinion. The keepers: Reformator doppelbock, Boxcar Porter, Awesomesauce Barrel-aged Imperial Brown, and the Hat Trick Tripel. They have no food, which is a rather huge downside.

Favorite local bar! So much fun, strong and tasty beer list, super friendly staff. They have new beers on tap every time I come in and I've never not loved something I've tried. Really affordable for how strong the beers are too!

THIS PLACE IS THE BEST!! Fantastic beer list and such friendly staff who make your experience special. They have a beer for everyone and their service is amazing. You can buy cans of your favorites to take home, too. Spacious venue with an outside patio. I would recommend Tighthead to everyone who wants to have a great time!!!

I love this place. Went there last night with my wife and daughter and we had a blast. Great beer. Friendly owners. Made us feel special with beer shots after the Bucks won!

Great, local brewery. 15 of their own beers on tap. Super wide variety of types and styles. You can tell that the owner is a beer nerd. They have 5 oz samples for 2 bucks a pop, which is actually a pretty good deal. You can also get 10 oz pours and full 16 oz pours. They also have growlers to go. A little tough to find, but some tasty beer if you do. My fave was the I&I IPA.

If you didn't know that this place existed, you would never find it. Situated on the far end of an industrial building in Mundelein right near the Metra station, it's really odd for a brewery. However, it's definitely a best kept secret because even during the week, the place was buzzing. We stopped by around 5PM on a weekday because we'd heard good things. They had about 12 different brews on tap. Eight of the brews can be sampled in 5 oz. glasses for $14. They also sell samples of anything by the glass for a few bucks. We sampled everything from the Blonde to the Porter. Our favorites were the Hat Trick Belgian Tripel and the Old Kaya Dog Barleywine. Another standout was the Barrel Aged Batch 42 Oatmeal stout finished in a bourbon barrel. You can see the brewery behind the bar windows, which is pretty cool. They do not offer any food, but you can bring it in or order it in to eat while you enjoy the fresh suds. Plenty of people were having either their 16oz or 32oz growler jugs filled with a brew of choice as well. They have a growler card which gives a discount after you fill up the card with punches. The best part about the place was the bartender, Leah. She was an absolute gem. Extremely friendly, efficient and attractive, she was knowledgeable about the beers and handled the whole room. There is no table service, so you must order at the bar, but Leah took care of the place filling growlers, answering the phone and making her customers feel special. The brewery is lucky to have such a warm person handling customers. I'm going back soon. I'm taking friends and out of towners. The beer is delicious and it feels like a secret with the location. The service is as good as it gets.

Great little brewery in a good location. I tried their IPA at a bar a while back and loved it, so when i saw a groupon for this place i snatched it up and checked it out. In our 6 beer flight, the following beers were included: Comfortably blonde(blonde ale), Scarlet fire(red ale), Irie IPA, Tube(English pale ale), May The Schwartz Be With You! (Schwartzbier), Go-Go Wit(Belgium witbier) The only one i absolutely hated was the go-go wit, but i also cant stand belgium beers. My favorites were the blonde ale and the tube. The ipa as i said rocks and has a really great hop aftertaste. The schwartzbier was really good for that style of beers if you like porter styles. I saw some of the other reviews and feel i should comment on the service, they were very accomadating to us, even as groupon users, and they were very nice. cleaned our glasses away as they emptied and were knowledgable. Ill be back sometime for sure!

Excellent brews! They have provided the beer at the St. Matthew Lutheran's Pig and Corn Roast since 2015. Always accommodating and helpful each year.

Bears choice is a great beer and I like the live music they have on weekdays. The vibe there is cool and bartenders are always friendly

First time here and definitely will be back. Great and friendly service! Beers are reasonably priced. Even have a small patio to sit outside as well.

Good beers, nice atmosphere. Would like to go back for a tour. Love that they have Signature Popcorn from Long Grove.