First new Chicago brewery in over six years set to launch

(Chicago, IL) – One month ago, Doug Hurst posted on Twitter that he was brewing the first batch of beer at his new digs. He being a twenty-year homebrewer and those digs being a new brewery, Metropolitan Brewing, located on the north side of Chicago. Great Lakes Brewing News’ Jeff Sparrow says its “Illinois’ first new packaging brewery in over twelve years since Two Brothers opened in 1996.”

But you won’t find any imperial stouts or double IPAs there; Metropolitan is going for something different. The beers will build off of a foundation of traditional German lagers with Hurst, who earned his Diploma in Brewing Technology from the Siebel Institute/Doemens Academy in 2004 (credit to MNB), injecting his own creativity.

Dynamo Copper Lager

is what one might call the ‘flagship’ beer, one that features a hop mix of German Perle and Hallertau, and a malt bill of Vienna and Munich. Flywheel Bright Lager is slightly more bitter at 45 IBU, using a mix of Noble hops. Krankshaft is a Kolsch-style beer featuring wheat malt and Tettnang hops.

Metro Brewing has already received approvals for kegs of the above three beers and has plans to bottle both Dynamo Copper and Flywheel Bright. Tracy Hurst, President and General Manager, noted on the Beermapping forums a couple weeks ago that the beer could be ready to be packaged as early as late January. Until then, the best way to keep tabs may be to follow their Twitter account.

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