E-Malt.com News article: USA, IL: Noon Whistle Brewing in Lombard makes beer to be appreciated at more flexible times

It’s 5 p.m. somewhere. Or, better yet, make that noon, because why wait until the evening to enjoy a freshly brewed beer?

That’s part of the thinking behind Noon Whistle Brewing, a brewery that recently opened in Lombard, MySuburbanLife.com reported on January 2.

Co-owner and brewmaster Paul Kreiner has been visiting Marquette, Wis., since he was a kid, and his family has a tradition that when the town whistle blows at noon, it’s time to crack open a beer.

Kreiner and his longtime friends, Mike Condon and Jim Cagle, are bringing this tradition to Lombard with a brewery that offers session beers, which have lower alcohol concentrations than typical craft beers, allowing them to be appreciated at more flexible times.

“If it works, it works,” Condon said. “Enjoy a beer if you want to.”

While the beers may be low on alcohol, they aren’t low on flavor, the owners said.

Kreiner, who enrolled at the Siebel Institute of Technology brewing school about three years ago, uses plenty of hops and Belgian yeast to bring out the flavors in the beer, helping to offset the fact that a smaller amount of ingredients are used in order to keep the alcohol level lower.

The three friends are all beer lovers, and they started thinking seriously about opening a brewery of their own when Kreiner signed up at the institute.

They developed a business plan, brought investors on board and found a location in Lombard for the brewery.

Of it all, the hardest part was funding, Kreiner and Condon agreed.

From the village of Lombard, the brewery needed a conditional-use permit in order to produce and sell its own beer without serving food because the village, like many other municipalities, does not include that type of business in its code, Cagle said.

The business then received its liquor license in December before opening Dec. 21.

Overall, working with Lombard was an easy experience, Cagle said.

“Lombard was awesome,” Kreiner said.

By this weekend, Noon Whistle Brewing expects to offer six beers on tap, with plans to regularly offer eight. While some will stay the same, others will rotate.

Customers are welcome to bring their own food to the brewery or order it to be delivered there. The brewery also is partnering with food trucks that will be parked outside to offer guests another food option.

Right now, beer enthusiasts can only buy Noon Whistle brews at the brewery itself, but the owners are looking to have their beer on tap at bars and on sale at stores, Condon said.

Business has been steady since the brewery opened its doors, and Kreiner hopes more people will check it out to taste the noticeable difference that comes with cracking open a beer fresh from the source.

“The taste difference of being very local will be surprising to a lot of people,” Kreiner said.


07 January, 2015