Brews you can use: East Central Illinois craft beverage guide
Sep. 29—There's no shortage of grain in East Central Illinois, and while it can make for good eatin', plenty of area entrepreneurs have found it can make for great drinkin', too.
The possibilities go beyond grain-based beverages, though, as the ever-growing popularity of local and regional breweries makes way for creative takes on any drink you can imagine. Area brewers are making beer, wine, mead and even kombucha, often from ingredients produced locally in their communities.
Staff writer takes a look at some who are turning the bounty of the land into nectars of the gods.
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Riggs Beer Company, Urbana
The tagline at Riggs is, "On our farm, we grow beer." That pretty much sums up the process, according to co-founder Matt Riggs.
While the goal has never been to exclusively use grain from the Riggs family farm, that is where a good portion of the ingredients for their beers comes from.
Brothers Matt and Darin came up with the idea to start a brewery in order to make the farm profitable as the fifth generation of their family to operate it.
"Back then, local beer wasn't really a thing. Luckily, the regional beer market or local beer movement, whatever you want to call it, developed as we were coming of age and getting ready to implement this plan," Matt Riggs said.
Growing so much of their own grain has created some challenges — barley doesn't typically agree with the warm Illinois climate, but a bad season could reduce output from any of the crops.
"If there weren't challenges with using local grain, then everyone would be doing it," Matt Riggs said.
The process has led to some cool opportunities, along with bringing flavors unique to their brand.
Riggs brewers were able to work with researchers at the University of Illinois to develop new varieties of corn and wheat specifically designed as brewing grain.
"We've only got one family farm, so all our eggs are in one basket," Matt Riggs said. "There's a lot of steps where something can go wrong, and to us, that's a thrill. We got into this business to do that risky hard work, so we've never questioned that it's the right thing to do."
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Artesia Brewing, Thawville
Artesia is a family establishment: Not only is it owned by Linda and Morris Tammen and operated by their children, but it also offers free Popsicles and plenty of play equipment for customers' children.
The Tammens never planned on owning a brewery, but when their son and daughter and their spouses pitched the idea two years ago, they thought it was a good one.
"We wanted all the grandkids to love the farm as much as we do, and now their parents help on the weekends and they come along," Linda Tammen said. "They're here all the time, and it's fantastic."
A new hole appeared in the orchard after a mission to dig to China, but the Tammens don't mind.
"There was a 6-year-old — when he got ready to leave, he told me this was the best day of his life," Linda Tammen said.
While the Tammens' son and son-in-law are the brewers, Linda's bees supply honey for mead and family stories supply inspiration for drink names.
Linda's favorite story, though she says it may not be Morris' favorite, inspired Artesia's flagship beer, "Streaker."
She was attending Illinois Wesleyan in the 1970s, when streaking was the trend.
One day, amidst other chaos outdoors, she saw a streaker riding a motorcycle in a wooden devil mask. His bike died in the middle of the crowd.
"He's trying to kick-start this motorcycle, but he's got this giant wooden mask that keeps flopping back and forth. Pretty soon it's flooded, and he's kicking more and more frantically," Linda Tammen said. "We were married for over a year before I found the mask, and I'm like 'Oh my god, I'm married to that guy.'"
Today, the infamous wooden mask is displayed on the wall at Artesia.
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Treehive Meadery, Brocton
After 25 years of masonry work and six years of home brewing, Corey Mason's wife, Carrie, finally convinced him to take the brewing to a professional level.
Treehive now resides in a building primarily constructed by Mason himself, which features an epoxy bar top designed by his daughter, Legos for guests to play with at every table and fermenters named after "Lord of the Rings" characters.
"I really want people to enjoy themselves here and be comfortable," Mason said. "I enjoy people's reactions when they try the meads, especially first-timers."
Mason gets his honey from all over the world to make mead and honey-infused cocktails — and he says to keep an eye out for wines and ciders coming soon.
Fall flavors like pumpkin spice are on the horizon, too; Mason has enjoyed being able to create seasonal meads now that he has professional equipment.
"I was never able to do this before, just because it's really tough to plan out like, 'in six months, it's going to be National Pie Day,'" Mason said. "One of the good things, or fun things, about mead is I'm adding honey and flavor to each one afterward, but the base mead was just honey."
For customers trying the beverage for the first time, Mason still tends to recommend one of his traditional meads.
He was recently named Master of the Blossom at the Valkyries Horn Mead Competition in Minnesota, a recognition for the best traditional mead.
"I've won multiple awards, but sometimes, certain ones are really special, like this one," Mason said. "I really like to make traditionals, so it was a great honor for me."
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Big Thorn Farm and Brewery, Georgetown
Anna Schweig and Aaron Young had plenty to set up before they could open Big Thorn, from building the brewery and their house to setting up a solar array.
"Our whole concept of the brewery was to prove that we could make beer, really good beer, in a really kind of old-fashioned way," Schweig said.
Even as the brewery and farm have grown, Schweig and Young have kept it off-grid, expanding the solar array to power necessary equipment like commercial refrigerators.
Both of them had worked at other area breweries and felt that while modern brewing equipment was cool, there was "no way" that people were making bad beer before that technology was invented.
"We just felt like that art had been forgotten and we wanted to revive it," Schweig said.
Temperature control is one of the biggest challenges, but they adapted by planning around the seasons and the temperature of their cellar.
Big Thorn's process of putting its beer in kegs or bottles with live yeast to eat the sugar and create carbon dioxide creates beverages that are truly unique to the brewery.
Water straight from the well on the farm also makes a difference; Schweig said water is one of the biggest determiners of beer flavor.
There's always something new on the menu, too.
