Goldfinger Brewing Company

I've been waiting for them to open inside to give a review, but I have been enjoying their beer and outdoor picnic benches for months now. They are a destination visit, meaning there is nothing else around the brewery: situated just off the BNSF in a residential area, but a great location to meet and get driven to many breweries within 15 minutes.

High ceilings make the space seem larger. Wood and metal furnishings and a clean, bright overall look. Communal tables, smaller 4 tops, and a few barstools along the bar and more facing the brewhouse, separated by glass, easily seats about 50. A smaller room can be closed off for private parties of 30 or so. Outside seating, available since opening is on the parking-lot pavement and easily seats another 100 patrons. Parking space has obviously been sacrificed but there is still plenty as the lot extends along the tracks.

Beers are dedicated to lagers according to family lore and they hit every one on the nose. Core line-up of Pils, Vienna, and their Original lager are all dispensed from proprietary side-pour taps and they take their time, as they should. Selection is designed to be limited: lagers, so that is a difficult category to rate. They have all the lagers I want, but that's it.

Overall, I look forward to many visits.

Service is knowledgeable, personable, and growing, now especially.

In town a few days early for the trade show, we took the opportunity to bounce up to Madison for an overnight getting our Glarus on along the way, and hit some places off the beaten path on the way back. Now halfway back from Geneva to the west and this one last stop before Chicagoings happen. Right or wrong side of the tracks, we’re in it now. End of a little industrial row dead ending at the food truck out front. Speed round, okay. I didn’t say, you said…

Single room space seemingly so. Straight wood slat bowling lane topped bar to the rear, white subway tile base, and a foot bar. Seating for 9 on leather stool chairs. 6 Lukrs on a white subway tile inlay on barback light green 2/3 wall center, and a logo piece above. To the left, the tap selections listed in black plastic letters (beer, ABV). Further along, glassware & crowls rack with a crimper in between, and a single flatscreen atop. And to the right, growls & cooler space.

Concrete floors, black corrugated ceiling with ductwork. Drop pear filaments tracing the bar, and wide ring small candle bulb chandelier across the floor. Gray side & front walls painted & cinder block, with light prints on the side wall between the windows. Wall of glass opposite looking in on the rows of horizontal tanks, and a bar counter ledge below with board games for the play.

10 tables about the room; long shareds and angled squares. Front corner room holds 7 tables, high and low. A flatscreen, a table shuffleboard game, and some light beer prints. Merch along the bar, and more merch in the front corridor where people might reasonably walk off with it. Odd placement for shit you cannot keep an eye on. Did I mention the light dragon logo pieces riddled about? I guess I just did.

Printed menu shows beer, IBU, ABV, & mash data (single, double, or triple decoction, step mash, cereal & step mash). And beers are served in .3L, .5L, and/or 1L. Some of them in all sizes, some not.

6 beers up. 4 Core Lagers (Original, Helles Lager, 5.2%; Pils, Slow Poured German Pilsner, 4.9%; Vienna, 5.5%; Mexican Lager, 4.6%), and 2 Seasonal Lagers (Polotmavy 14, Czech Half-Dark Lager, 5.6%; Le Bizon, Bison Grass Saison, collab with Is/Was, 4.9%). There would have been 3 seasonal Lagers up but Black Lager, Schwarzbier, 5%, had selfishly kicked.

Shortys for me, please (Polotmavy 14, Czech Half-Dark Lager, toffee, light little sweety, very good; Le Bizon, Bison Grass Saison, light, dry, peppery, good but vanilla-y; Original, Helles Lager, clean, crisp, grainy, floral, quite nice; Pils, light bitterness, crisp, dry, solid). Polotmavy 14, Original Helles, & Pils for the wins.

It was a quickish visit, true. But I came back with the unusual suspects 6 months later on our beer & baseball trip, so there’s that. Good house, I could do some time here. Lager Lager Lager Lager Lager, also, Lager. What’s not to love?

