Here's a cool new brewery to put on your radar—Whiner Beer, from brewer Brian Taylor (Goose Island) and cicerone Ria Neri (Lone Wolf, Trenchermen), will open in December at the Plant, a sustainable food incubator.
Whiner's focus is barrel-aged wild beers, and the brewery will can them right out of the gate to distribute around the city. The beers we've heard about include the Rubrique-a-brac, a 7-percent Bière de Garde with a strong malt profile, a caramel-covered berry taste and honeydew and clove on the nose that will be unfiltered with a red oak color. Another beer is Le Tub, the brewery's flagship beer, a saison with lactobacillus that's aged in cabernet barrels. It's made to be approachable, with a touch of tartness while still being citrusy.
The taproom is inspired by the original historic space, with cast concrete, brick floors and high ceilings to accommodate the fermenters. The real star, though, will be a custom-built bar with a trellis of hops on the ceiling. The brewery expects to brew 1,800 barrels in the first year and can 50 percent of it (about 288,000 cans).
Whiner is located in the Plant, the Back of the Yards' net-zero energy food incubator, home to many food and drink tenants who create their own energy using the Plant's anaerobic digester. The brewery will contribute to the incubator's anaerobic digester by using spent grains to produce energy.