Dominating the Chicago Craft Brewery Scene within the COVID-19 Era

Home Business Magazine Online

With over 140 breweries, the Chicago metropolitan area has a huge craft beer scene. One of these breweries really stood out for its beautiful industrial-chic decor and extremely tasty brews: Brows on the Midwest Coast. This family- and dog-friendly taproom in West Town, Chicago is known for its excellent sinks, including Volkslager German Pilsner, Gummy Bandit Blueberry Lemon Sour, and Vaguely Stylish: Argyle West Coast IPA. The brewery is also BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) and hosts local pop-ups!

Home Business Magazine had the chance to chat with the co-owner and brewer of Midwest Coast Brewing. Cameron Compton, on what sets the house apart from other Chicago breweries. He then shared the characteristics of a successful brewing company, tips for other entrepreneurs looking to get into the brewing industry during this difficult pandemic era, and his vision for the future of Midwest Coast Brewing!

HBM: Tell us about Midwest Coast Brewing. What makes it different from others Chicago Breweries?

CC: “The Midwest Coast is a small craft brewery which opened in West Town in late autumn 2019, Chicago, with the idea of ​​giving craft beer a feeling of “normality” back. When we put our vision together, the craft beer scene was of experimental and trending styles like sours, super fruity beers, IPAs with lots of lactose, etc. I will try them again for the first time. These aren’t setbacks – they’re timeless. Our team likes what we call “beer-flavored beers” – plain lagers, pale ales, stouts and brown ales. Simple beers, done right. “

Midwest Coast Brewing has become an integral part of Chicago’s craft brewing scene.

HBM: What inspired you to start your company?

CC: “i was about to start a brewery since brewing my first batch of beer in my kitchen, right after graduating from college in 2010. What I remember most is the smell of crushed grain mixed with hot water and the wonderful, bread-like aroma that our apartment. I’m still excited 10 years and countless batches later when that smell fills them brewery.

It took several years and career moves to get to the point where we were ready to start business, but here we are! In the end, it was the encouragement (rather the insistence) of my family and the thought, “Why not now, when I know that this is what I want to do?” The opportunity to be part of a neighborhood community and something bigger than ourselves and to create something that people can enjoy was very appealing. “

HBM: What are the characteristics of a successful brewery Shop?

CC: “Of course, the beer has to be good first and foremost, but in the modern craft beer market I think starting with a great taproom and building from there is very helpful. When you walk into a grocery or liquor store, the number of breweries offering great beer can be overwhelming. So they have to have a certain recognition value when customers look at the beer shelves. You want that customer to see your label and think, “Oh man, we love this place! Always have a great time and good beers … I’ll grab a six-pack of those. ‘ If you go straight to cans, the label is unlikely to go down as well with them. There is also the differentiator – what will you do differently or what will you focus on that others may not do. “

Midwest Coast Brewing has a beautiful industrial-chic interior.

HBM: How did you brewery had to be innovative because of the coronavirus pandemic?

CC: “Business restrictions due to COVID have obviously had a severe impact on our sales. As a brand new company still trying to cover all of its startup costs and make a name for itself, it was even more painful. We had planned to canned our beer probably sometime in 2021, but with bars and restaurants (as well as our own taproom) closed, the beer kegs weren’t really moving so we changed our strategy and got a canning line as soon as possible.

We took the opportunity to register with Good Beer Hunting here Chicago to help us with our branding and by the end of summer / early autumn incredibly beautiful cans were ready for the market. Like others, we’ve set up online orders, researched delivery options and shipping options, and partnered with local pop-ups and stores to create packages. We also joined zoom calls for virtual tastings and converted our parking lot into a large terrace in summer and autumn, which was a great success. “

HBM: What tips do you have for other entrepreneurs working in the brewery Industry, especially in this difficult pandemic era?

CC: “Even if we are still in the middle of the pandemic, I would say start now. Every single step in the process is going to take a lot longer than you think. I was told this by other companies from the start when I asked this question, but I didn’t believe it … let me assure you, it’s true! The city of Chicago had a very different schedule for opening our store than we did … about 2.5x longer.

And try to stay positive – it is as easy to find yourself feeling low on all the changes and demands that are completely beyond your control as Business owner. We try to remember that this will end at some point, that we are building something incredible and have had fantastic feedback and connections from the community and everything is going in the right direction. Every business faces adversity and there has been a silver lining in all of this – it’s all about recognizing and using it. “

Midwest Coast Brewing spun during the COVID-19 pandemic by converting their parking lot to a large deck during the summer and fall, which was very successful.

HBM: Where do you hope to see Midwest Coast Brewing in the next 3 years?

CC: “Our goal for MWC has always been to be in the conversation when people are talking about their favorites Chicago Breweries and beers (what we’re already hearing!). This city (and the Midwest in general) makes a lot of great beer by a lot of great people. Three years is a long time, but not so much in what we hope the long life of this company will be. During this time, we want to keep growing and appear in front of more people, and we can’t wait to bring people together in our taproom again to have a few laughs and a few pints. “

For more information, see midwestcoastbrewing.com.

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