Really, It's Good for You: Spiteful Brewing
December 3, 2012. If seeing that picture doesn't make you thirsty, check yourself, partner. And yes, it is "good for you," says WGN News. When GFY Stout is being brewed, the Spiteful brewhouse smells like fudge. Co-Founder & Brewer Brad Shaffer turns from the kettle to welcome my entrance with a grinning Italian gesture, by flicking his hand outward from under his chin. Good to see you, too.
Co-founder Jason Klein sits at a small table beside the south wall, working on his computer, warmed by the kettles boiling a mere five feet away. It's a modest office space: no dividers, lamp, or cushioned chair. He prints an invoice and then joins Brad beside the kettle. As you'll see, Spiteful is a small operation. Their space is compact, but I'll be damned if every last piston isn't firing.
Brad tells me his wish is for Spiteful's growth to be organic, never biting off more than they can chew. After honing the GFY recipe, Brad and Jason are pleased with what has become a flagship beer for Spiteful. I've now given it to several friends, and their reaction has generally been the same: a look of astonishment followed by zero interest in sharing the rest.
I met Brad and Jason at the Pipeworks brewhouse last September, where Brad was apprenticing at the time. Their plan to open a brewery was no secret--now, it's a reality, and it's located in Ravenswood by the Deagan building.
I was drawn to Brad's relaxed, Colorado demeanor: he looks you in the eye when he talks to you, and doesn't tinker with his phone when you talk to him.
Fed up with with his desk job in the suburbs, Jason quit and took up with childhood-friend Brad to fulfill their brewing dreams. Jason runs the books. He's fast-talking and quick to call a spade. German and Jewish. Usually bobs one of his legs when he's sitting down.
Though Brad and Jason tell me they intend to remain a two man operation, help is never too far off. Fitz frequently stops in to lend a hand. At 6'4, Fitz is that friendly bald guy who gave you your first taste of Hill Farmstead. Dubbing him a beer missionary would be an understatement. With Fitz on call, Spiteful also keeps Jason's younger brother Jonathan Klein around. But only as a volunteer. Evidently, beer is thicker than blood.
Fortunately for Jonathan, Oskar Blues Brewery scooped him up late-January, brought on to handle their Chicagoland merchandising and promotions--a far cry from the Indy Car racing of his early twenties. Frankly, Jonathan and Jason are better off in different brewhouses. I get the impression that Spiteful isn't big enough for the both of them.
For now, tucked away in the bowels of an industrial warehouse space, Spiteful plans to remain a production-only brewery. A tap room and bottle shop may come in time, Brad says, but Spiteful's focus is on getting beer into the market, at stores and bars that believe in their beer. A favorite of Brad's, Four Moons Tavern now carries three Spiteful beers.
Last December I was at the Lakeview Binny's when a woman mistook me for an employee. She asked for me for a Christmas beer recommendation. I directed her to a shelf with local beers, pointing to Pipeworks' Santa Vs. Unicorn Barleywine and Spiteful's Jingle Balls Spiced Winter Ale. She burst out laughing and bought six Jingle Balls "for the label alone."
Fork lifts buzz through the basement's wide corridors. Upstairs, drills whir and saw blades ring from an auto shop, the mechanics smiling and switching from Spanish to greet me with a "hello." Little can be heard from the space next to Spiteful, home to Letherbee Distillers. But Distiller Brenton Engel frequently stops in for a beer, bringing bottles of his own gin and absinthe.
On the whole, the building's tenants are excited to know beer is being brewed near them. Curious, they stop by unannounced, delighted by the novelty of working in the same building as a brewery. Brad and Jason graciously field their questions, happy to offer them a bottle of GFY or Burning Bridges as they're sent on their way.
I suspect these visits happen more often than they like. When over six people are in it, the brewhouse feels stuffy.
Fitz and Jonathan are on the bottler. Brad is testing GFY's carbonation, pleased with the thicker, more robust third batch. "It's dialed in, man," Brad says. "You've gotta try it."
So I do. It's chewy and creamy, like a fudge sunday with malt powder on top. A hint of vanilla. Lots of roastiness. Since I tried the first batch, I can agree that this really is the one. I'd say it's the best stout I've had all winter.
Jason and his fiancée visited California this past December. Having brought a few Spiteful beers in their carry-ons, they gave their tour guide a bottle of GFY when they visited Stone. One month later, the two had forgotten about their peace offering. Then Jason received an email, from the fellow they'd given the bottle to. The Stone tour guide said that he had shared it with some of the guys at the brewery during a tasting. Turns out, GFY was their favorite, beating out Bourbon County Brand Stout, Cantillon sours, and beers by Lost Abbey, among others. High praise.
Brad and Jason probably wish I hadn't included that. Had to, fellas.
