OCtoberfest & Lincoln square-North Center Pub Crawl

In 1900, one in every five Chicagoans was German—and not just German, but FROM Germany. These Deutschischers brought their beer adhering to the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law), biergartens, oompah music and settled in North Center and the part of Ravenswood that would later be christened Lincoln Square. Both neighborhoods now form the nexus of Chicago’s Octoberfest celebrations that begin in the last week of September.

Note: This is a do-it-yourself crawl with eleven pubs listed here for completeness, which is probably more than anyone but only the heartiest of pub crawlers can handle, so feel free to customize each pub crawl to your abilities and tastes. Pubs on this crawl are located within walking distance and, but you may still want to hire Chicago Trolley if you want to travel further afield and bring your own beer! If you buy a copy of our bookHistoric Bars of Chicago ($12), you can get a $45 coupon that is more than 10% off for most rentals.