A Western Springs man never would’ve predicted that a beer-making hobby would turn into a small business.
Joe Fornari, 28, didn’t have any particular interest in brewing five years ago when members of his wife’s family started making beer in a friendly competition to see who could make the best brew. They drifted away from the hobby, but Fornari was hooked.
“I loved it,” he said. “I started with a $200 set-up and then just kept upgrading my equipment. It kind of consumed my life once I started doing it.”
Fornari is perfecting his brewing skills one batch a time and is now the owner/operator of Belly Up Brewing Company, which recently started selling his Howling Hank IPA brew at two local restaurant/taverns: Hillgrove Tap in Western Springs and Harry’s Bar and Grill in Countryside.
To better his brews, Fornari also has expanded his equipment, which is now set up in the laundry room of the house where he lives with his wife, Allie.
Describing his fledgling business, Fornari, who also works as a healthcare consultant, said, “We are super small, and really just scrapping and clawing until we can get our feet under us.”
The company brews 10 to 15 gallons of beer at a time compared to a large brewery that would make 8,000 gallons at a time, he said.
Fornari, who grew up in La Grange, and majored in marketing at Indiana University was never a science geek and never expected to find his calling in a beer glass. He’s surprised by how fascinated he became by the process.
“It’s a huge science thing,” he said. “Once I started reading about it I realized how much chemistry and science went into it.”
Fornari, who has a white board hanging on his basement wall marked with formulas and other equations that go into his brewing process, said making a good beer takes patience and practice.
“It’s easy to make beer,” he said. “But when you dig deep, it’s hard to make good beer.
Fornari’s Howling Hank beer is named after his dog. He’s working on introducing another that will be named Two-Towed (as in sloth).”
“It’s a beer with a slight orange taste,” he said. “The goal is to have it out this summer when people want something light and refreshing.”
Fornari knocked on doors and brought samples of his beers to the restaurants that feature it. Though it’s only been on the menu a short time, people seem to like Howling Hank, said Joe Cyscon, general manager of Harry’s Bar and Grill.
“They like that it’s not too hoppy,” he said.
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They also like to drink a beer made by a local brewer.
“The fact that it’s made literally down the street is even better,” Cyscon said.
Fornari has hopes for the future. He’d like to increase distribution someday and even open a production/tasting room.
“I’d love to have a space where people could have beer from the source,” he said.
Whatever the future holds, Fornari said he’s focused on making the best product he can and he’s committed to being his most discriminating consumer.
“For me to be passionate and to buy into this I have to like what I sell,” he said.
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