Schweig struggles to give recommendations in advance because the rotation moves so quickly, but she trusts her staff.
"They know all of our beers inside and out, so they can always direct someone to exactly what beer they like," Schweig said.
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Tres Rojas Winery, Washington
Making wine seemed like the perfect second career for Lisa and Bob Barry, but they weren't expecting to have so much trouble finding a place to do it.
Zoning laws were the first holdup; the Barrys needed to grow grapes and make and sell wine all in one location.
Some potential neighbors also didn't want a winery in their backyards, which was strange to Lisa Barry: "It certainly isn't a biker bar."
After their search for a location became the focus of a few news articles, the city of Washington reached out to suggest a spot that ended up working out.
The name, Tres Rojas, comes from the first wines Bob Barry made: a pinot noir, a malbec and a sangiovese, all red wines.
Now, the Barrys have over 7 acres of land filled with 11 varieties of grape plants, which Lisa said makes a very scenic drive to the winery itself.
"We want to grow and control the quality of our own fruit," Lisa Barry said. "We've gotten great fruit from other Illinois growers, but you don't always get to pick it when you want to pick it."
Bob takes the lead on making the wine and growing the grapes with his background as a federal biologist — Lisa called him a "package deal" — while Lisa focuses on customer interactions.
"It's the best part of the job. I'd rather be behind the bar and talk with people, because rarely somebody comes in that isn't happy to be there," Lisa Barry said. "They're going to have some good wine and have a good time with their friends and family."
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Destihl, Normal
Matt Potts literally stumbled into making his own beverages when exploring a barn on his family's farm.
He found an old cider press built by his grandfather — or "Pappy," as the family called him — and decided to try making cider with apples from the farm's orchard.
It wasn't until years later — after completing his undergraduate and master's degrees and starting his career at his family's law firm — that Potts' interest in craft beers was sparked by a taste of a beer from Anchor Brewing Co.
"Anchor Steam was the first beer I had tasted up to that point that embraced hop flavor and bitterness to that extent while also being balanced by such an awesome toasty and biscuity maltiness," Potts said.
His wife, Lyn, gave him a homebrew kit the next Christmas, and within a few years, he made a split decision to buy an old building in Elmville near the law firm.
In 2001, he opened Elmwood Brewing Company and found himself running that and practicing law part time until late 2005.
"Something ultimately had to give and something had to win out," Potts said.
Over the next few years, he moved his family to Normal, began working on what would become Destihl and furthered his education in brewing.
The Destihl team expanded with co-founders Troy Nelson, Laurie Nelson and Jason Brachter, who helped it become a restaurant as well as a brewery.
Destihl has continued to expand with a new production facility and a new division called Canopolis.
The growth will continue as Destihl is in the process of doubling production capacity and canning speed.
"We just keep dreaming bigger and bigger, driven by our love for what we do and our commitment to quality, innovation and expanding our company," Potts said.
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Cloud Mountain Kombucha, Urbana
Kombucha has risen in popularity, but it's still pretty unknown; it's a fermented beverage made from tea and fruit with a very minimal alcohol content.
Andrew and Aimee Baumgartner and Kyle Schwenk had been making their own kombuchas and craft beers, informed by Schwenk's background in the brewing industry, when they decided Champaign-Urbana had a need for a local kombucha spot.
Schwenk and Andrew Baumgartner have known each other for a long time, having both grown up in Mahomet, while Aimee met Andrew when she came to the University of Illinois for grad school in 2013.
Kombucha's probiotics and acids are supposed to be healthy, but Aimee Baumgartner said many people enjoy it as an alternative to actual alcoholic beverages.
"There are a lot of people out there craving a fun atmosphere with craft beverages that they can enjoy without alcohol being the focal point," Aimee Baumgartner said. "We can serve our beverages to people of all ages, which makes us a great place for family gatherings!"
The owners also have a focus on keeping the business local and environmentally friendly.
Cloud Mountain is set up inside Lincoln Square Mall, with easy access to the farmer's market on Saturdays in the parking lot.
"We are fortunate enough to work with so many local farms to source fruits and berries, and we also grow a lot of what we use in our kombucha ourselves," Aimee Baumgartner said.Schwenk cultivates bees and raises apples, pears, lemon balm, spearmint and other crops on his farm.
This leads to flavors based on what's in season in the area alongside some of Cloud Mountain's unique flavors, like cold brew and root beer.
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Triptych Brewing, Savoy
Triptych made it out of Anthony Benjamin's garage into a building in Savoy in 2013 with a brewing capacity of 744 pints.
Today, the brewery is typically fermenting nearly 100,000 pints of up to 15 flavors at any given moment in a facility dubbed "The Memery."
The name comes from the pop-culture- and meme-inspired names for many of Triptych's beers: "This Is Fine" features that picture of a dog surrounded by flames, "Pay No Attention" references the "Wizard of Oz" movie, and multiple flavors include the name "Neo" with imagery from "The Matrix" franchise.
Benjamin said Triptych's ongoing commitment to the community has inspired the brewery to collaborate with charitable organizations through the years.
"Triptych is owned by four families that have a vision of exploring the intersection of community with the art of beer brewing," Benjamin said. "The Benjamins, the Altstetters, the Voigtlanders and the Amachers are committed to this dream."
The "art" part of beer brewing inspired Triptych's name; a "triptych" is a group of three artworks meant to be displayed together, and in this case, it references the water, grain and hops that must come together to create beer.
Benjamin encourages anyone to try Triptych's beers because of the wide variety it offers.
"While we don't believe that every Triptych beer will be for everyone, we hope that there is a Triptych beer for many of you," he said.
