Two Brothers Brewing Company was founded by Jim and Jason Ebel in late 1996. The business was envisioned by the brothers based on their entry into entrepreneurship with The Brewer’s Coop, a retail store catering to home beer and wine making. In 1993 The Brewer’s Coop opened its doors in Naperville, IL selling retail ingredients and equipment for the homebrewing community.
The more they were surrounded by brewing, the more passionate they became about opening their own microbrewery. In early 1996 they decided to take the plunge and start writing a business plan. Several months later their dream became reality. Two Brothers Brewing Company is still 100% family owned.
Two Brothers Brewing Company website
Two Brothers in located in a non-descript industrial complex in Warrenville, Illinois, just a little west of my hometown. Their beers are conveniently sold at Costco in cost-effective 24-packs for only $24. A buck a beer cannot be beat!
“Why It’s Named …” is an ongoing feature about the stories behind brewery names
When Ben presented the opportunity to join with him to help Finch’s Beer Company become a reality, Paul realizing Ben’s passion for the craft brewing industry saw it as an opportunity to do something fun and different. This endeavor has opened his horizons to great craft beers and the great community of craft brewers.
Finch’s Beer Co. website referring to its owners, Benjamin and Paul Finch
Paul is actually Ben’s father, not the putt-putt lovin’ Paul Finch from the American Pie movies. Finch’s is a promising up-and-coming craft brewer in Chicago. I have tasted their product on many occasions and have never had reason to complain.
“Why It’s Named …” is an ongoing feature about the stories behind brewery names
I drunkenly stumbled upon these amazing beer paintings and had to share them with you all. They’d make a classy addition to any bar or man cave.
Show your love for your favorite beers in a unique, elegant way. Commission an original painting of 1-4 caps from your favorite beers/breweries (or individual hop cones can substitute caps).
Visit the artists’ Etsy page or official website for more details on how to order!
From its earliest time under the Shiner Brewing Association in 1909, to that fateful day in 1914 when Kosmos Spoetzl saw an opportunity to bring classic Bavarian brewing traditions to his fellow immigrants, through the Great Experiment of Prohibition and the Great Depression, the Little Brewery has stuck to what they know the best — handcrafting the finest beer! Tucked away in the scenic Texas Hill Country between Houston and San Antonio, Spoetzl Brewery is the heart of Shiner.
Spoetzl Brewery website
If you’re like me, you know Spoetzl Brewery better by the name of their flagship beer, Shiner Bock. Now I’ve learned that Shiner is actually a town in Texas. Beer road trip, anyone?
“Why It’s Named …” is an ongoing feature about the stories behind brewery names
Anheuser-Busch recently launched a new website and accompanying iPhone app called Track Your Bud. I was initially skeptical, but this turned out to be kind of cool.
Basically, you enter the “born on” date and code from your bottle of Budweiser-branded beer and the website or app tells you the life story of your beer: when and where it was born, the brewmaster in charge, and a little background on the brewing process.
My particular Bud Select had been brewed 102 days ago in Columbus, Ohio by Jason McKibben. Not a ton of in depth info, but nifty nonetheless. Another cool extra … If you are the first person to “track your Bud”, then you get to name the batch. Mine was “Chitown Bound”.
The iPhone app is free, so you have nothing to lose. Download it and check it out for yourself!
Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin gives one of the best brewery tours in the nation … or so I’ve read. Since I have not yet had the chance to travel north to experience it myself, I visited their website for more info and discovered their nine-part video brewery tour online. The above clip is only the first one. Watching these videos is almost like being there, except no free beer. So, I suggest cracking open a chilled Lakefront beer to enhance the realism.
The Boulevard story begins in 1988, when founder John McDonald started construction of the brewery in a turn-of-the-century brick building on Kansas City’s historic Southwest Boulevard. A vintage Bavarian brewhouse was installed, and the first batches of beer were produced in the fall of 1989.
Boulevard Brewing Company website
Boulevard is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and has grown to become the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. Their most well-known beer is their Unfiltered Wheat Beer … and I can attest to its tastiness. Plus, I hear they offer an amazing brewery tour, which I need to go on someday.
“Why It’s Named …” is an ongoing feature about the stories behind brewery names
Located in beautiful Bend, Oregon, Deschutes Brewery overlooks the wild and scenic Deschutes River. It’s home base to our adventurous, award-winning lineup of pioneering beers.
Deschutes Brewery website
Named after the river that “bends” near Bend, Oregon, the Deschutes (pronounced “duh-SHOOTS”) brewers must be inspired by nature’s beauty to produce such quality beers.
“Why It’s Named …” is an ongoing feature about the stories behind brewery names
As has been reported elsewhere, Goose Island will be offering cans of their top-selling beer, 312 Urban Wheat Ale, very soon. I, for one, am excited about this. I personally think that cans are a great beer receptacle and would love to see more beers offered this way.
Furthermore, in combination with Goose Island’s much-publicized sale to AB-InBev, I see these 312 cans as a potentially clever vehicle for spreading this quality wheat ale to the rest of the nation. In my mind, I could totally see this logo with a huge 314 with the St. Louis skyline featuring the Arch in the background. Or a big 206 with the Seattle cityscape and the Space Needle poking up.
In addition, the 312’s description as an “Urban Wheat Ale” also fits in with this area code plus city skyline motif. It all just seems to make sense. To me, at least.
Want to learn more? Check out the scoop from the Red Eye newspaper in Chicago with some early glimpses of the actual physical cans. Can-tastic!
