Robey Street Blog

On October 6, 2009, I quit my job. I didn’t even give 2 weeks notice because I didn’t want anyone (including myself) to talk me out of it. I was not going to waver, so I decided to just go for it.

After quitting, I went out and purchased Charles Papazian’s The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing and got ready to plunge headfirst into all-grain brewing. I sold my second computer, using that money to buy all the equipment, and within a week I was brewing my first batch, the Robey Street Burnham Brown Ale!

At some point in August of 2009, I reached the height of dissatisfaction at my job and my career as a whole. Since 2003, I have worked as an instructional designer, developing curriculum for various companies in all kinds of industries, from retail to railroad. With the exception of one or two jobs, I’ve mostly done contracts and worked according to the client’s wishes. Most people think that a consultant has the advantage of recommending the best solutions for the problem. It’s true, I can and did, but when it comes down to it, I was always at the mercy of the client. What the client ultimately wants is what I had to deliver, even if it wasn’t the best solution. I was good at what I did and was offered a very lucrative full-time position, but really, my heart was just not in it and hadn’t been for a few years.

Pairing this frustration with my underlying passion or dream of working in a more hands-on creative field and being my own boss, I was ripe for something new. Although money is important, it’s not my primary motivation. I know everyone says this, but, when it comes down to it, I just want to be happy doing something I love. And furthermore, I REFUSE to become one of those people who silently toils day after a day at a job they hate because they don’t have the guts to just take the risk and see what happens. I wanted to be a doer and not a dreamer. If I wait for the perfect moment to “make my move” I could be waiting for a very long time for a day that may never come.

One of my big “When I have the money, I’d like to” dreams was to open a restaurant or a bar. However, a vast amount of time, money, and experience is required for such an undertaking. Plus, while I have many cool plans for types of restaurants or bars I’d like to open, I wasn’t really feeling a bright passion or clarity for any of them.

So, one day, while at work, I walked past the upstairs tea “brewery” at Argo Tea, and got to thinking about a real brewery and how the idea of making beer all day long really appealed to me. So, I (jokingly, at first) said to my friend that we should quit our jobs and open a brewery.

Well, the idea stuck. I suddenly developed an idea of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be. It felt as though all of these plans and ideas had been locked inside my head and I had just found the key. Within a few hours of brainstorming and researching, I had the name: Robey Street Brewery and the theme: Chicago History. I’ve always been very passionate about this city and had even recently applied to volunteer the Chicago Cultural Center (they still haven’t gotten back to me!).

I started reading about the few other local craft breweries in the Chicago area and realized that there really wasn’t that much competition to speak of. If anything, Chicago needs MORE craft breweries! Plus, I was surprised that no breweries (with perhaps the exception of Goose Island) had capitalized on making a beer that is all about Chicago.

In the middle of all this, I spent a week on vacation in September to Amsterdam where I went to visit my old friend and her husband. While I was in Amsterdam, I had the pleasure of trying a bunch of amazing Belgian and other European beers that weren’t readily available in the States. Plus, my friend decided that we should book a day trip to Brussels, Belgium. I excitedly agreed, and after thumbing through the Fodor’s guide, I was happy to see that Brussels had a BREWER’S MUSEUM! Naturally, this was first on the list and that trip was probably the highlight of the entire vacation. It further inspired and motivated me to go back and pursue the idea of having a brewery in Chicago. For the rest of the Amsterdam/Brussels trip, I continued to drink a lot of great beer, making notes and getting very excited. I will post a separate entry about the trip and my beer notes.

Brewers Museum, Brussels Belgium

When I got back to Chicago, I decided to delve a little deeper and started the research. I read about various options: contract brewing, package brewery, brewpub, etc. I did some research on the industry as a whole and most importantly, about how I could start brewing at home.

Other than the plethora of websites, I made a trip to the library and picked up the following books: Brew Chem 101 (by Lee W. Janson, PhD), Beer: A Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing (by Charles W. Bamforth), How to Brew (by John J. Palmer) and Redhook: A Microbrew Success Story (by Peter J. Krebs). These books and more are linked on the right side of the main blog page.

