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INfrequently Asked Questions: Brewmaster Tom Korder

In this week's Infrequently Asked Questions feature, Penrose Brewing Co. brewmaster tells us that brewing is an art and science.

Tom Korder

Age: 33

Town: Geneva

Why him: The brewmaster and co-founder of Penrose Brewing Co. in Geneva had over a decade of experience in brewing for Anheuser-Busch and Goose Island before opening his own place in early 2014.

Q: How did you make the transition from working in breweries to opening your own?

A: "Well, (Eric Hobbs) was on the sales side and I was on the operations side. And one day, we just looked at each other and said, 'Alright, let's do this.'"

Q: Why Geneva?

A: "Well one, Eric is from here. But two, we saw the culture and local handcrafted beer really taking a nice focus here. There are a lot of great bars and restaurants that are family-owned; it's not just chain restaurants everywhere. There's a lot of great food just right down the street. And beer is meant to be served with food. So it's nice to have our beer that we put so much hand-crafting into served right alongside the food they put a lot of effort into."

Q: Did you take different skills from Goose Island and Anheuser-Busch?

A: "Each brewery taught me different things. A-B teaches you how to do things very consistently. They want the same beer from their 12 different breweries around the country because you're going to walk into a bar and taste a Budweiser and you want that Budweiser to the same as the one you tasted last week.

"Goose Island was more about the creativity and expanding people's notions of what beer is. … I think Goose (Island) has done a really good job of opening the conversation to people, which really helped me."

Q: How do you view brewing?

A: "It's just a really cool blend of art and science. At the end of the day you, sitting out there in the taproom, care about what's in your glass. You want it to taste good. You want it to taste beautiful, something you've never had before. But the reason it tastes so good is because of all the stuff going into it. … I like people being able to talk about their beers. I don't want them not knowing anything or not caring."

Q: How is the new generation of beer drinkers benefiting the industry?

A: "Well most people only had one beer style. … The new generation of people who are coming up in the drinking world, the 21- to 26-year-olds, haven't really lived in a world without a million options. They're not afraid to try different styles and to taste different things and just dive into it. This 25-year-old who just graduated college is trying all sorts of different beers and that's where a lot of our growth is coming from. It's great to see."

INfrequently Asked Questions

A weekly feature of the Daily Herald that explores the sides of suburbanites' jobs or hobbies that you might have always wondered about. To see more, go to <a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/topics/INfrequently-Asked-Questions/">www.dailyherald.com/topics/INfrequently-Asked-Questions/</a>

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