Unlike too many breweries in the Chicago region, they've got a very convenient parking lot and a sizeable, canopy-covered patio outdoors to enjoy this beautiful day.

The interior is also sizeable, with an entranceway showcasing some of their merch before opening up a large taproom space with picnic tables before the walk-up bar. Next to you there are large, tall windows showcasing the horizontal tanks in the brewery. There is also a room on the other side of the entranceway that is a sort of walkthrough or spillway into the patio.

Beers are poured with purpose and care, intentionally slow pouring the pils for that beautiful meringue appearance. There are only a couple of drafts available, but what they are is simply fantastic.

Good music, good vibes, people that appreciate quality. I just wish I could have walked away with cans.

 

 

 

Been hearing too many good things about this place to not eventually stop in and grab a drink-see. It's located in a stretch of commercial/industrial buildings between the BNSF tracks and a residential area, all spanning between the two more central Downers Grove commuter stations. Nice bricks, not gonna lie. Past the canopied patio area outside, I ventured into the fairly modest interior, just an open space with minimal frills and a generally semi-industrial feel. Think 70s-area yellows and tans, but faded like a factory breakroom of yore. Brewing equipment fills the eyeline to the left of the bar area. There, six taps are on offer, all seemingly from Lukrs, comprising the standard House Lager, Pils, and Vienna, alongside some rotational offerings (at this time a Mexican lager, a zoigl collab, and a smoked helles). All are very tasty, strongly well-made beers worthy of being the sole, heavy focus. Crowlers and cans were available for just about everything. Bartender was attentive and knowledgeable, though my eyes were locked on the sole screen in the space, which was playing some horse racing content. (Gotta say, that's at least different from just about everywhere else.) No food is on offer, though a couple snacks can be purchased at the bar, and a food truck was preparing to set up outside for the dinner period. Overall, though it may not be much to remark about in terms of aesthetic, the quality of the beers speaks for itself, and it's hard to come up with a better recommendation for a brewery to visit for beer nerds.

June 2023:
Met @FBarber here for a couple beers on a Tuesday night. I tried I think four of their beers on tap, and I was super impressed with all of them. I had basically zero interactions with the staff except for ordering beer at the bar. Not a huge place, clean, filled with wood paneling, some outdoor seating.

Lagers only, about six taps. I think they were all Lukr faucets.

100% will actively seek out opportunities to visit again.

 

Stopped in on an early Friday afternoon. Place was mostly empty, which at the time is to be expected. Service was serviceable but hardly friendly. No flights which was a bummer. Beers on the list were offered in .3L and 1L sizes. I was told .5L were available. Prices were, IMO, a bit outrageous. $7 or $8 for .3L. Full liters were $20+. GTFO.

The beer is great, no doubt. Prices just seemed out of line for the size of the pour. I'll still buy cans, but probably won't be back to the taproom anytime soon.

Lager heads will find much to enjoy here. Limited selection (usually 5-7 beers on draft) but they have really refined their approach and you WON'T have anything less than an excellent beer. Good space, gets a little hectic when crowded, but overall a nice spot.

Goldfinger has quickly developed a reputation for high quality lagers, and that’s what you get at the source. Modern industrial space, pretty sterile vibe inside, tented outdoor biergarten patio seemed to be the main draw for the locals. Lukr faucets behind the bar, 6-8 beers available. Large window into the brewery with impressive lagering tanks stacked horizontally.

Service was attentive but utilitarian, they were unfortunately out of cans so I had to settle for a pricey $17 crowler of Pils. Seems a little unheard of to be completely sold out of cans at a brewery, but it's a good problem to have I guess.

Selection is somewhat limited, they rotate a couple seasonals but typically just have their standards on. Can’t go wrong with the Lager, Pils, or Vienna.

Overall they are making some great lagers, i’ll keep looking for them in their limited distribution footprint. Nice to visit the brewery, but a bummer to have no cans for sale.

