D and G Brewing, 303 N. 4th St, Suite A, St. Charles, IL 60174 phone: #773-203-2325   website: dandgBrewing.com
Hours: Thursday: 2pm to 10pm | Friday: 2pm to 12am | Saturday: 12pm to 12am | Sunday: 12pm to 6pm

Experience before you go . . .

Now Beer Drinking Buddy Brad, BDBB for short, and I don't team up on the Hoppin Brewery Tour as often as we'd like. Brad's still working, I'm retired, we head to Tucson, he's up here freezing, I wear tighty whitey, he wears boxers.....you know all the usual stuff. So when the opportunity presents itself we jump at it, tackle it, wrestle it to the ground, do a calf wrestling cowboy half hitch or colloquially called a hooey around its ankles and don't let it up until beers are drank, cards are passed, new best friends are talked to and an all around good time is had by all. So on this beautiful Saturday in early August we teamed up with another good old friend of mine and a coworker of his and got in a round of golf in followed by Hoppin' Brewery Tour.....did I mention this is #91, but who's counting, oh yeah I am!!! Ninety one breweries, what the heck, you'd think we like beer or something. And the answer is, drum roll please.....bammity, bammity, bam, bam, bam....Yes! But not only do we like beer, we love that every brewery has its own mojo working, the ownership, the brick and mortar, the beers, but most of all it's their struggle with all its failures and all its successes, it's their story! It's the small business dream, it's the American Dream really, to have a passion and a burning desire to do something with their own two hands, create something from scratch and be able to put their name on it and God willing, have people like it, recommend it and make an honest living from it. It's a beautiful thing!!

So my BDBB and my other old time buddy, Chaindog, I know, I know it's a fabulous name! I wish I had that name but there's only one Chaindog. My wife went to U of I with Chaindog 40 years ago.....I'm sure the millennials out there that travel along and can't wait for the next HBT are saying. "Are these people really this old and why do I following these guys"? Well I don't have all the answers but just mark this one up as an unusual occurrence......like having two Canadian tiger swallowtail butterflies land on your head at the same time. Crazy I know, but sometimes you just have to let it go. So back to Chaindog, great friend, experienced banker, loving/supportive hubby, recent Grandpa status, all around good guy and a mediocre golfer.....had to bust his chops a little bit. I feel kinda bad that it took ninety one Hopping Brewery Tours to finally get the Chaindog on one. We thought we had one going a couple years ago but it turns out to be just a pour house, no brewing. And you know you got to be brewing to make it on the HBT. So first we went and hit the little white ball around at Prairie Landing Golf Course in West Chicago. We had some good shots and we had some bad shots, it's a very difficult game and that's why they call it golf.....Gentleman Only Ladies Forbidden! What, how crazy is that acronym!! Or, God Offers Love Forever! That's better but my favorite is Going Over Later Fred! So once Fred knew we were going over later we drove to Lake Charles to tour D and G Brewing.

D and G Brewing is located just 2-3 blocks off the main drag and appears to be in somewhat of a residential area which is pretty neat because you see house, house, house and then boom there it is. Like an oasis.......Bison Cooler full of cold beers. So we gathered out front for the front sign selfie and since Chaindog is 6'5" and Brad is 6'4" and I'm the short guy at 5'11", I had to stretch my right arm into a 38" selfie stick....smile, and in we went. Very cool hand-made long tree trunk table and chairs straight ahead, opening and under construction to the right and a stretched inverted-C shaped bar to the left with over fifteen stools, three of which had our names on'em. We get comfy and up comes Alex the owner, super nice guy, proud of his brewery! Brad and I both have Hoppin' Brewery Tour cards ready and we double team him with the super duper, sure fire, bet your sweet bippy, don't take any Wooden Nickels HBT two minute elevator speech and Bing Bang Boom the HBT strikes again for the 91st time right here in St. Charles, Illinois. Beers are ordered!

I start out with the West Coast Imperial IPA (8.1%) full, very drinkable and refreshing. Brad sips on an Archangel Red (5%) lip smacking and a real palate pleaser and Chaindog ordered the Kolsch (4.6%). Whole time sipping we were talking with Alex who started home brewing and the rest is history. Four years from idea to ribbon cutting. And easy does it from there with little upgrades like a 32 oz Can Seamer, making sure not to over extend. "We'd upgrade and do things as we could afford it", Alex said and now they took over the next door space and adding more seating and room to stretch.

I mosey around taking some shots and run up on Nick hovering around the fermenting tanks. Nick's one of the Brewers and Alex said one night he was covered up behind the bar, busy as all get out, and Nick just jumped back there out of the blue and started washing glasses. That was a year ago and Nicks been there ever since. To my right and around the corner of the bar a young married couple Mike and Melanie are paying close attention to our conversation and adding in where they could and come to find out they love touring breweries. They said they've been to about 90 breweries as well, but get this, their now 2 year old has also been to those 90 breweries......a real family affair. We shared our favorite ones, funniest stories and beers we like....you meet fun, happy people at your local brewery!!

D and G Brewing has got it going on. Alex was made to be behind his own bar. Laughing, telling stories and passing on successful small business tidbits along the way....Work hard, don't over extend and respect the business and your customers.

Until next time and remember.....

Go get'cha one!!!