Triptych Brewing

 

 

It has been a while since I have visited Triptych, and I didn't realize they had a new building. Basically right behind the old original building. Again, another L shaped bar, plenty of seating otherwise. With some couches, even a shuffle board table, and some pinball machines. They were playing the 90's alternative music a bit to loud, almost a try hard to be cool, but that is just my projection ha.

I was not the biggest fan of the brewery when they opened, as anybody could probably tell from just reading. Though on my most recent visit I was really impressed. I'm never going to really enjoy or care about NEIPA's or Juicy IPA's, or even offerings with lots of additives. Which Triptych does a lot of. However their lagers I have had have been really well made. German Pils, Czech Lager, a Smoked Rauchbier was excellent. Smoked might be my favorite American made example of the style right now, and the lagers I have had have been as good as Riggs. Which is saying something. They also had a cask English Bitter, which was good. The Czech Lager being on the slow pour, and all of that is why you want to go to a breweries taproom.

Lots of canned beer to go as well. Service is spot on, and really knowledgeable. I'm glad I'm able to make a very positive update here after all these years.

Original review from 2013-------------------------------------------------------------
A brand spanking new brewpub in Savoy. So, of coarse I have to check it out. They will also be distributing to a few places in downtown Champaign. They have either already sent out kegs, or will very shortly.

A small L shaped bar with a few tables scattered about. The brewing equipment is displayed on the left. The LCD screens scroll to let you know what is on tap. Some board games, and you can bring in food if you want. That is it. Pretty bare bones.

The service is friendly, just one guy behind the bar. He is more than happy to talk shop and answer any questions.

The beer leaves something to be desired for me. I love some of the styles they are doing. They had two true session ales. Though neither were that good. A nitro cherry chocolate stout. An Oatmeal Stout, and a hoppy amber. Along with a light beer, which is nothing more than a macro for people that don't like anything else, and an apricot beer (the light beer with fruit added). No thanks on those two. There is a cask about once a week. They will do growlers as well.

Overall, I like the people, and it is great that Savoy has a place like this. Though, the beer just did not hit with me. Blind Pig is still king here. Though it is a fun place to chill for a bit.

Triptych has long been on my bucket list of Illinois breweries to visit, ever since I first tried their beers at the Green Lady's "South of 80" event in 2015. Thirty-something beers later, I finally made it. The location was tucked back behind some industrial buildings, next to a very brightly painted Tae Kwon Do academy. The tap room had a nice garden patio out front, and lots of seating inside. It was smaller than I imagined, but the brewery was also in a separate building across the street.

A service area and point of sale station faces you from the bar upon entry, with a dozen bar seats beyond that. A large cooler with 4 doors of beer to go, including singles which was a great option to try new beers. It was pretty quiet mid-day on a Saturday, only one occupied table. The bartender let me try 3 samples, which was the limit. Tried a couple tasters to figure out which cans to buy, and really enjoyed the draft-only Table Saison. I had a few of questions about their beer and distribution, which got hit or miss answers. The bartender was nice though.

Quality and selection are very high. They do some barrel aging, in addition to a Heritage Lager series, Possibly mixed-ferm) Table Saison, numerous hazies, as well as well done simpler styles like brown ale, pale ale, and a Cara Cara orange wheat.

Overall it's worth a stop to load up on fresh cans at the source, and try various specialty drafts.

This place is awesome, especially if you like IPAs. Industrial building in a mixed use area south of Champaign. Small L-shaped bar opposite the entrance seats about 10 with a dozen or so tables inside and more on the patio out front. Lively Saturday afternoon crowd. 18 beers on tap, heavy on the IPAs, and I liked the 4 I had here very much, and they sell singles to go which I'm looking forward to. Knowledgeable, friendly bartenders. (The Watson Chicken truck was excellent also)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of our favorite places in the community. We have introduced many friends to Triptych. Old reviews about lack of seating are outdated. Plenty of seating outside now in good weather, and a newly expanded space in the tap room now. On many nights, there is a food truck parked outside -- the pizza on Thursday nights is especially good.

There is always a wide selection of beer on tap. What we like best is the brewers are not afraid to experiment. Getting a bunch of four ounce pours to sample the latest is always a treat.

 

 

 

Laid back atmosphere with a place that's all about the beer. Cool, knowledgeable servers. The smell was amazing pulling in to small parking lot. Canned 4packs available for pick up. Awesome beer.

 

The tasting room is literally just in the brewery itself. Long bar with some seating along with a smattering of tables in the tasting room. Big shelf with games for patrons to play. Really awesome big patio area with lots of tables - would be a great spot to sit and have a beer in the evening when the weather is nice. About 10 or 15 beers on tap along with a selection of to-go cans and bottles as well as howlers/growlers. Guy working the bar was very friendly and chatted with all the customers, offered recommendations and was just generally a good ambassador for the brewery. Was not as impressed with the beers I had on tap as I have been with some of their canned offerings. Still the space is a nice place to stop and have a beer.

