# Goose Island Beer Co. — Chicago, Illinois

> Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago, Illinois, United States scores 3.94 out of 5 — Fine, #74 in Illinois. 165 beers tracked, mostly IPA.

*Canonical page: <https://finding.beer/brewery/goose-island-beer-co-1926/> · data updated 2026-09-12*

Breadcrumb: Breweries → United States → Illinois → Goose Island Beer Co.

Goose Island Beer Co. is a brewery in Chicago, Illinois, United States. We grade it Fine, with a score of 3.94 out of 5 on the beer it brews — #74 in Illinois. Of the 165 beers we track, 39% are IPA and 15% Other.

## Rating

- Score: 3.94 out of 5
- Grade: Fine 🙂 — Make genuinely good beer, if not the pint you will still be talking about next year.
- Ranked: #74 in Illinois · #1,865 in United States · #2,614 worldwide
- Popularity: One of the most-rated breweries anywhere
- Beers tracked: 165

## About

Our famous beer began with a trip across Europe, when Goose Island founder (and unabashed beer lover) John Hall took a tour across the continent. Pint by pint, he savored the styles and selections of brews in every region, and thought to himself, “America deserves some damn fine beer like this, too.”

Craft brewing wasn’t widely known at the time, but upon return from his European sojourn, John set out to change all that. He settled down in his hometown of Chicago—a city perfect for craft beer, with rapidly evolving tastes and the largest system of fresh water on the planet. And then he got to brewing.

First he made some stellar beer. Then he invited his consumers in to watch his process at the brewery, bringing them behind the scenes every step of the way. The result was a new fascination with craft brewing, and beer that not only catered to people’s tastes, but challenged them as well.

That was back in 1988, and we haven’t slowed down since. By 1995, John’s beer had become so popular that he decided to open a larger brewery, along with a bottling plant to keep up with demand.  Today, what was once one man’s pint-filled dream has become the Goose Island empire you know and love..

## What they brew

- IPA — 39% of the beers we track
- Other — 15% of the beers we track
- Stout / Porter — 12% of the beers we track
- Wheat Beer — 11% of the beers we track
- Pale Ale — 10% of the beers we track
- Saison — 7% of the beers we track
- Belgian Ale — 6% of the beers we track

## Find them

- Address: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Coordinates: 41.977076, -87.9072051
- Website: http://www.gooseisland.com/

## Same owner

- Part of Anheuser-Busch InBev
- [Goose Island Brewhouse São Paulo](https://finding.beer/brewery/goose-island-brewhouse-sao-paulo-19308.md) — Pinheiros, Brazil
- [Goose Island Brewhouse](https://finding.beer/brewery/goose-island-brewhouse-3823.md) — Chicago, United States

## Breweries nearby

- [Crust Brewing](https://finding.beer/brewery/crust-brewing-25067.md) — 3.54, Poor — Rosemont, Illinois — 2 mi away
- [Fibs Brewing Company](https://finding.beer/brewery/fibs-brewing-company-18814.md) — 3.79, Fine — Des Plaines, Illinois — 2.7 mi away
- [Karetas Brewing](https://finding.beer/brewery/karetas-brewing-4045.md) — 4.20, Great — Itasca, Illinois — 4.3 mi away
- [Church Street Brewing Company](https://finding.beer/brewery/church-street-brewing-company-2383.md) — 3.88, Fine — Itasca, Illinois — 4.3 mi away
- [Mikerphone Brewing](https://finding.beer/brewery/mikerphone-brewing-1853.md) — 4.53, Exceptional — Elk Grove Village, Illinois — 4.8 mi away
- [Pho No. 1 Brewing Co](https://finding.beer/brewery/pho-no-1-brewing-co-27011.md) — 3.61, Poor — Chicago, Illinois — 5 mi away
- [Duneyrr Fermenta Winery and Brewery](https://finding.beer/brewery/duneyrr-fermenta-winery-and-brewery-22451.md) — 3.95, Fine — Chicago, Illinois — 5.4 mi away
- [Printer’s Row Brewing](https://finding.beer/brewery/printers-row-brewing-404.md) — 3.82, Fine — Chicago, Illinois — 6.7 mi away

## Rankings this brewery appears in

- [Best breweries in Illinois](https://finding.beer/breweries/united-states/illinois.md)
- [Best breweries in United States](https://finding.beer/breweries/united-states.md)

---

Finding Beer scores breweries on the beer they brew rather than on the venue. Method: <https://finding.beer/how-we-rank.md>. Rankings by place: <https://finding.beer/breweries.md>. The iPhone app adds a live map of what is around you: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/finding-beer/id1082135126