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we make our own beer. and wine. and pizza dough. and bread. entirely from sources in illinois, michigan, indiana and wisconsin. ... given that our beverage program is over 95% made, by us, from produce and other earth'm within 150 miles of home, our menu is likely more "local" than any other restaurant in the country. eat your heart out, daniel barber. (our hero!!! ...............srsly tho bro that wine list! what’s "france"?! who’s "california"??)
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winery //
we make wine from grapes that are raised up and down west michigan. these grapes tend to be mixed varietals—aka hybrids—of both french and american descent. the cold-hardiness and disease-resistance that derive from the mixed nature of these varietals, they represent the future of sustainable american winemaking. centered in the upper midwest. ... 'haps the french and americans get along more fab than the aughts would have suggested!
all of our grapes are dry-farmed and hand-picked. since we started making wine in 2019, our high-volume purchases have reduced risk sufficiently for three small, michigan farmers to begin the process of converting to organic and/or biodynamic practices.
our winemaking is natural. we add no yeast and do no fining or filtration. in some cases, we dose a wine with a very small amount of sulfur at packaging. zealotry is for the privileged.
menu
brewery //
we started this modest company as a brewery. in 2011. a brewery dedicated to donating 50% of its profits to local social justice organizations. after 8 years, we ended up donating 112% of our profits.
we focused mainly on yeast-blended beers (wtf are these?) in the early years. which helped us form an identity and practice around fermentation. as soon as we found a home on armitage ave in the logan square neighborhood of chicago, we got chock full of lagers and the wild beers we had once snuck into production as nomads. in 2019, 8 years in, we harvested yeast from our new garden and used it to make what's now one of our best-known beers: NEIGHBORHOOD. we focus on foeder-solera beers. and grain-forward lagers. and, of course, yeast experimentation, utilizing yeast we harvest from our winemaking.
we use grains grown in illinois, michigan and indiana, and malted by sugar creek malt co in central indiana. our hops are grown principally in west michigan by hophead farms. we always use lake michigan water.
and we make one little ipa.
pizzary //
our pizza dough flour comes principally from meadowlark organic farm in the driftless region of wisconsin. the volume of flour we purchase for pizza alone makes us one of the largest customers of this beautiful farm and family. we source the bulk of our toppings from farmer friends and neighbors. like mick klug farm, frillman farms, spence farms, werp farms, froggy meadow farm, butternut sustainable farm, blakesville creamery, j2k capraio, underground meats, smoking goose meatery, tempesta market, four star mushrooms, slagel farms, kilgus creamery. to name just a portion.
farm-to-table, thankfully and finally, is a phrase that’s so passé.
bakery //
we're a single-origin sourdough bakery. we make naturally-leavened bread entirely from meadowlark organics flours, which are 100% identity preserved. our pastry program adheres to the same flour and fermentation principles, only utilizing commercial yeast strains where necessary.
