25 years and a lot of beer: As Two Brothers Brewing celebrates anniversary, its founders look back
CHICAGO — Few Chicago-area breweries are as underappreciated as Two Brothers.
It has never been the trendiest or flashiest brewery during its 25-year run. While Two Brothers tried to faithfully re-create European beer styles in its earliest days, Three Floyds carved a niche with intensely bitter, fruity India pale ales and Goose Island pioneered aging stouts in bourbon barrels — both industry hallmarks today. Even without such an innovative feather in its cap, Two Brothers has quietly led in its own way.
Two Brothers was one of the first breweries in the area to make an India pale ale with freshly-picked wet hops (Heavy-Handed, in 2001) and an annual Oktoberfest beer (Atom Smasher, in 2005). Two Brothers was even early to a concept as simple as brewing to the seasons.
A year after launching in suburban Warrenville in 1996, Two Brothers produced its first winter seasonal, the inky, rich Northwind imperial stout. The following summer it was replaced by Dog Days lager. When the weather cooled again, back came Northwind. And
