Chicago Brewery Closings and Week's Schedule: February 23-26

Whiner Beer

Word first came out Tuesday, when a Reddit user spotted an auction site listing for Whiner Beer’s entire brewhouse equipment, with “CLOSED” in the headline. There was no word from Whiner until they opened for service Friday, and then posted:

To all our friends and fans of Whiner Beer Company. The time has come to say goodbye and thank you for the last 10 years.
Whiner Beer Co. will be closing on March 29th. The last few years have been so difficult but we gave it our best shot. We could write a bunch of reasons why we are closing but it’s a familiar story in the brewing industry.
The Chicago craft beer scene is one of the best in the world. We are happy to be included in it for so many years. Working side by side with countless creative people is what makes craft beer so great.

Whiner opened in 2015 in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood; 1400 W. 46th St. The location is a former meatpacking plant, repurposed as a sustainable food production incubator. Its principals were Brian Taylor, a former brewer at Goose Island Brewing, and Ria Neri, previously a cicerone at Bangers & Lace.

The stone-walled, 17,000 sq. ft. brewing space first opened in 2012 with New Chicago Beer Co., which later departed and renamed themselves Ale Syndicate. That brewer set up at 2601 W. Diversey Ave. for a few years before also going out of business (just to be more confusing, that address was later the site of Diversey House, the now-closed brewpub co-op with Steep Ravine and Moor’s Brewing).

Whiner’s unique setting was suited for its focus on Belgian-style wild yeast and mixed fermentations, sours and barrel-aging. While they had decent distribution and some award-winning brews, it’s likely the malaise affecting all brewers and venues, along with its isolated location, played against it.

Whiner’s last day of service will be March 28. They have been co-brewing with Latin-based brewer SomosMonos Cerveceria. They have indicated that they will remain open at that location.

Illuminated Beer Works

It sure seems that whenever one door closes… well, another door closes. The same day Whiner announced their planned closure, Illuminated Beer Works posted:

The time has come for your troubled friends, family, cult members, co-conspirators, cheerleaders, antagonists, thorns in the side, clowns in your car, noodles on your lampshade, fish in your percolators, yada yada yadas in your whose in what’s haves its to put on our ritual onesies, tie up our sneakers and hop into the tail of a near-proximity comet.
Its with heavy hearts that we have been forced to finally let you all in on the big reveal: we’re closing up shop and heading to the transcendent fields of green on the other side of spaceship earth. We will miss all of you while we play pickle ball with washed up Thetans and out of work party clowns somewhere in the 5th dimension.
Official last day of service will be JUNE 28TH, 2026.

Other Brewer Notes

These closure announcements come on top of Hickory Creek in New Lenox announcing they will be putting their brewery up for sale. And the week before, Flapjack in Berwyn also posted their plans to sell. Both these brewers have indicated the hope that brewing operations would continue.

Jump to:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday