Josh Gilbert was an architect by trade, but as an earnest homebrewer, what he really wanted to do was open a craft brewery in his hometown.
It was Josh’s wife, Carey Bartell, who came up with the perfect name for an Evanston brewery, given Evanston’s history as hub of the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement in the late 19th century.
So Temperance Beer was a name that resonated. And when Josh met Claudia Jendron one night at a Brewers’ League Bowling Night, he knew he had met the right brewer for his craft beer.
Jendron, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. “I was intimidated. It was daunting! But everyone I spoke to in the industry told me I could do it. ‘You love it. You’re passionate about it. It’s a great opportunity. Just do it!’ So I took the leap […] I don’t think he meant to hire a girl, but it just worked out.”
Got Her Start at Goose Island
Once a marine biologist who loved working in the field, Jendron moved to Chicago and took a job with John and Greg Hall at Goose Island, starting out as a receptionist and working her way to become one of 14 brewers on staff. “Because I’m a woman, people would assume that I was in marketing. And now it’s exciting to tell people that I’m Head Brewer here!”
It can be difficult for a woman to get into the brewing industry, a notoriously male-dominated field. There’s a lot of physical work, and the hours can be long; you’re dealing with cleaning chemicals and wearing rubber boots. But Jendron loves it; and the alchemy involved, starting with malt and finishing with beer, is a science all its own.
Jendron wants to encourage girls to get into the industry, so she has hired Amber Hencinski, a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Technology, the oldest brewing school in the country, as her assistant; ETHS grad Rachel Gescheidle, now minoring in brewing at UC-Davis, was her highly capable intern this summer.
Tradition with a Twist
Temperance Beer Company, located at 2000 Dempster St. in Evanston, is currently brewing four different beers, each with a twist on the traditional. Following the moderation of the Temperance movement, they are all between 4.5-6 percent alcohol, which means you can enjoy a little bit more in your glass:
- Restless Years, a rye pale ale that gets its spice from rye and hops
- Smittytown, and Extra Special Bitter, named for Smitty’s Towing around the corner, an English-style ale made with American hops
- National Anthem Blueberry Wheat Ale, brewed from red and white wheat with the addition of Seedling Farm’s blueberries (it’s red, white and blue!)
- Rootdown, a porter flavored with chicory and licorice roots, with oats added for better mouthfeel
A backstage tour of the brewery proved fascinating. I was walked through the process, through grinding the malt, creating the mash, boiling the wort, adding the hops, transferring by heat exchanger to the fermenter, adding yeast, the cold fermentation process and then adding the carbon dioxide and kegging the beer. The brewers are watching the beer every step of the way, cleaning in between to keep everything ready for the next batch. It’s exhausting but fulfilling work when you love the craft, as Jendron, Hencinski and Gilbert clearly do.
Did Someone Say Beer Garden?
You’ll find Temperance Beer on tap at more and more local restaurants and on shelves at liquor stores. They are planning to open a Tap Room later this year, where you’ll be able to view the brewing process through glass doors while you sip and sample the beer, a casual space that will offer exclusive beers not found elsewhere. There will also be an outdoor space—an urban beer garden—and they hope to bring in some food trucks to make it a fun and festive place to gather.
It’s a happy thing that Evanston is no longer dry. Frances Willard might not have approved, but the rest of us are excited to sample what this team is brewing.
Temperance Beer Company
2000 Dempster St.
Evanston
847-864-1000
