Church Street Brewing Company 2024: Award-Winning Craft Beer!

Nestled at the end of a road lined with warehouses and small factories in the Midwest, Church Street Brewing Company has become a destination for craft beer enthusiasts seeking a taste of tradition blended with passion. Every week, hundreds make the pilgrimage to this hidden gem to enjoy one of the most varied selections of award-winning craft beers in the region, while thousands more savor a glass of Church Street at their favorite local spots or bring a few bottles home. But this story doesn’t begin with a bustling taproom; it all started with a simple homebrew kit. Joe Gregor, a chemical engineer with a knack for designing oil refineries, received a gift from his wife and children one Christmas—a kit to brew a five-gallon batch of IPA on his stove. This sparked a fascination that quickly outgrew the kitchen, leading to a backyard brewing setup and, eventually, to the creation of a decoction brewhouse inspired by the crisp, refreshing lagers Joe fell in love with during his time in Southern Germany. In this Delivery Rank’s interview, Lisa shares the unique journey of running a family-owned brewery, how the art of decoction brewing sets them apart, and the joy of seeing their beers enjoyed by so many.

Church Street Brewing started with a homebrew kit for your husband, Joe Gregor. What do you think it was about that gift that sparked such a long-lasting passion for brewing in him?

To be perfectly honest, Joe doesn’t have much to do with the brewery anymore because he's not interested in the retail side of things. He’s an engineer, and that’s just not where his interests lie. But our son Sean caught the brewing bug from the whole experience and has become completely immersed in it. He’s now our head brewer and is doing a fantastic job with innovation and everything else. He just turned 29, so he’s young and brings a lot of new ideas, enthusiasm, and energy to the brewery, which has been really beneficial for us in many ways.

Sean has been working with us on and off. He spent five years at a brewery in Cincinnati in the late 2010s, but he's been with us full-time now for almost four years. It’s been great that he gained experience elsewhere first before deciding this is what he wanted to do.

A funny story about Sean: when he was taking standardized tests in high school, some of them asked what you want to be when you grow up. He somehow managed to get his test results to suggest that he would become a brewer, and this was when he was just 16, right around the time we were starting the brewery. I don’t know how he did it, but it was a sign of things to come.

Sean is really the heart of the brewery now. He was there from the beginning, even as a kid, helping out with our homebrew kit when he was about 8 or 10 years old. He spent a lot of time assisting with brewing and really enjoyed it.

It took a few years for Sean to finish college, gain experience at another brewery, and then come back, but now he’s here, fully committed to the journey. While I’ve taken over running the business, Sean leads as our head brewer, driving the creative direction and innovation at the brewery.

Sean’s older brother, Steven, is also working at the brewery now. He was the one who suggested the home brew supplies way back when. He concentrates on marketing, and works closely with Sean and the rest of the team to get the word out about our Righteously Good Beer.

You’ve taken over running the business, while your son Sean now leads as head brewer. How has the transition of responsibilities across generations shaped the evolution of Church Street Brewing?

I think we make a lot of different styles of beer beyond the traditional ones because of having younger people involved. My older son, Steven, is also part of the team. He's handling marketing and, eventually, he’ll likely take over my role. Right now, he’s focusing on marketing and sales so that he can understand that side of the business too.

Having all these young people involved has really changed our approach and given us a fresh perspective. For example, my other son runs our taprooms. He’s in his late 30s, and he’s actually one of the older people here. We also have an administrative brewer who was our head brewer in the period between Joe and Sean. He’s in his early 60s, and he helps keep Sean on track. But overall, we have a younger team, and they bring new ideas about what we should do and how we should do it.

It’s been really fun to see the energy and creativity they bring to the brewery.

Craft beer culture is booming, and Church Street Brewing is known for its award-winning beers. What do you think sets your brews apart from the vast array of craft beers on the market today?

I think the main thing that sets us apart is our ability to offer a wide range of styles. Most breweries tend to specialize in a set of styles; IPAs, lagers, or IPAs and sours, for example. But when you come to Church Street, you can find traditional lagers, a unique hazy IPA that you won’t find anywhere else, some classic English beers, Belgians, and a variety of sours. We also have an extensive barrel-aging program.

The breadth of our offerings, with around 40 beers on tap at any given time, is one of the things that makes us stand out. Unlike many places, we don’t just have five or six IPAs—we actually only have two, which is pretty unusual. The rest of our taps feature a wide variety of styles, from Belgian and German beers to a Polish pilsner and even an Italian pilsner that we recently wrapped up. While some of these styles sound traditional, they each have their own unique twist.

In addition to those, we offer barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stouts, Baltic porters—both barrel-aged and non-barrel-aged—and many other styles. It’s a diverse selection that allows us to cater to a wide range of tastes.

Church Street is rooted in traditional brewing styles but also prides itself on innovation. How do you strike a balance between honoring classic brewing traditions and exploring new trends in the craft beer industry?

I usually leave it up to the brewers when they want to try a new style. You’ve got to get them excited about it first. We can suggest ideas, but if you give them the freedom to explore, they come up with great things on their own.

For example, we’re making a black IPA this winter, which is a bit of an unusual style, just for fun. It happens to be one of our brewer's favorite beers, so he’s excited to make it. We try to be pretty collaborative, and this particular recipe is one of his favorite homebrew creations. We’ll be offering it in the taproom this winter.

Looking to the future, what are your goals for Church Street Brewing Company in terms of growth, new beers, and expanding your reach to beer lovers both locally and beyond?

We distribute in Illinois and Florida, which is quite a distance away, and now in South Carolina and Nebraska. We also have a small presence in Wisconsin, but we lost some distribution during COVID. One of our goals for the next year is to secure new distribution in other areas. It would be great to expand into Iowa since it borders Illinois and Nebraska, making for a logical route. We also recently lost our distributor in Missouri, so we’re looking to find a replacement there as well.

We have plans to increase our distribution, and we’re also considering opening a third location. Currently, we have a small taproom brewpub nearby that offers a different menu and experience compared to the main brewery. If we manage to open this third location, I think I’ll feel satisfied with where we are. At my age, my focus is on building a business that can support our team well, offering stability and a future. My main goal is to create a company where everyone can make a good living and enjoy working.

Of course, the rest of the team has their own ambitions too, like continuing to innovate and pursue new ideas. But for me, it's about ensuring that our business is sustainable and thriving for everyone involved.

To read more about Church Street Brewing Company, please visit https://www.churchstreetbrew.com/