Downtown Joliet's Elder Brewing Opens On Cass

JOLIET, IL - Tunes from Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters were playing behind the bar as Andrew Polykandriotes and his wife Melissa poured 5-ounce and 10-ounce glasses of Poly's Punch and Cream of the Castle for their first-time customers. First impressions are lasting impressions and Friday was a special day for the new Joliet entrepreneurs and for the city of Joliet's continued efforts to revitalize downtown's night life. This was the grand opening for Elder Brewing Company, 218 East Cass Street. After going decades without a single brewery, Joliet has had two open in a matter of months. Both are downtown.

In September, MyGrain Brewing Company opened inside the historic Union Station. In fact, Vince Turrise and Grzegorz Lesiak, the co-operators of MyGrain Brewing, were among the first customers to visit Elder Brewing early Friday afternoon to offer congratulations and best wishes to the new microbrewery just a few blocks away.

"We want Joliet to be a craft beer destination," Elder Brewing Company owner Andrew Polykandriotis told Joliet Patch during Friday's grand opening gala.

On Friday, Elder Brewing debuted two microbrews. The beer menu describes Cream of the Castle as a "crisp and super drinkable, this cream ale is sure to please craft beer enthusiasts as well as those who are 'new' to drinking craft beer."

Polykandriotis has called his second beer Poly's Punch.

"This American pale ale is a smooth, slightly bitter pour," the menu proclaims.

RELATED: Downtown Joliet's Second Microbrewery Opens

Kyle and Simi Obreiter of Aurora ventured over to downtown Joliet for Friday's opening. They said they've known the owners before Elder Brewing became a reality. "The beer is really good," Kyle Obreiter remarked. "It's a low-key, chill atmosphere with good people."

His wife said, "the feel of this place is totally Andrew and Melissa's personalities. The beer is great. As soon as I took a sip of it, it was pure awesomeness."

For Andrew Polykandriotis, Friday's grand opening felt like he had climbed to the top of the mountain, he said. His dream of opening Elder Brewing "started when I was 25. I'm 28 now," he said. "We definitely did not give up. Perseverance for sure."

He plans to add a number of additional microbrews to the menu in the coming weeks. He's just being cautious for now. He doesn't want to put a beer on the menu that won't be a huge hit with all of his first-time customers. On Friday, he was letting customers sample a candy-corn flavored craft beer. It seemed to be going over well with the tasters.

He also encourages patrons to order food from one of the downtown's restaurants or bring their own meals. He and his wife have a popcorn machine and they were busy dishing up bowls and bowls of popcorn on Friday. Elder Brewing is close to Vela's Restaurant & Lounge and about a block up the street from Willie's Smoke Shop.

"We just make beer here, and we want to make it right," Andrew Polykandriotis said. "Beer and memories."

Images via John Ferak, Joliet Patch Editor