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Written by CARY STOLARCZYK / Photos by BARRY BRECHEISEN
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Monday, 21 May 2007 |
As the demand for Craft Brews surges across the nation, a couple of local boys are poised for success. Tucked away in the corner of Warrenville you will find Two Brothers Brewing, an aptly named brew house founded a decade ago by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel. These Wheaton natives have spent the last decade building business around beer.
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Two Brothers Brewing Company
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30W114 Butterfield Road
Warrenville, Illinois 60555
www.twobrosbrew.com
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With Jason in the land of the micro-brew, Colorado, Jim put his architecture degree to good use and founded the Brewer’s Coop. Ok, maybe it was his love of home brewing on this one, but with the help of a supportive family, his suburban business thrived to the point that he needed to call for reinforcement; his brother Jason. With Jason around Jim was able to pursue a law degree as the Coop grew in popularity. All the while, the love for brewing steeped. Leave it to the student of law to push the hobby to the foreground and send Jason off to the world renowned Sieble Institute and their World Brewing Academy.
The early days of Two Brothers Brewing found the pair brewing beer in converted milk tanks, hand-me-downs of sorts coming from a dairy farming grandfather. With this generous donation and the help of starter loans the brewery was ready to produce. Toss in some beginners luck and a little help from a governmental snafu, they were able to secure both brewing and distribution licenses in their first year of operation, and Windy City Distribution was born. As time came to renew the licensing Illinois figured out their mistake and the brothers were forced to sell Windy City Distribution… to their wives, and on rolled production.
Brewing and distribution was only half of the battle in the early going. Getting bars and restaurants to take a chance on a couple of guys selling beer out of the back end of a station wagon proved to be a bit more difficult. Luckily for them places like suburban John’s Buffet and Charlie’s Ale House were willing to make such a gamble. With adventurous sellers slowly lining up Jim and Jason were finally able to take on the big beer factories.
Ten years on and the beer flows more freely than ever. Today their beer can be found beyond the suburban market into Chicago across Illinois and five other states. As they celebrate the first decade with the release of ten distinct brews and look to venture into the myriad of Belgian beer styles you may think that they would be content to enjoy their successes. However, this is hardly the case as construction of an ambitious 36 thousand square foot brew house is set to increase capacity to a stunning 30 thousand barrels per year. Once up and running, in October, they will be able to produce more beer in one day than they produced in their entire first year of operation. Not two shabby for a couple of suburbanites with architecture degrees.
Take a sip of their special Tenth Anniversary Project Opus 10 Kreik Lambic Ale and you will see how far their path has taken them from the Hefeweizen style to that of the ever-original Belgians. Sample the rest of their brews and you will find why so many are switching from the mass produced watery brews to the smaller batched craft brewing selections. With so many styles and seasonals to choose from Two Brothers continues to offer a little something for everyone. Don’t believe me? Well, stop by the Map Room, Hop Leaf or Small Bar and grab one for yourself. I bet you find one that tickles your taste buds.|
Great brews from Two Bros.!
Written by Guest on 2007-05-21 19:22:29
Well-earned success so far gents, and I wish you much more!
Cheers,
Greg Koch, CEO
Stone Brewing Co. | Congrats guys
Written by Guest on 2007-05-22 08:38:57
Congrats guys. Great to see an Illinois brewery do so well!
Cheers,
Matt Potts, CEO/Brewmaster
DESTIHL Restaurant & Brew Works
Normal, IL
www.destihl.com
| Written by Guest on 2007-12-07 17:45:00
The one on the left looks like a fag |
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