Family brewpub opens near downtown Evanston
EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Downtown Evanston is getting pretty crowded with new places to eat and drink, but just a few blocks west, a new brewpub has opened across the street from the post office, offering both award-winning beers and Texas-style barbeque.
Smylie Brothers Brewing Co. is a family affair, led by one of the boys who ditched his job, got retrained, and opened his dream brewpub - a reminder of his time in college out West. The difference here is that not only is there award-winning beer, but also a menu that matches it in ambition.
The massive steel fermentation tanks are impressive, to say the least. They produce several styles of beer, one of which recently took home a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival. The plan to open Smylie Brothers near downtown Evanston stemmed from Mike Smylie's career change, as well as his collegiate nostalgia.
"After I graduated I came back to Chicago and I was a commodities broker for like 10 years in the trading pits, and there was nothing here beer-wise like there was in Colorado and I really missed that whole culture," said owner Mike Smylie. "And that whole Rocky Mountain vibe too, I missed that."
So he hired a brewmaster and got to work, brewing up several styles with their own unique spin on them.
"We do a California Common, which is a beer original to San Francisco. We take that beer and do a little twist on that," he said.
Food is just as important here. A large pizza oven manages to churn out Neapolitan-style pies in under four minutes; they come topped with both standard ingredients, as well as Italian specialties like sopressatta and arugula. But it's their smoker they're most proud of, slow-cooking brisket, pork shoulder and ribs. Then serving them simply, just as they would in Texas, with sauce on the side.
"My dad's from Texas, he's from San Antonio, I grew up eating BBQ; 16-hour brisket cookouts are something we're really used to doing," said Smylie.
Smylie Brothers Brewing Co.
1615 Oak Avenue, Evanston
224-999-7320
