Is Chicago the craft brew capital of the United States? By one measure it is — the amount of commercial space occupied by brewers. According to a report from Colliers International which Crain's recently highlighted, collectively, Chicago brewers occupy roughly 1.6 million square feet of commercial space. While Portland has more total breweries (196 of them), Chicago's craft brew industry utilizes more commercial space than the beer markets in other U.S. cities. Real estate development and construction permit database Chicago Cityscape wanted to see how this news looks in the bigger picture and dug through and mapped out the plethora of building permits that relate to the city's craft beer industry. There are 72 such permits with the words "brewing," "brewery," or "brewpub" listed within them. And from a quick investigation of the map, it's clear that the West Loop, Logan Square and North Center areas are the neighborhoods with the city's most active brewery scenes. It should be no shocked as these neighborhoods are home to some of the city's biggest names in the craft brew business.
·Chicago is the craft-brew capital of the U.S.–by one measure, at least [Crain's]
·Peak brewery? [Chicago Cityscape]
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