State's first brewery-distillery coming to Logan Square

Mercenary Brewery & Distillery, which claims to be the first facility in Illinois to brew craft beers and distill spirits under one roof, will open its doors this summer in an old warehouse on Maplewood Avenue near Diversey and Western avenues in Logan Square.

Its initial offerings will include a pale ale and stout, with a brewer's gin and single-malt whiskey coming soon thereafter. The brewery also will include several crossover products between beer and spirits, according to Adam Cieslak, 32, who owns the business with brothers Ari Megalis, 33, and Paul Megalis, 25.

“This will be a great addition to Chicago's rapidly growing craft beer and spirit scene,” said Anthony Roches of @Properties in a release. He represented Mercenary in the transaction with the landlord, Lichter Realty. “The tenants wanted to bridge the gap between craft beer and artisanal spirits, and this was a great opportunity to do so. It's also an ideal location for a brewery, with a large population of 20-something workers in the area as well as great local fare within walking distance.”

In an interview, Mr. Cieslak, who has an engineering background, said that he and Ari Megalis will be the brewmasters-distillers. The Megalis family has experience in the banquet business, Mr. Cieslak said. Mercenary represents a hobby turned into a business for the three partners.

The brewery will concentrate first on getting beer and spirits bottled and distributed; a tasting room will follow in the fall or winter. A pale ale will be the first offering; Mr. Cieslak said it will be paired with a gin that will incorporate some of the pale ale's hops.

Likewise, the two plan to barrel-age stout in a whiskey barrel, then take the stout and distill it into whiskey. "We'll do a white whiskey to start and hope to show that if white whiskey is made well, can be equally as good" as brown, Mr. Cieslak said.

Darren72 wrote:Interesting that they describe the whiskey as being "single malt". The term isn't regulated here as it is in Scotland. I wonder if that means they are making it with malted barley.