Wheaton's Dry City taps into love of beer
A family-run brewery and taproom, Wheaton's Dry City Brew Works opened in November and hopes to start distributing its beers to area bars and restaurants soon. Until then, this is the only place you can try the regularly changing brews.
Motif: The taproom features a brick wall painted with the brewery's logo, with other space decorated by Prohibition-era photos and political cartoons, a rotating showcase of B-movie posters and action figures from shows and movies such as “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” An upstairs nook provides space for bands to perform and is used to sell T-shirts, glassware and other merchandise the rest of the time.
Warmer weather has greatly increased the space at Dry City, which tended to get crammed indoors before the brewery opened its patio. The outdoor seating has now been filling up when the weather is nice, with drinkers coming with dogs and strollers. While they don't normally have a TV, they added one just for the Stanley Cup Final to appease Blackhawks fans.
Food: Dry City only sells packaged snacks like chips and pretzels, but you're welcome to bring in food or order delivery.
Liquid consumption: The beers on tap change every few weeks, though you can count on being able to try their coffee milk stout made using house-roasted beans from neighbor River City Roasters. The coffee changes seasonally, meaning the beer's taste does, too. Other good options are the robust, dark Scotch ale and blonde ale with plenty of bite. You can try a taster of the four beers on tap or opt for a full pint. Occasionally Dry City will also tap really small batches of beer, which can sell out in hours.
There's a limit of three servings per day due to state law, but if you want more, you can order a growler to take home. They also always have a house-made soda on tap to offer kids or anyone who doesn't want an alcoholic drink, with past varieties including cream soda and root beer.
Crowd: The spot has been drawing in locals taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi to work on their laptops with a glass of beer instead of coffee. You'll also find couples taking advantage of the quiet, fenced-off patio.
Service: The husband and wife team who own the bar greeted us quickly and were happy to chat about their beers and what's next for the brewery.
Music: Local acoustic acts play original music a few times a month. The rest of the time the owners play vinyl records.
Parking: There's a small free lot behind the brewery and a larger free municipal lot just a few blocks away.
Overall: Get to know this local brewery now and you'll be able to tell your friends all about it when Dry City beer starts popping up throughout the area.
Dry City Brew Works
120B N. Main St., Wheaton, (630) 456-4787, <a href="http://drycitybrewworks.com">drycitybrewworks.com</a>
<b>Hours:</b> 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m. Friday, 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday