CHANNAHON – Three Channahon friends who have spent the better part of a year deep in license paperwork, building renovations and batch tasting can now share the fruits of their labors with their own community.
The brewing company will open its doors to the public today at 3 p.m.
“It’s great that they have different options and it’s the best beer around and it’s in my hometown. They have a great selection and there is something for everyone’s taste buds and personalities,” Channahon resident Keith Hermann said.
On Friday, July 28, Tom Sperling, Tim Engler and Dustin Fryman opened the doors to their new brewing company – River Hawk Brewing – to a group of family and friends and a VIP tasting night.
In the photo, Fryman gives a tour to (left to right) Pam Hemsmann, Mike Hemsmann and Keith Hermann.
The trio has brewed beer together for 10 years. Although they all have full time jobs in other fields, they decided to collaborate on a brewery. Then they hired Ian Pershey of Channahon who graduated from Brewlab, located in the United Kingdom.
During a brainstorm session on a name, Fryman suggested River Hawk due to the natural landscape and wildlife found around the Channahon area.
Inside the brewery, large group-sized tables create a community feel and encourage patrons to sit and meet people they may not know. These handmade tables took over 220 man hours to make, according to Sperling, and each one offers a unique design.
In the photo, Jen Fryman (left) and Deb Sperling explain the beers to River Hawk Brewing customer Gregg Scott at the July 28 friends and family opening. The Channahon brewery opened officially to the public on July 29 at 3 p.m.
The handcrafted bar offers ample seating for over 20 people and the open concept brewing area was visible from any angle. The 12 shiny fermenters lend a unique backdrop and the beers are pulled from the fermenters straight into the tap.
“Everything you see in here was built by us. We have a lot of sweat equity in this place,” Fryman said.
The men hoped their venture would be open in January of 2017, but the fact they wanted to make this brewery unique caused a longer process with the licenses.
Not only do they brew beer, Sperling crafts his own unique blends of wines as well. So, they had to obtain a license for a brewery, winery and winemaker, which was a learning curve according to Fryman.
This was a humbling experience to understand and the amount of effort it took from all three of us to get approval,” Fryman said.
Engler, pictured above, cleans the beer and wine tanks.
The owners invested heavily in the equipment, as well as water quality and ingredients. In a separate room from the brewery houses, the reverse osmosis water system purifies the water to make a clean-tasting beer. They also built a lab in order to test what goes into the beer to insure quality.
Pershey, pictured above, created his own yeast farm, which he will use when brewing begins, instead of using dry packaged yeast. He can grow yeast in a small fermenter and within two to three days have his own supply.
On opening day, 11 of the 12 beers were complete as the stout was still in the brewing phase.
Three wines were also available. Fryman said they want to have staple beers that patrons know will always be on tap. They will switch around others to reflect season. Sperling created a fruit wine as well as two white wines. Above, Jen Fryman pours a glass of blueberry wine.
“These are wines I have tried and made. You can tweak whites to make a dry sweet or semi sweet. We have a blueberry wine as well as a Vidal blanc and a Seyval blanc,” Sperling said.
Karol Scott of Channahon said the "blueberry wine is awesome." It’s good for those who don’t like beer, it gives us another option,” Scott said.
The beer menu boasts beers such as a extra special bitter with a hint of blueberry, a light lager, a red ale with robust flavor, a sour which can be paired with an artisanal soda syrup, a cask ale which mimics an typical English style beer, a gluten free beer with orange blossom and honey, tropic thunder American pale ale with a light fruit taste and a bite at the finish, an easy drinking hefeweizen with banana and clove notes, a blueberry beer and two India pale ales which will stir up the taste buds.
“Channahon needs a breath of fresh air, new things to help Channahon out and this business is out of the ordinary,” Channahon resident Gregg Scott said.
The owners encourage patrons to visit, try the beers in a sampler or sip on a glass of beer or wine and play a board game or chat about life. Food will not be available on site, but customers are encouraged to order something in, or bring in their own take-out food. --------------------------------------- IF YOU GO
WHAT: River Hawk Brewing
WHEN: 3 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: 24735 W. Eames St. Channahon
INFORMATION: River Hawk Brewing on Facebook