 

 

 

 

 

This place opened a few years ago to much fanfare -- CU is a big beer community and this filled a very important niche that apparently Blind Pig Brewery and Destihl just couldn't. The place is a cool hangout with a nice layout.

But, man, the beer sucks. I try most things that sound interesting and am at the point where I am excited when only moderately underwhelmed. I like going there but only with a group to play games when others like the beer. Sometimes I consider getting a couple of growlers and evaluating over a longer time scale, but their growler prices are somewhere between exorbitant and downright ridiculous.

The truth is that both BPB and Destihl offer better beer, better access to food, and better access to other things in general (Triptych is down in Savoy). I'll keep trying to find one or two that I like, but I am disappointed by the fellatious adoration by the locals that probably keeps these guys from figuring their shit out.

I always look forward to visiting triptych will visiting family in C-U. They have a very nice rotating selection available with a lot more variation than you would expect for a brewery of this size. My last visit on 4/3 they had a large selection of barrel aged projects going on, including a barrel aged sour. My favorites selections over time are the Pale ale very dank and citrus forward and the Russian imperial stout. I would love to try a BA version of this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Named for the three brewers who came from separate paths of life, this is a small brewery located just a few buildings down from the dojo my family used to go to. I never in a million years would have guessed that this rural "suburb" of a college town, known mainly for its airport and golf course, would develop its own brewery.

Upon entering, the brewery is to the left--showing off a small system and stainless steel conical fermenters. Straight ahead from the doors is the long bar, with a seating area to the right of that. They serve no food, but do have a snack machine for some available munchies. I also spotted a couple of Four Roses Bourbon barrels aging in the tasting room...what boozy secrets might they be hiding? My family and I all bellied up to the bar and we split a sampler of all the beers. The beer menu was unique: three large TV screens above the bar with a listing of the beers that rotated through each beer and gave brewing, ABV% and hop details on each. I would have loved to talk to one of the brewers/owners, but they were all off at GABF in Denver that week.

I liked a lot of the eight beers I tried at Triptych. My favorite was the Dirty Hippy, and English style low alcohol mild--I could have a few pints of this and be very happy. Second on my list was an apple beer, made with cider from the local Curtis Orchard, where I used to visit in my childhood. They have been doing a series of single hopped beers called Hop School, and they Centennial was on tap during my visit. I found it a bit harsh and vegetal, but like the idea of trying this type of thing commercially. Sorry I missed the Citra version! I also found the Double IPA to be a bit rough--I wonder if the water profile out there is hurting their hoppier beers. Overall well worth a trip to visit, and I feel like they will continue to grow as a brewery over next couple of years.

Stopped in at Triptych this weekend. It's pretty raw because they just opened but it has some great potential. There is a small bar that seats around 10 people and they have some tables set up as well. The bartender was friendly. They had 6 of their beers on tap, the only taps in the place and also do growler fills. I got a flight of 4 for 5 dollars and then tried the other 2 as well. They had a Maibock, Red Ale, English Brown Ale, Weizenbock, a coffee English Brown Ale, and a Black IPA. None of them were bad and none were great, all were really solid beers. I'll definitely be back and will continue to support them over in Savoy, IL.

I've been to Triptych close to a half- dozen times since it opened, and every time I was very pleased with the atmosphere, service, and most importantly the beer. Their Imperial IPA is quite good, and a little more balanced than what is typical for the style. I also enjoyed their Blonde and both of their Stouts greatly. I've talked with two of the three owners, and they're great guys. Anthony, the head brewer, is really easy to talk to and definitely knows his stuff. He was telling me that he's going to try to gear some of their beers towards sessionable brews. They want folks to be able to come to their brewery, have a few beers, and be safely on their way home. I love The Blind Pig, but there's something about Triptych that makes it worth the drive to Savoy for an evening of good beer and good people.

Just got back from my first visit here, and I'm definitely impressed! I was a bit skeptical of what the environment would be like going in, considering Triptych is located in a commercial office building area of Savoy, but they did a really nice job of imparting a relaxed coffee-shop-esque sort of feel to the space. There's a nice bar with about 8 seats right in front of you when you walk in, and off to the right about 10 tables (including an AWESOME chess board table made out of grains!). The menu is on a three panel LCD board that cycles through with nice photography to go with each beer they offered; a nice touch.
As far as the beer goes, I was pleasantly surprised! Definitely my favorite of the breweries operating in Champaign (Destihl and Blind Pig Brewery being the other two), I really liked the Imperial IPA and its intense fruity / citrus notes without over the top bitterness. The English Pale Ale was nicely malty and very good, and the Scottish Session Ale and Oatmeal Stout were also solid. I'm not a huge fan of fruit beers, but for those that like cherry stouts, the Valentine would be superb.
I definitely see myself returning here often!