Big Hurt Brewhouse in Berwyn

I submit for consideration mostly on grounds of architectural interest and Ozzie Guillen sighting potential the Big Hurt Brewhouse, which is in the former Berwyn Town Bank building. The corporate-as-possible renovation in silver and gunmetal can't destroy the charm of the painted dome, nor the roomful of video poker and Angel Bras behind the multi-ton bank vault door. There would be room for brewing on premises, but Big Frank would rather slide the Honey Girl and signature HOF Pilsner in unheralded among the standard beer list. (I agree with Japes P. on Untappd: "It's crappy because it's a Pilsner. But it's OK for a Pilsner!"). I believe they're being brewed in the same Calgary-based "craft" firm that handles Berghoff, brewed in the former Blumer / Huber brewery in Monroe WI; the Sikh founder can be seen on Canadian reality TV. This all makes its own sense.

Frank Thomas had just left when we arrived; I was bummed. Fortunately, that meant they were overstaffed and everybody looked and smelled awesome. The menu does have some points of interest: a "live-fire grill" that imparts smokiness to broccoli and chicken, reasonable turkey chili, and truly smoked wings that can be sauced in several styles. We thought the food was better than Ram, Rock Bottom, or Hooters, which are the logical comparables. The 360 degrees of high-decibel flat screen TVs in one enormous echo chamber may scare some off, but they also light a giant firepit thingy outside, impregnating summer nights on the asphalt fronting Cermak with possibility. This is the kind of place where 32 stolen bases in 19 seasons collides with a lifetime .419 OBP, or other such baseball metaphor.

http://bighurtbrewhouse.com/
6801 West Cermak Road
Berwyn, IL 60402

Santander wrote:I believe they're being brewed in the same Calgary-based "craft" firm that handles Berghoff, brewed in the former Blumer / Huber brewery in Monroe WI; the Sikh founder can be seen on Canadian reality TV. This all makes its own sense.

That would be the Minhas Brewery, which, even though it's the second oldest brewery in the country, justifiably gets little respect.

That kinda stinks to hear about the beer. There are so many good breweries on the southside that would probably love to work with them to make a decent brew. Buckledown, Slapshot, or 350 Brewing are all putting out some good stuff.

Frank and his handlers probably don't like craft beer. Hence no brew house. I read someplace about a year ago, that Frank was at some local beer festival. He was "confused" about all the different beer styles, and just couldn't get into it.

I can tell you that in general, the folks who buy Big Hurt beer at the liquor store- ain't into craft, either.

nr706 wrote:That would be the Minhas Brewery, which, even though it's the second oldest brewery in the country, justifiably gets little respect.

Great article, thanks for posting. I don't remember Huber Bock as fondly as the author does (it's been a few years), but everything else is spot on. The grocery store I worked out in college would occasionally clear out pallets of cheap swill invariably contract-brewed by Minhas. Depending on the week, the bargain price of $1.99 bought a sixer of Man Show Beer or Wisconsin Club...and it still moldered on the shelves. Thanks to Minhas's prominence in Monroe, beer is the least exciting aspect of Green County Cheese Days, an otherwise first-rate event.

Glad to hear BHB is doing an OK job with the food.

I'll do all I can to keep Minhas brewing.
Not every beer needs to be brewed with expensive ingredients, and take significant time lagering. There is a time for a cheap, sleazy beer. And if you want a cheap, sleazy beer, it should be brewed at Minhas - certainly not at a Miller, Coors, or Budweiser brewery. [They don't need the money that badly.]
The next time you stroll into your nearby Trader Joe store, go into the beer aisle. The house brand ("Simple Times") canned beers are brewed at Minhas. They're pretty drinkable, and also good values.