Kishwaukee Brewing

 

The first stop on the tour of Woodstock breweries took us to Kishwaukee, a slight hangar of a place in a mostly empty developer-haven clearing off the main drags. (Don't worry, developers are desperately trying to get other things going in the complex, so there's that to look forward to, Nature.) Google had told us the place was less busy than usual, but we came up during a county Knights of Columbus meat raffle, so we had plenty of company, both inside the large-ish, open-concept main area (bedecked with tables both barrel and long-form) and outside on the decently-sized patio area. Given the size of the overall building itself, I expected a larger tap room space, but my gut tells me the bulk of that square footage is devoted to brewing and packaging equipment. No bother, still plenty of room for activities in the room decorated like the exact midpoint between Chipotle-style wood-and-steel nonsense and a more homey lodge-esque sort of thing. A couple screens played one of the NHL playoff games and Return of the Jedi (it was May 4th, and we, as a society, now suck so hard, becoming so obnoxious to the point of making me dread the day despite actually liking most of the Star Wars flicks). The selection on offer was decently varied, comprising a few lagers, a couple IPAs of various consistencies and colors, and some stouts/porters for the dark-meat crowd. Bartenders, even given (or, possibly, because of) the busy night, were amiable, quick, and ready to help. I didn't notice any food (beyond the meat on auction (ladies...)), so no comment there. Figured I'd throw it in there: even with the crowdedness, the noise level wasn't all that bad. Right on. Overall, a pretty damn solid brewery, just wish it weren't so inaccessible without more driving than would be usually feasible.

A very nice space. Parking lot was pretty full for early afternoon due to a birthday party. Besides the large party group, there also seemed to be quite a few regulars who were drinking from ceramic mugs. We had a Peach Saison and a Session Pale and both were quite tasty. We sat out on the covered patio which was very comfortable on a 90 degree day due to a nice cross breeze. Overall pretty impressive. I am sorry I had not made it here before today.

 

Larger than I expected, relatively new building in a small industrial park. Nice bar, plenty of seating, both indoors and out. Good selection of beers, (a very nice BA RIS) seasonal and year around, friendly staff.

Large taproom with bar, table and biergarten seating. The interior is clean and comfortable. The service was friendly and helpful. There were eleven beers on tap when I visited. The selection included a variety of styles and seasonal offerings.