Brother Chimp Brewing expands to St. Charles with new taproom
The booming local beer scene in St. Charles will get another player Friday when Brother Chimp Brewing opens its new taproom.
The North Aurora brewery, whose credo is “craft beers that taste like beer,” takes over the spot formerly occupied by D and G Brewing at 303 N. 4th St., Suite A.
“It was too good an opportunity to pass up, to be able to get in a great and established location that had done well for a number of years,” said Stephen Newman, owner and founder of Brother Chimp.
The brewery specializes in traditional lagers, ales and Belgian-style brews, as well as IPAs like its Tropical Chimp hazy. The North Aurora location opened in 2020.
Brother Chimp will join a lineup of local breweries that includes 93 Octane Brewery, Alter Brewing + Kitchen, Broken Brix Fermentation Emporium, Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling and Riverlands Brewing.
“St. Charles has an incredible, beer-loving community, and that was definitely part of the draw of wanting to be here,” Newman said.
Newman said that initially the space will only operate as a taproom but that he’ll be doing some brewing there in the “not-too-distant future.”
The front of house space is roughly the same size as the North Aurora location, but with a larger cooler and brewing space in the back. That was key for Newman as he said they were pretty maxed out on what they could produce and store at the North Aurora location.
The taproom will also allow a larger audience to try their award-winning beers. Last year, their “Ludwig” bested 101 other entries to win the Vienna-style lager category in the 2024 World Beer Cup, the world’s largest and most prestigious beer contest.
Like the North Aurora location, the St. Charles taproom will host artists playing original music on weekends as well as food trucks. They plan to add nightly events, including music bingo and trivia.
The bar features 14 beer taps and will also offer an assortment of ciders, wines, seltzers, cocktails and nonalcoholic options. Ciders from nearby Broken Brix and seltzers from Pollyanna Brewing will be part of the mix.
Rehab work on the space will continue until opening day and maybe a little beyond.
“But we have beer, so the important part is done,” Newman said.
The opening weekend celebration starts Friday with live original music by Dave Ramont from 6 to 9 p.m. and food from Fernando’s Street Kitchen from 5 to 8 p.m.
Saturday will feature Jake Mack from 5 to 7 p.m. and Chuck’s Wood Fired Pizza from 5 to 8 p.m. Cheryl Rodey will perform on Sunday.
The grand opening is a make-good of sorts for Newman, who opened the first location at the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020.
“I got ripped off of having a true grand opening, and this gives me a chance to do that,” he said. “We’re looking forward to welcoming as many people as possible this weekend.”