Saint Errant Brewing
LA rock band Cherry Glazerr’s lead vocalist, Clementine Creevy, recently enjoyed a drink named ‘Glaze Effect,” which interestingly contained clementine as one of its ingredients. The singer, who grew a tad bit tired of drinking similar brews, praised this innovative drink created by Saint Errant Brewing because it was refreshingly different than what is currently available in the market. They don’t even have their own brewing place, let alone a taproom, and despite that, they have shot to fame because of their intensely different drinks that are available in a large number of outlets in Chicago.
The Duo & The Story
In the story behind the creation of this brewery, we have two homebrewers who went commercial. They started with a few select beers, never thinking they would make it big so soon, but they now have around 39 unique brews on their menu and a record of success.
Saint Errant brewing is co-owned and founded by two beer-loving friends, Brent Banks and Ryan Jacobs. They held down full-time jobs and indulged in their passion in their spare time in whichever brewing space was available to them. The two of them were keen to learn more about the process of making good beer and did not stick to just experimenting with spices and hops. They traveled to Vermont and several other places in Northeast America where unique brews were being made. After several trips and drink sessions later, they realized that they now have enough knowledge and first-hand experience to take their homebrewing venture forward and start selling their drinks on a larger, more commercial basis.
Being a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois, they, however, don’t have their own physical setup to brew their beers. As home brewers, they started brewing five gallon batches in a friend’s backyard but needed something more substantial and permanent to ensure they could produce good quality brews on a regular basis. Plus, the ever-evolving beer enthusiasts wanted to explore more yeast combination options in the cleanest possible manner, so they decided to select a couple of already established breweries willing to lend their brewing space and equipment to the Saint Errants. After much contemplation, the two struck a deal with Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village and began their business formally.
Expanding Business and Interests
Saint Errant has been in the market since late 2017, but from the moment they started making their drinks available, they have been the general public’s and critics’ favorite in various categories. The Hop Review ranked Saint Errant to be the newest brewery to watch out for in their end-of-the year annual breweries’ review lists and recognized their popularity despite them being in the market for a very short span of time.
Saint Errant was, of course, named after the eponymous saint because they literally amble between multiple brewing locations even today. The exact reason behind their choice of operations is not public knowledge, but it perhaps is because they simply don’t need to. They’ve already amassed a loyal fan base on the holy trinity of social media – Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram. Plus, they’ve already earned a mention as one of the top breweries in Illinois on Wikipedia. Most importantly, they now sell their products to a large number of beer places (roughly 46). Word of mouth praise ensures Saint Errant’s drinks are quickly sold out in all their locations.
Like most other breweries, Saint Errant too participates in local events and brews special drinks for their partner outlets for their important or sales days. You can follow their Facebook page for updates about their exciting events where you can get a chance to sample this renowned beer.
When you visit their website, you’ll be treated to a page filled with the brews they have to offer and a brief note from the owners, as well as a photo of the two of them. It’s the posters of their drinks that are really eye-catching. The artwork on each of their beer’s posters is truly interesting and very unique, as are the names of their drinks.
The brewery’s range of beers has a whole gamut of fruity flavors, such as peach, pineapple, mangoes, and apricots, and surprising traces of baking spices and coriander too.With a plethora of breweries trying to stand out in their crowd with cans and bottles featuring artistic labels, Saint Errant manages to beat most of them with regards to novelty.
One beer enthusiast who had tried one of their earliest Vermont-inspired brews, an almost opaque IPA called Strange Loops, commented that the drink was so murky that it felt like the snake that was illustrated on the label of the drink was coiled inside the bottle and would surprise you by popping out your drink.
Apart from very hazy IPAs, Saint Errant also specializes in fermented sours and stouts. Irrespective of which drink you decide to go with, you will fall in love with the flavors as much as you will be impressed with the trippy artwork on their containers. You will find a bunch of interesting drinks, such as: the Contrapasso, featuring a coffeemaker with the arm of an octopus dangling out of its mouth; Puncher’s Chance, featuring a ripped kangaroo wearing box gloves; and perhaps the best of the lot, Best Days, featuring a darling, grinning Labrador.
If you’re looking for interesting and unique new beer flavors, the drinks at Saint Errant will surely blow your mind. Visit their website to find out more about where how you can get your hands on their best-selling, delicious brews.
