Timothy Otooles 70 HDTVs and 48 beers on draft.
622 N. Fairbanks Ct. Chicago.
The best bar in Streeterville is back at it. On Thursday January 8th Timothy Otoole’s will bring back one of the most revered brews in the entire Founders catalog – Canadian Breakfast Stout. We sat down with Otoole’s Assistant GM, Tony Smith recently to get the scoop. “This came as a surprise.” Tony shared. “When it was announced that Founders might re-release a previous beer from the Backstage Series, we all thought it would be Blushing Monk… definitely not CBS.” 7 other choice selections from Founders will be on draft that night as well.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Timothy Otoole’s is one of the most important bars in downtown Chicago. In addition to being a space that can move 90 kegs of Miller Lite on St. Paddys Weekend, they are the top local account for a number of craft beer heavyweights (Founders, Goose, Lagunitas, Stone and New Belgium to name a few.) “It’s fun, we are in a unique position where we throw great parties and crush a lot of product.” Tony says.
The beer program looks completely different today compared to 5 years ago when Tony arrived. “Back then we carried Amstel Light, Heineken, High Life and MGD on draft. It was US macros and the big dog imports like Smithwicks and Guinness.“ There were 34 draft handles but not much rotation in those days. Otoole’s has been in business for over 20 years. During our conversation, Tony recalled some of the aspects he slowly started to change after arriving.“First thing we did was move Stella and Delirium Tremens to independent towers for a bout a year. Then started working on getting different breweries in.”
70 HDTVs and 48 drafts
Chicago is a national hub for business, that holds true for beer as well. Most breweries from the east coast stop distribution at Illinois, same for west coast breweries. Visitors in town for a convention are impressed with the variety carried at Otoole’s. When people come here from out of town, theres a buzz in the air because of the ‘holy shit’ factor that the taplist creates.
party rooms can accommodate up to 400 ppl
party buses available to local sporting events..
..and serious eats
Whether its students from nearby Northwestern University crushing Old Style, a group of friends in town for Cubs/ Cardinals enjoying a 40$ bottle of Bourbon County Stout or a group of ladies that call Streeterville home enjoying large format bottles of cider..it seems like every walk of life considers Timothy Otoole’s their go-to bar.
“Having a diverse crowd and being the downtown bar of choice for both locals and people visiting Chicago is definitely part of the fun.”
Be sure to visit Timothy Otooles on Thursday January 8th for the Return of CBS Event.
Here’s a sample of the taplist for that day. Drink tickets will be handed out starting at 4p for a 5oz sample of Canadian Breakfast Stout that gets tapped at 6p.
on draft January 8th at Timothy Otooles
Backwoods Bastard 2012
Backwoods Bastard 2014
Big Lushious
Canadian Breakfast Stout
Founders Breakfast Stout
All Day IPA
Founders Pale Ale (on nitro)
…and more
Timothy Otooles has 70 HDTVs and 48 beers on draft.
622 N. Fairbanks Ct. Chicago. 312-642-0700
–Nkosi