This is a repurposed light industrial building located just NW of downtown Downers. No issues finding parking if you choose to drive.

They have an outdoor beer garden set-up near the entrance. When you enter you go through a short hall then into the rectangular, slightly spartan space. The bar is at one end and there are both small and group tables. The tanks are proudly on display.

Our server was friendly but was sometimes MIA. We weren't in any huge hurry so no big deal.

Steady stream of customers coming into buy beer to go.

The beers were fantastic. Nice mix of European styles. Their Pilsner and Marzen are top notch and I think their Vienna lager is world class.

They do have a few snacks available with the pretzel my favorite.

 

 

We stopped here to try their beers and to meet up with another BA member. The place is located in a nice mature neighborhood among other commercial businesses. A parking lot is to the side of the building, and is partially taken up by an open-sided tent for now. The entrance to the taproom is about halfway down the side of the building. The taproom has white walls without much color from wall hangings and is kind of stark. The bar is at the rear of the room and has seating for 8 customers. Most of the tables are the long variety with bench seating, but some tables are smaller and have chairs. Beers are ordered at the bar. However, when we were there a server was taking care of bringing beers to the tent. It was a nice evening, so we sat out there.

Sampler flights are not offered so that you can try everything; however, half size pours are available. There were six beers available and all were European-style lagers. I would have liked to try them all, but we did our best to drink four half-sized pours at the end of a long day of pub-hopping. Each was brewed very well to style so that we gave an overall grade of B+ to them. All of them were served in proper glassware (even outside), and the Pils was given a 'slow-pour' to enhance its enjoyment.

No food is served here but some snacks are available. Cans are available for carry-out. I'd love to come back here someday to try other styles, and I'd love to see more Euro-lager styles on the beer list. This place is highly recommended for a visit, even if you have to go out of your way.

 

Love love love the outdoor beer garden tent space! Inside has two main rooms, but spartan but the bar and behind wall are great. Beer is wonderful, high quality lagers. Service is friendly and helpful, they move that line quickly. The selection is still only 6 taps though, would love that to be doubled but for now it works

 

The Building & Staff:
This brewery opened this Summer of 2020 during Covid. All Summer long they had a large tent in the parking lot with socially distanced seating. The servers clean everything with antiseptic; menus, chairs, tables... after someone leaves before the next person can sit. I'd rather not have a side of Covid with my beer. A little OCD, but I like that. A note from my wife: sparkling clean bathrooms.

The Clientele:
The age range is all over the spectrum. Anyone would totally feel safe here and it's easy to strike up a conversation - even socially distanced. Bonus: They allow well behaved dogs and give them a golden water bowl!

The Service:
Even though everything seems to be running like a well oiled machine, they know how to have fun and there is always a smile on the employee's faces. If you order the Pils, expect to wait longer because of the slow pour, so order your next one when you're halfway finished with your current beer.

The Beer:
At the time of this writing, they only had 3 beers on tap. Pils , Original Lager & Vienna. That's why I gave it a 3 on Selection. I had all three. They are all so different. The Pils is a slow pour and a very light beer, soft in flavor, delicate. I honestly can't believe it's 4.9% ABV. Served in a thin, tall glass. Extremely easy drinker. The Original Lager is served in a glass mug with a handle and has plenty of flavor, but not overly so. You know you are drinking a German style lager and it makes me want to put on my lederhosen. The Vienna was served in a glass mug with a handle. The Vienna was my least favorite lager but I can't put my finger on why. Maybe too much malt flavor? The flavor wasn't appealing to me but there were lots of people drinking it. The beauty of beer, right? Everyone has their own tastes and this brewery seems to hit the taste buds of everyone there with at least one of their 3 beers.

Final Thoughts:
This place is popular and I think the owners didn't expect their establishment to be so popular right off the hop. Lines to get seated were commonplace during the warmer months. They even sold out of the Original Lager which was off the menu for about a month. I enjoy this brewery and will continue to visit.