WEST TOWN — After two years of planning — which also included getting liquor and manufacturing bans lifted — craft brewer Forbidden Root is finally ready to unveil its 150-seat brewpub in the former Hub Theater, set to open Thursday.
Located at 1746 W. Chicago Ave., the brewery specializes in botanic beers that are made onsite by "Rootmaster" Robert Finkel and head brewer BJ Pichman.
Finkel and Pichman's brews — made with nuts, spices, flowers roots and more — flow from the back room brewery's tanks, through a long hose running above the taproom and finally, directly into the bar's taps.
The draft taps will serve Forbidden Root’s line of botanic brews, including Forbidden Root, Sublime GingerShady Character and WPA, plus beers from other Chicago-based brewers.
On a tour earlier this month, Forbidden Root's operations director Terry Kane shared some of his favorite highlights in the cavernous yet cozy spot, which features long tables made of reclaimed wood, detailed plaster ceilings and exposed brick walls.
Kane said he likes the beer garden entry area, which uses cultivators salvaged from John Deere tractors that Finkel repurposed and turned into light fixtures.
Lights made from tractor parts in Forbidden Root's beer garden area. [Photos by DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
The bar's flat-screen TVs, which are covered by a sliding wood cabinet, will only be turned on for Chicago playoff games or important news and political events, such as presidential debates, Kane said.
"We'd like the TVs to be more off than on, the cabinets more closed than open," Kane said.
Though it will not be open to the public at all times, Finkel converted the movie theater's former projector room a rootmaster room, where spices and herbs are stored in an old card catalog.
A food menu, created by Chef Dan Weiland, formerly of Trencherman, Blackbird and Avec, was not available on Tuesday.
In a previous announcement, the Forbidden Root team described the Weiland's menu as "American Rustic." Some highlights will include fried giardiniera with black garlic ranch; charred carrots with curry yogurt, pistachios and preserved kumquats; Forbidden Root cured lamb jerky; and toasted malt rubbed hanger steak with onion crème and potato pancake.
Beyond drinking and eating at a new neighborhood hangout, part of the Forbidden Root experience will also include tours of the 7,000-square-foot facility, so guests can see the brewery process step-by-step, from picking out the ingredients to deciding on the beer to making the beer, Pichman said, adding, "We love sharing what we do with the people who have made us a successful botanic brewery.”
Billing itself as one of the first commercial botanic breweries in the country, Forbidden Root says it "aims to bring the rich American tradition of brewing with natural ingredients into the modern craft brewing scene" by sourcing sustainable ingredients when possible.
Guests can purchase a double-steel-walled, vacuum-sealed, 64-ounce growler for $35 or a 32-ounce "howler" for $25. A retail store will sell both glass and metal growlers and 4-packs and cases. All profits from non-consumable items will be donated to the Green City Market, the company said.
Brewpub hours will be daily from 4 p.m. to midnight with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m. Ph: 312-929-2202. To stay updated, visit Forbidden Root’s website or Facebook page, or follow the company on Twitter at @ForbiddenRoot.
Check out a few images, below, or in the Forbidden Root slideshow at the top of this story.
Flat-screen TVs are covered by a sliding cabinet in the bar area.
Hoses rigged near the ceiling transport beer from brewery to the bar's taps.
Robert Finkel, Forbidden Root's owner and Rootmaster.
Inside the Rootmaster room, where the theater's projector used to be.
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