I also joined various craft brewing forums, websites, and associations. I got my ticket to FOBAB, and continued to find out how to better get to know people who are already in the industry and get some answers to my many questions.

Once I was sure that this was something worth pursuing, I made the decision to quit my job and give myself 3 months to solidify a game plan and really explore as much as I could. Months before, I had fully intended to take at least 3-6 months off of work to travel, but now I had a much more practical goal in mind and a comfortable cushion of savings set aside precisely for a period of unemployment. Plus, if things didn’t work out or I needed to make some money, there are almost always contract opportunities available in instructional design if I ever needed to go back to it.

2001:

Like most Americans, I had my first beer while I was in college. I wasn’t into it and stayed away from beer for the most part. I lived off campus and didn’t go to a major party school, so my exposure to college drinking was limited at best.

I was 21 and I think the first full beer I dank was an Oldstyle. Prior to that, I was really into that lemony malt beverage “Hooch”.

During a trip to visit a friend in Syracuse, NY I ended up drinking copious amounts of new-to-the-market Smirnoff Ice as well as Labatt Blue, which seemed to be all the rage out there. That was my second major beer experience. The only thing memorable about the beer was the hangover I got.

A few weeks later, I had what I would call my first positive beer experience. I was living in Uptown in 2001 and my roommate wanted me to go with her and her friend to some bar called the Hopleaf. I agreed and the friend told us non-beer drinking girls that we just hadn’t had GOOD beer. So, he ordered us each a Leffe Brune.

Oh, hey, now. I could get used to this. It didn’t taste like anything I would have normally referred to as beer. It was smooth going down, had a strong yet pleasant flavor, and it was a beautiful shade of reddish brown. Two goblets of Leffe later and I was hooked (as well as quite warm and fuzzy).

Weeks later I remember smuggling 750ml bottles of Leffe into Wrigley Field with us. If you haven’t had fine Belgian ale at a Cubs game, then you really haven’t lived. :)

Although this does sound like the beginning of a beautiful story, the lack of funds in the first few years after college graduation made for a lack of Good Beer experiences. For the most part, I found some mediocre beers to order at bars, only venturing out to try new brands when I had the money or when I was traveling. Plus, I no longer lived in the vicinity of the Hopleaf or any other quality beer bars.

The rest of the winding journey by year:

2002:

I continued to try any Belgian ale when I had the chance but otherwise would settle for a Coors Light, PBR, or similar.

2003:

Wyder’s Pear Cider. This is still one of my favorite ciders. It was on tap at a bar I went to when I lived in L.A. and it fast became my preferred drink.

2004:

A couple trips to Montreal made me a fan of microbrew Le Cheval Blanc and the Unibroue brand.

Le Cheval Blanc, Montreal, 2004

2005:

During this year I was more or less a red wine drinker. I lived near wine bars, wine shops, learned a lot, and was very interested in all the different types. I did discover the beer at Rock Bottom this year, but did not go that frequently.

Wine

2006:

The Beer Bistro opened up in my neighborhood and suddenly beer was back in my life, front and center. I tried to go there once or twice a month and checked off each beer I tried on the little card. I also started making frequent visits to Rock Bottom in Chicago because the Mug Club allowed me to drink plenty of delicious Erik the Red Ale for a reasonable price. :) Additionally, my neighborhood wine bar, Bevi Amo, began to sell a few craft beers.

Mug Clubbers, Rock Bottom Brewery

A Beer at Bevi Amo Wine Bar

2007:

A trip with my mom to the Niles Liquor Barn opened my eyes to the vast amount of (mainly Eastern) European beers available in Chicago. I also was able to buy by the bottle, so I ended up with a nice variety (Czechvar, Baltika, Czech Rebel, etc.). I was definitely on a Czech pilsner kick during that time. I also discovered some good German beers and began to order BBK whenever it was on tap.

An Array of Beer from Niles Liquor Barn

On a Pilsner Kick

2008:

Moving to the ‘hood and not being near any good grocery stores or bars meant I was back to drinking whatever Peapod delivered. And when I was out at a restaurant, I was drinking wine more often than not. At bars, I would order either Goose Island Matilda or Bells’s Oberon when it was available.

2009:

Good beer made a strong resurgence into my life. More on this in the following entries…