Whiner Beer Company owners Brian Taylor and Ria Neri. (The Gate/Sonya Eldridge)
For as long as he can remember, Brian Taylor has wanted to start his very own brewery and taproom. Soon that dream will come to fruition.
Over the last couple years or so, Taylor and his business partner, Ria Neri have been steadily working to launch a new brewery at The Plant- Whiner Beer Company. Taylor spent the better part of the last decade working for Goose Island Brewing Company. Ria Neri worked as a cicerone at Wicker Park’s Bangers and Lace before deciding to partner with Taylor. Much like wine sommeliers are passionate experts about wine, cicerones are adept beer connoisseurs.
“A couple of years ago, we were like, let’s give it a shot,” Taylor said. “We developed a business plan, financials and all that and went out and found investors. It took about 2 years to get all the investors lined up,” he said.
Making beer, Taylor said, consumes a lot of energy and resources. “You use about eight to 10 barrels of water for one barrel of beer- that’s generally the rule. You’re cleaning all the time- before and after. Water’s a huge problem, and that will be something we’ll be looking at down the road in getting a waste treatment facility and that sort of thing.”
Taylor, who has been interested in finding and implementing environmentally conscious techniques for brewing beer for quite some time, was then introduced to The Plant founder, John Edel, through a friend. The conversation between the two soon became about building an environmentally sound brewery with zero waste, based on the mission of The Plant and the models of existing tenant businesses.
In an earlier interview with Taylor and Neri, the duo explained how they were able to find a boiler that operates using methane, eliminating the need for natural gas, which will fit right into The Plant’s business model- to create a self-sustaining facility that is powered by a series of biological processes known as anaerobic digestion. According to the American Biogas Council, anaerobic digestion occurs when microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.
The Plant’s anaerobic digester collects carbon dioxide through a pipe and is then passed through algae, which in turn converts the carbon dioxide back into oxygen. Once The Plant’s anaerobic digester is fully operational, the brewery’s boiler will be fueled by methane emitted by the digester, essentially making Whiner Beer Company entirely utility-free.
Most of the duo’s beer will age in French Oak barrels that come from West Coast wineries. Taylor and Neri are both huge fans of French and Belgian-style ales and plan to produce mostly those types of brews.
“The wood itself has some sort of bacteria that is endemic to the barrel already, so you have to take those into account. A lot of these bacteria that are in the barrels are going to start pouncing and eating up all the sugars.” Neri said.
Then, Taylor said, he injects the concoction with a lot of his own yeasts to develop the flavor profile they are looking for.
“What we’ll do is inoculate it with a lot of our own yeasts, we’ll use wild yeast that adds bacteria. We want it to eventually become its own ecosystem, but we’ll have to get it there,” Taylor said.
The brewing and barrel aging process typically takes about two months for French and Belgian style ales, Taylor said. For other no-frills beers such as lagers, the brewing process only takes about 10 days to two weeks.
The brewery, which will include a taproom, is completely built out and ready. Taylor and Neri recently received approval from the federal government and are now awaiting permits from the state and city.
Taylor said he hopes to get the permits in the next four to six weeks. Once they have the green light, the duo will host a grand opening party. Stayed tuned for information on the official opening date.