A downtown Evanston street with a bike lane and the elevated tracks. Photo: Eric Fredericks from Rancho Cordova, CA, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Evanston’s home brewers were about to get a local place to buy ingredients. Brew Camp, a homebrew supply store based in Chicago, was preparing in January 2014 to open a second shop at 821 Chicago Ave.
A homebrewer needs malted grains, hops and yeast, plus basic equipment, and a shop that stocks them saves the hobbyist a drive or an online order.
What the shop carried
When the Daily Northwestern profiled the store after it opened on a Saturday in late February 2014, it reported that the shelves held about 50 kinds of grains and hops and 10 yeast varieties. The store also supported people who brew wine, cider and soda, not only beer. Owner Jared Saunders told the paper that Brew Camp offered classes and hosted private events as well as selling supplies.
Saunders chose Evanston partly because of the active Evanston Homebrew Club, according to the same profile, and because many of his Chicago customers already lived in the city.
A growing local scene
The timing fit a wider pattern. Craft brewing and home brewing were both expanding across the Chicago area in the early 2010s, and Evanston had a base of enthusiasts through the homebrew club and Northwestern University.
The Daily Northwestern did not give a more precise opening date than the Saturday in February.
Sources: Daily Northwestern, Feb. 27, 2014.
Daniel Okafor covers business, startups and the Innovators section for The Evanston Edge.
