‘Chicago Fire’: The Fake Beer at Molly’s is Made With Garbanzo Beans

Filming scenes with food for movies and TV can create unique challenges. In Blue Bloods, catering companies provide real food, and actors pretend to eat it over the course of numerous takes. Others, like The Office, occasionally need to use things like cream of potato soup to mimic someone vomiting. 

In the case of NBC’s Chicago Fire there’s a bigger emphasis on fancy pyrotechnics than filming food, though there are plenty of times the cast visits Molly’s Pub for a beer.

And though the props department certainly does a good job of making the bar look authentic, there’s not a drop of alcohol in the place. Instead, the cast and props crew use some unusual ingredients to sell the scenes. 

‘Chicago Fire’ built a bar on set that replicates a famous Chicago landmark 

When Chicago Fire first started filming in the Windy City, it used the historic Lottie’s Pub for its filming location. Lottie’s has been in the Bucktown neighborhood since 1934 and quickly became a staple hangout for the Firehouse 51 crew on the show.

In fact, it’s been owned by several characters through the years, including Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund) and Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg). The producers have since built a near-identical replica of the bar on its set in the city, complete with stringed lights on much of the ceiling and the cozy pub atmosphere Lottie’s is known for.

You won’t get to see the actors sharing a beer in the real Lottie’s anymore, though Choose Chicago says you can still see plenty of references to the show in the pub.

Kara Killmer, who plays paramedic Sylvie Brett, gave viewers the scoop on what it’s like to film the bar scenes at Molly’s in a behind-the-scenes tour of the set. The pub is named after the mother of Chicago Fire creator Derek Haas, Killmer shared in the video.

And though the bar does try to bear a close resemblance to Lottie’s, Killmer said the on-set version is also wider than normal to allow for multiple camera operators to be in the bar with the actors. 

Molly’s doesn’t contain any real alcohol 

It wouldn’t be a great look to have Chicago Fire actors slinging back actual brews while on set, and as a result, none of the alcohol on the Molly’s set is real, Killmer said. Instead, the liquor bottles are all filled with water, tea, or watered-down Coke.

If you look closely at the 6-packs in the coolers lining some of the walls, you’ll notice they’re not real types of beer. Instead, the names of the beers are made up by cast and crew members, with original artwork for the labels designed by the props department. 

When drinks call for foam on top, like a beer or specialty cocktail, Killmer shared that the crew uses foam from garbanzo beans instead of anything with alcohol or egg whites. “You don’t want to drink that in your cocktail; that’s my guess,” she said. 

Killmer might be right, although the foam from garbanzo beans has become a popular substitute for egg whites among vegans and other health enthusiasts. The liquid from cooked garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) is called “aquafaba.”

Aquafaba can come from any legume, though chickpeas are known to produce some of the best results if you’re looking to create a foam, according to Nutrition Refined. The leftover water from cooking the beans — or the liquid from the canned version — turns into peaks of white foam when it’s whipped. It can be used as an egg white substitute for meringues and mousses. Or, apparently, as a legitimate-looking bar staple. 

The bar has lots of other unique ‘Chicago Fire’ touches 

The alcohol might be a clever fake, but the atmosphere is as true to the show as it can be. The bar is woven into so many storylines that it’s almost become a character itself, and is a special location that’s also become integral on Chicago Med and Chicago P.D.

The special touches show that. Killmer pointed out that the door is the same one Dawson and Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) find at a flea market. Inside the bar is a ton of artwork original to the One Chicago series, Killmer said and is drawn by special effects director John Milinac.

Much of it is still-lifes of things like retro trucks or other seemingly random objects that go together to create a special atmosphere. “He finds these beautiful subjects and turns them into incredible drawings to fill our space,” Killmer shared. 

Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST.