During the Prohibition era, speakeasy establishments were referred to as “blind pigs.” The Blind Pig Brewery owner, Chris Knight said, the “blind” refers to being blind drunk, and the “pig” comes from a ceramic drinking vessel with two nubs on the end. That’s the name Knight set on in 1990 when the original pub opened at 6 E. Taylor St. in Champaign. At the time, craft beer on draft was unheard of in Champaign. The Blind Pig moved to its current location at 120 N. Walnut St. in 2004. Knight recruited experienced brewer and engineer Bill Morgan and opened a second location known as The Blind Pig Brewery in 2009 at 120 N. Neil St. The latest expansion occurred in 2016, when the duo worked together to convert an old garage on Market Street in Champaign into a new brew house and bottling facility. This year’s adventure is the implementation of a bottling line.
We aimed our drive to go through Champaign to visit DESTIHL. We were lucky and found another gem a block away in the Blind Pig Brewery on Neil Street. The place was packed but we did score a spot at the bar. It has a nice dark pub feel complete with friendly beer tenders and patrons and great courtyard both in front and out back of the brewery. We enjoyed Blind Pig U of IPA and their Berliner Weisse. The brewery also offers a full bar that included an excellent smoked rum. They do not offer any food items at this time. We stayed right across the street from DESTIHL at the Hyatt Place, a block from The Blind Pig. For dinner, we enjoyed Watson’s Shack & Rail across the street from the Blind Pig. We had excellent fried chicken and southern comfort food. If you are traveling near Champaign we strongly urge you to stop and enjoy downtown. It is not often you can stay within a block of two great craft breweries!
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