My parents retired in the faaaaar Chicago suburb of Huntley so they could be near their granddaughter. Coo coo coo. It used to be the middle of nowhere, but now it’s growing like crazy and is all sorts of busy and that means...time for a brewery! (You Chicago heads will know Huntley as the place where More is opening a production facility.) So yeah, the owners of the Union Special sewing machine factory carved out some space on their grounds and snatched up one of their employees who’s a brewer and WENT TO WORK. Peep this space, y’all. Ang and I were visiting my parents in Huntley, so we took an Uber over to Sew Hop'd and got to work as well. THE BEERS ARE REALLY FUCKING GOOD.
I gotta be honest and tell you that nothing made me go pantsless and run around the parking lot screaming. But! Every beer was also solid AF. The traditional styles came to me in a flight so I could get those out of the way before going big with my personal faves. And all those styles were spot-on. Surprisingly - to me, anyway - the amber was my fave of the flight bunch. It’s really well-executed and crispy, and I could crush several while playing bags or sitting on a friend’s boat even though I have no friends with boats. All the pale ales were good, and if I remember correctly (🤷♂️ 🥴), Ang and I both liked the DIPA the best. And, on second thought, those stouts were actually quite memorable. They’re 4.2% milk stouts!!! And super-deep in flavor. I like my stouts to be THICC, but these took me to a more intimate and realistic side of the spectrum where locals want to have a stout or three and still drive.
The only thing I don’t like and never will? THE NAME. I hate the name. Yes, I understand the name given the sewing machine factory and all. But, I still hate the name. I love everything else about it though. Beer, yes. Space, yes. Interior design, yes. Them flight holders? My god, yes. Also, Katie is an awesome person and great tap room manager. Shouts to her and Karestin for the good times! - Ryan
---------------------------------------
Brewery: Sew Hop'd Brewery
From: Huntley, IL 🇺🇸
