“ I was like a kid in a candy shop visiting @illuminatedbrewworks ...craft beer in a backdrop of skulls, goats and other occult heirlooms. It's only natural something this supernatural has me smiling ear to ear! And right around Halloween was the perfect time of year to find this abstruse gem. Try their Ecto-Slushy brew, a nostalgic spin of the discontinued and severely missed Hi-C ecto cooler drink.Thank me later! Lowkey space, friendly folks, great company in tow #shining and #twinning! ”

“ Pretty cool place, we came to see a friends Band "The Ravenwoods" made their debut. Its kind of a dive bar meets funky museum or something. THey have a few different beers we tried that i liked quite a bit... in no particular order the "Concord grape Brainwash" was a unique and delicious fruit sour. The "Orange Sunshine" was a nice easy to drink citrus ale. There was a dark IPA I believe it was that I don't remember the name of that was unexpected and wonderful. But the show stopper was the Slushy Thing #10 Hurricane Hard Seltzer, I've never been a seltzer fan but I am a huge Hurricane fan and this is stunning.... Great location, fun vibe and good beer ”

“ I like this place. Interesting beverages and no food, but the occasional food trucks. More of a carry in place and EP is down the street, so figure it out. This is my kind of microbrew, dark and inhabited by interesting but friendly characters. I stop by when I'm in the neighborhood and enjoy myself. ”

“ I love Illuminated. Their beer and the service I've received there are part of the reason I became a beerstagrammer (@allthebeer_morebeer). How does one describe the ambiance at Illuminated? Well, at first I would have described it as metal and possibly borderline scary, but now it just feels like my favorite neighborhood brewery a la Cheers. It's a really inclusive place, and the beer is great. I guess that's all that really matters. ”

“ Great selection of beers on tab. I suggest the sampler to try a few before committing to a glass. During happy hour a sampler flight of 4 beers is just 11 dollar. The atmosphere is chill and the staff is great. ”

“ I absolutely loved IBW. This place is the type of vibe that I want when going to a brewery - super low key and good beer. It was really hard to actually find IBW, because it's located in between a car wash and some other store. If you see Zia's down the street, you've gone too far. Once we actually found it, it's actually a bit bigger than I was expecting. Plenty of tables and a pretty large bar area to sit at. When it's nice out, they do have an outdoor area as well. The beers were fantastic. We tasted a few of them and would definitely come back on this aspect alone. The bartender was super nice and even though it was really busy, we always got our beer fast. My favorite find in this place was the bathroom - I know what you're thinking, "what does that mean?!" - Just trust me and go in. You'll have a BALL. ”

“ Brewery in an odd location. Illuminated is a fairly new and small one in Norwood Park. Located in a very small plaza next to a car wash. Hard to notice unless you're actually looking for it, and it's still hard. This still took us a few times going by before finding it. After looking up local breweries, I was interested in making my way here. It's a fairly new brewery with a lot of sour beers, good stuff. There's a pretty nice variety. Has some to go cans. They also fill up growlers. Came with the girl to have a pint or a few. Turned out to be a few, too good for only one though. It's about $7 a pint. That limited us because I definitely would have had more of this. I had the Fruit Creep. This is a double IPA. It's not too hoppy. This was tamed a bit by the fruity notes. Also good is the Wiccan Chicken. This has more than just a cool name. Also there's slushies if you want something frozen. These are made with a sour beer, cool literally. Has a very interesting location and very interesting beers. It's close to the Metra station a few blocks from here. This makes it convenient to get to by public transportation. ”

“ Recently I went out with da guys as we were booted out by our respective spouses, since da gals were staying in for a pizza and games evening. Two of da guys had the home field advantage of living in the Norwood Park neighborhood, so we wound up at Illuminated Brew Works for pre-dinner drinks. IBW is a fairly new tap room with an obscure location on Northwest Highway. It's a chill environment to hang out whether you are a human or a dog. There is a central bar along with a few tables in the adjacent area. The beers have funky names such as War on Xmas, Solstice Sacrifice, and the very yummy Orange Sunshine. The industrial interior sports some artwork with an attitude, and the bathrooms are wallpapered with their beer can labels. ”

“ While a strange and curious location tucked between a hand car wash and a wine place, Illuminated is nice enough to offer masks and buttons upon entering. Notice the brewery floor in front of you right when you walk in and the free masks and buttons as well. You'll see ALL the beer options in cans on the left. Once you make your way toward the large square bar, you will see lots of seating options for groups of people. What was the most surprising is I notice a good balance of women and men here. A nice surprise. Find a seat at the bar and the female bartender will direct you to the sign above for beer options. Don't forget you can get the canned options too! Maybe split it amongst the people around you if you're up for trying it out. I did this with the Wiccan Chicken. The bartender poured some in glasses for 4 of us and we all got to try something that, honestly, was underwhelming. Strange enough the male behind the counter did not have any words to describe this beer we were drinking. And neither did the bartender. So bust out the Untapped in this place to get a description of what you see on on tap or in the cans. What did taste great was the Outer Space. There was an offer to have a side by side pour with the Inner Space for $9, but I wasn't feeling having more than one when I first sat down. I posted a picture of what the difference is between these 2. Really glad I stopped in for a beer! And will be back as I tried another brew on tap that was a Slushy Thing, a fruited sour. Not comparable to the Fruit Creep I had back in Oct. 2020 which I found was both dank and delicious. And I really need to get my brain around their assortment of varieties. But hey, new brewery in my hood, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Last thing: I Wish they had an option to get an assortment of canned brews. ”