How a Downers Grove brewery was named one of the world’s best

When Tom Beckmann opened the door to Goldfinger Brewing Company in Downers Grove just after 11 a.m. on a recent weekday, the unmistakable aroma of malt cooking filled the air.

“We’re brewing Vienna Lager. We usually brew earlier in the week, but when it’s really busy, we’ll be brewing every day of the week,” said Beckmann, 37, a Downers Grove resident.

When your business has been voted the second favorite lager brewer in the world for 2023, you can’t relax. Not with more than 9,000 small breweries in the nation.

Goldfinger Brewing, voted fifth favorite in 2022, moved up three notches in 2023 as voted by readers of Craft Beer & Brewing magazine.

The business also was voted the eighth favorite small brewery in the world.

“We’re only three years old and to be ranked on both of those lists is a total honor,” Beckmann said. “In particular, the eighth favorite small brewer in the world. That’s crazy because in America there are more than 9,000 breweries and the majority are what Craft Beer considers to be a small brewer, fewer than 5,000 barrels a year. I guess the readers really love our brewery.”

Beckmann did not know of a grassroots campaign on behalf of Goldfinger.

“This was a complete shock,” he said of the honors.

Beckmann has come a long way since the former sales manager for an IT recruiting and consulting company had the idea to start the business.

He had been home brewing and learned that his family brewed beer in Poland in the 19th century.

Goldfinger is not what you’re thinking.

“Great movie. Sean Connery, the best (James) Bond in my opinion. But this is a family name,” Beckman said. “Unfortunately, my grandfather, who was tied to the Goldfingers, is no longer around. But my dad, every time he comes in, says, ‘Your grandpa would be ecstatic to see his family (name) still alive.’”

Goldfinger officially opened its doors July 31, 2020. Yes, in the middle of the pandemic’s first year.

“We had broken ground at the end of 2019 and had anticipated opening right when the pandemic broke out, March or April of 2020. All hell breaks loose. We have delays in our construction,” he said.

A large parking lot allowed for an outdoor setup on that first day that saw thirsty beer lovers lined up around the building.

Demand was so high that Beckmann, his wife, Alison, and two employees were swamped.

Tom Davies and Sam Vlahos, two local restaurant owners, came to the rescue after “I called them in a panic,” he said.

Davies and Vlahos had visited Goldfinger’s soft opening and suggested “you might want to hire more people,” Beckmann said.

Davies and Vlahos helped out that first day. And they brought along helpful employees.

“They really saved us,” Beckmann said. “Just three years later, we are a lot more mature and now we’re receiving international attention.”

Why are his lager and brewery so respected?

“It’s the fact that we don’t rush the beer,” he said. “A lot of the big lagers are all about profit. They’re using cheap ingredients and turning their beer around as quickly as they can. We brew our beer the traditional way.”

Beckmann learned brewing in 2015 and 2016, when he attended the Doemens Academy in Germany. He graduated with a diploma in brewing and knows “how to do things the old, proper way.”

That basically means take your time and pay attention to details. Decoction mashing, for example, is a process that extracts more depth of flavor from the malts, he said.

“When you have lager beers, it’s all about subtlety and because of that doing this extra step helps us achieve that kind of nuance that sets our beers apart,” he said.

You can taste for yourself in the taproom that is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.

There’s no kitchen, but food trucks frequently are available.

The outdoor area that is popular in warm weather will be open Feb. 10 for the annual Dark Lager Day, which celebrates the dark lagers brewed at Goldfinger.

“Our opinion is they need to be celebrated more than they are,” Beckmann said. “People see the color of a beer and some are turned off by that. They think it may be too heavy or too bold. They’re not stouts. Stout is an ale, fermented with a different yeast. What’s beautiful about dark lagers, our Black Lager tasted kind of like a Guinness.”

The Feb. 10 event will be held if it’s 6 or 60 degrees.

“During the pandemic, people were sitting out there when it was 1 below zero. The nice thing when it’s that cold is your beer never gets warm,” he said with a laugh.

Beckmann said he does not miss his old job. He loves producing new beers and seeing the results.

“There’s nothing better than being able to make a beer from grain to glass, serve it to somebody and get the feedback directly from them,” he said.

“Three years into it, we’ve done almost 300 batches of beer. Every batch is a new science experiment. The barley, the malt can be different batch to batch,” he said, noting most ingredients are imported from Europe.

Only one batch, 500 gallons, was lost because Beckmann believes he was pushing himself hard on a busy week.

“I turned a pump on and accidentally pumped the contents of one tank into another. Had to dump it. That was a shot to the ego. OK, slow down,” he said.

Jeremy Gouldey of Chicago is the other brewer at Goldfinger. He was busy on a recent Monday tending to that batch of Vienna Lager that smelled so good.

“It’s pretty great,” Gouldey, 40, said of the magazine honors. “Lot of really cool names, big names there. And to be counted among them is pretty fantastic.”

The business is going so well that Beckmann plans to expand by adding to brewing capacity. That will be helpful as 95 stores, pubs and bars in the Chicago area are selling his beers.

“Business,” he said, “is going good.”

Goldfinger Brewing Co. is located at 513 Rogers St., Downers Grove. For more information, call (630) 541-9728 or visit goldfingerbrewing.com.

Four-packs of 16-ounce cans, 32-ounce Crowlers and 64-ounce Growlers can be bought to take home.