The taps opened Friday on a concept that has been brewing for two years as Homewood’s first commercial creator of craft beers opened its doors.
Rabid Brewing, Homewood’s first microbrewery and tap room, planned to continue its two-night grand opening Saturday at its location behind The Home Depot, at 17759 Bretz Drive.
The event featured Rabid’s first four beers on tap, as well as food trucks and music by Matteo Voltaire and Chicago rockers Big Happy Face.
Brewer Tobias Cinchon, who owns the operation with his wife, Raiye Rosado, described Rabid Brewing’s motif as “mostly psychedelic mythical creatures.”
The grand opening comes two years after Rabid Brewing received the necessary approvals from village officials. Cinchon said the startup was delayed by an inability to find a downtown property owner willing to seriously negotiate.
“We really wanted it to be in Homewood,” he said, noting the couple live in Homewood.
The husband-wife team found the current space in a light-industrial building behind the big box stores on Halsted street.
Rosado has focused on Rabid Brewing’s logistics, Cinchon said, crediting her with managing the project and moving it forward. “She got things done when I couldn’t get things done.”
Cinchon, an amateur-turned-pro who brewed his first successful batch in January 2011, said Rosado’s management allowed him to focus on the product. He said he uses English ale yeast and strives for balance with the four beers: Singularity, Dripping Teats, Shadow Steppers and Fenrir’s Tooth.
Singularity, he said, is a particularly good example.
“People who don’t like beer — or don’t like ‘hoppy’ beer — end up liking it,” he said. “It’s a pretty remarkable beer in that sense.”
Cinchon said Rabid Brewing’s in no hurry to market to resellers, focusing instead on building a regular clientele and expanding to 20 different beers that encompass well-balanced, traditional and experimentals.
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
More Top Picks Best 3d Pens