In 2014, Chicago was named the "Best Drinking City" by GQ Magazine, and honestly, who can blame them? Chicagoans have been drinking—and drinking like champs—for generations. Nowadays days you can hardly walk a block without passing a packed new bar.

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With its density, central location and reputation for beer drinking, Chicago is emerging as the craft beer capital of the United States. In addition to being home to some 150 breweries—second only to the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area—the nation's third most populous city is where East meets West. Consumers are just as likely to find a beer brewed in their neighborhood as they are selections from San Diego to Portland on the West Coast or Maine to Delaware back East.

Chicago’s brewing scene is picking up momentum throughout the country. If you look at other cities around the country, there certainly are meccas for beer, like Oregon, Colorado and California. For Illinois to win 10 medals, it means people are excelling at making beers in the Midwest.