DeKalb brewer eager to expand production

By MEGANN HORSTEAD mhorstead@shawmedia.com

DeKALB – A DeKalb brewery plans to grow both its variety of brews and the volume it keeps on tap for patrons with the company’s forthcoming expansion into a nearby warehouse, which will be for production only.

Family-owned and operated Byers Brewing Co., which opened its doors at 230 E. Lincoln Highway, Unit 100, in 2019, has found needed space. Byers Brewing opened after DeKalb couple Steve and Megan Byers had been home brewing for almost a decade. Steve Byers said the expansion will aid increased production, so that those who enjoy drinking the Byers Lager, Doc Brown’s Ale and POG Seltzer can have more options available to them.

The expansion was announced in January in line with the retirement of the Forge Brewhouse owners. The 216 N. Sixth St. location was a readymade space for the Byers family as they set their sights on even more beer.

“This expansion will really allow us to get creative,” said Steve Byers, who is a co-owner.

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Byers Brewing is awaiting licensing before it can proceed with production in its new space.

Steve Byers said the East Lincoln Highway brewery wasn’t originally equipped to produce beer at the level to meet the community’s demands.

“We put in, relatively speaking, small brewing equipment,” Byers said. “After pivoting with [COVID-19], and doing more canned beer than we expected – we didn’t expect to do any when we first opened – we needed the ability to make more beer than what we could do at our original location.”

Steve Byers said he and the owner of the Forge Brewhouse were chatting one day when he learned that he intended to retire, move out of state and sell the business. The Forge owners announced their retirement in a December social media post.

Steve Byers said that despite some uncertainty about the economy, he sees a way forward for his brewery.

“We want people to think of us when they come to DeKalb County to visit or if they live here,” he said.

It’s that kind of hometown spirit that makes Byers Brewery work, said Matt Duffy, executive director of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s great to see someone that got their start here in DeKalb and be able to expand what they do,” Duffy said. “I know the pandemic played a role in that and having to maybe go to canned beer to offer an alternative at the time, but they’ve taken that and gone with that in the addition. They’re a great family in the community as well.”

The space offers a kids corner and can be rented out for private events.

Duffy said the Byers Brewing operation is unique and offers a chance for downtown patrons to support more than one local business at a time. Byers doesn’t offer food of its own, but patrons are encouraged to bring their own food, or even neighboring restaurants, and enjoy a meal and a beer together downtown.

“They’re not competing. They’re trying to work with that,” Duffy said. “So I know their neighbors are pretty happy as far as places that serve food. It’s almost like overflow seating. You get your food, go down to Byers and have a beer there.”

Byers said the brewery is leasing the roughly 1,800-square-foot North Sixth Street warehouse for production only in order to boost beer sales and accommodate its growing number of patrons. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brewers moved to canned beer to boost ailing sales. Indoor dining was banned under emergency pandemic-era orders by Gov. JB Pritzker for months in 2020, meant to help limit the spread of the virus.

With canned beer in production and now a return to indoor drinkers, the Byers family said it’s the perfect time to expand production.

“We’re just a small brewery here in DeKalb,” Steve Byers said. “We don’t make a lot of beer. It doesn’t generate a ton of income. We were just having trouble keeping the doors open with the smaller margin on canned beer. We needed some way to make more beer. With that smaller margin, if we had more of it, we could do better. So it kind of worked out for both of us.”

•ShawLocalNewsNetwork’s KelseyRettkecontributed.

DeKalb invites helpers to design new City Hall mural NEWS BRIEF

Kish College marketing dept. earns graphic design awards

MALTA – The Kishwaukee College

Marketing and Public Relations Department recently won two awards from the 59th annual Graphic Design USA Design Awards Competition.

The awards were selected from among more than 14,000 design entries, according to a news release.

The school won awards for the Kishwaukee College Logo Update and Branding, designed by Ronda Ramsdell, and the Kishwaukee College 15 Second Tiktok Fall Registration Ad, designed by Ronda Ramsdell with photography and video production by Elyse Roberts.

Graphic Design USA has sponsored competitions that elevate areas of excellence and opportunity for the creative community for 60 years.

DeKalb City Hall will host two workshops for community members to help inspire the design for a new city hall mural. The workshops will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in the Yusunas Meeting Room at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St. The workshops will allow community members to brainstorm themes that should be represented in the mural. Participants can work in small groups to discuss DeKalb’s history and culture with a focus on belonging. Participants only need to attend one of the workshops. The meetings will be led by mural artist Danielle Casali, who will use recurring ideas from the workshops to determine the main motifs and imagery for the mural design. Casali is pictured leading a workshop with the Fox Valley Jewish Neighbors organization.