Distributor Locations
For Ben and John Saller, getting into the beer industry wasn’t just about making their home-brewing hobby a means of income—it was about proving something. “I was tired of working for causes that I didn’t care about,” says Ben as he and his brother John show me around their production facility, a former Jay’s Potato factory on Chicago’s South Side. “I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder because you hear people talk shit about home-brewers who try and ‘go pro.’ I think it’s certainly true some of the time but we’re the biggest critics of our beer. I’m determined to not give up on having this be a career for me.”
Stop us if you’ve heard this from us before but we’re really passionate about the way that beer elevates a dining experience. Which is one of the reasons we get so excited when Chicago Restaurant Week rolls around. I mean, is there anything better than 250 restaurants offering special prix fixe menus? That’s an almost uncountable number of opportunities for beer and food pairings.
To celebrate the beginning of Restaurant Week, we joined 1,500 fellow foodies at First Bites Bash, the official kick-off event produced by Choose Chicago. Hosted inside the magnificent Great Hall at Chicago Union Station, it was a night of savory and sweet tastings from over 50 of Chicago’s most celebrated chefs and restaurants… all paired with Goose Island beers. Check out this post to see what we paired with our Goose Island beers and learn more about how you can win a VIP tour of the Goose Island brewery!