Brew Werks Homebrewing Shop Closing, Werk Force Brewery Expanding

PLAINFIELD, IL — It's the "end of an era" for Chicago Brew Werks owners Brandon and Amanda Wright. The Plainfield residents made the decision to close the homebrewing shop, with the last day of in-person shopping set for Saturday. Werk Force, the accompanying brewery and tap room, will remain open.

Homebrewing has been on the decline in recent years and in keeping with the times, Brandon said Chicago Brew Werks, which opened in 2012 and was followed by the popular Werk Force Brewing in 2014, is liquidating the space and preparing for new endeavors.

"Werk Force has taken off for us, which has been awesome," said Brandon, who's been homebrewing on his own for about 18 years. "But over the past couple of years, homebrewing has been on a decline and sales have dropped. We don’t see a lot of people get into the hobby like we used to."

It seems pandemic-induced lockdowns weren't enough to save the craft. Brandon said Chicago Brew Werks saw an uptick in sales around April and May of last year. But it didn't last, and he said they saw "a steep decline" over the summer, when many people started spending more time outdoors. With remote learning and an array of Zoom meetings keeping adults and children alike busy into the fall and winter, Brandon posited people didn't have time to dedicate to homebrewing anymore.

Four hours on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be the last day the store is open, but Brandon said they're planning "one last hurrah" for sometime in August to sell everything from the shop.

Although the shop is closing, Werk Force Brewing isn't going anywhere. The space Chicago Brew Werks occupies, at 14903 Center St., will soon be the home of spent-bourbon barrels, which is where the brewery makes its imperial stouts.

"We've been growing that side of the business a lot and those things sit for about a year before they're ready to be packaged and released, so that's a long wait period, and we need as much space as we can get to store those," Brandon said.

One feature of Chicago Brew Werks was a tasting bar where customers could buy a beer to sip on while they shopped — that's also not going anywhere, Brandon said. Once the new space is open, it won't have regular business hours, but Brandon said they're going to implement small pop-up events for new releases.

Brandon has a few months of work ahead of him to prep the space, but he said he hopes the barrel room will be ready "later this fall."

"We definitely could use more room for the brewery, so call it a perfect storm to use that space for the brewery and to continue growing," Brandon said.

One business is closing while another one expands, and Brandon said many in the community have shared the owners' feelings about the transition.

"A lot of people are saddened by the news but also excited," he said. "It's a mix [of] emotions of sad and happy all at the same time."

Werk Force Brewing's beer garden is open noon to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Plainfield Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!)