Of course Fitz brings Heady Topper. It's like he has a vending machine stocked only with the most sought-after beers in America. "Sorry about the freshness, guys. It's four days old," he says. Ridiculous. I've heard Fitz use the phrase "beer karma." Whatever that is, he wrote the book on it. I've never met someone more generous with their beer.
But there is work to be done. So we finish bottling GFY, tape the cases shut, move the pallet into the hallway, break down the table, and clean up the puddles of stout.
More of the brewing of GFY. Oats and oats and oats.
As a bike messenger for two years, Brad became hardened to the dangers of careless pedestrians and drivers. Don't believe me? Spiteful's Bitter Biker Double IPA will be hitting taps and shelves in early-February. And let me let tell you, it's a doozie. Mightily bitter, dry, and backed by a subdued malty sweetness, Bitter Biker will be well received by Chicago's hop heads. It already has been.
Alongside outstanding new beers by Pipeworks, 18th Street, Solemn Oath, Lake Effect, Revolution, and Begyle, Spiteful's Bitter Biker was one of the first kegs to kick at a recent Tap This! event hosted by Fischman Liquors & Tavern.
January 24, 2013. I sensed it was no ordinary tapping the moment I walked into Fischman's. The place was packed, the hype was palpable, and the taplist delivered. Brewers, fans, and barflies convened for what became a raucous celebration of Chicago craft beer. [Credit to Brandon Weninger for the following two photos.]
As the crowd thinned out, with most of the kegs kicked, Bartender Jim Wojo pulled out a few of his own bottles to share with nearby patrons, including Founders Bolt Cutter and Arcadia Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. My palate was in tatters, Jim, but I remember those being delicious.
Aleman was also present, pouring their Iron Brew-winning Dayman Coffee IPA, as well as a tobacco-forward Imperial Stout. I'm certain the place was pushing capacity, and on a Thursday, no less. Yet events like this are happening more often in Chicago, to greater turnouts, with increasingly stacked taplists and strange themes. Spiteful seems poised to brew accordingly.
If you're a biker in the city, I defy you to pass up a beer with a label like Bitter Biker's.
January 26, 2013. Following Pipeworks' lead, Spiteful has agreed contract brew for 18th Street Brewery, allowing for 18th Street Founder & Brewer Drew Fox to double his output of beer for the Chicago market. Drew expects to have 18th Street up and brewing in Gary, IN by August 2013.
That Spiteful stepped up and offered one of their tanks to Drew is a testament to the brotherhood among Chicago brewers, and specifically the brotherhood between Spiteful, 18th Street, and Pipeworks. Brad and Jason tell me that the decision to contract brew for 18th Street was common sense. When Drew calls Brad his best friend, I have no trouble believing him.
Chicago's craft beer boom has been a joy to watch. Over the past two years alone, dozens of breweries have emerged: some have thrived, some have failed--all have struggled. We've seen breweries big and small give badly needed equipment and raw material to other breweries, in the form of walk ins, kegs, tanks, hops, malt--you name it.
Still, this charity among brewers simply does not compute for some. Why give with no expected return? And to your own competition, at that? Two months into production brewing, what sense would it make to give someone else a tank in your own tiny brewery? To Brad and Jason, it makes good sense.
Smiles and spent grain from the brewing of 18th Street's Sinister Double IPA. The day begins at 7:00am. Sleet and a brutal wind outside, but it sure is warm in the brewhouse. Drew arrives and starts to mill the grain. Brad comes thirty minutes later, leans his bike against the wall, unbuckles his messenger bag and fires up the kettles. Ice and snow are clinging to his beard.
I take a better look at Brad's bike, which is covered in stickers. Pipeworks beer labels, brewery logos--emblems from around the country. A beer billboard on wheels.
Jason arrives later on, still wearing his foot brace, the result of an accident I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you all about. He ties his dog to the table by its leash and opens his laptop. Today he is working on the copy for the Bitter Biker label. Around then, Claudia takes lunch orders for Dinkel's: two Woolworth's, two Rothschild's, and two Harry Starr's. She says she doesn't feel like picking it up by herself, so I tag along. Then I realize why she wanted company: it's Saturday, and we're driving down Lincoln Ave. The traffic and number of strollers are staggering.
We come back an hour later carrying two bags filled with pastries, doughnuts, soup, and sandwiches. 18th Street's inaugural brewday at Spiteful is grounds for a feast.
I hope Jason never takes off that boot.
Drew begins the final hop additions while Brad takes us to the roof. The sun sinks a little lower and Jason lights a cigarette. "Don't tell my mom," he says. Looking out on the skyline, I'm reminded of how expansive the city is. It's no stretch to say that the landscape of Chicago's breweries may soon resemble the early 1900's, when breweries--estimated at around sixty--provided their neighborhood taverns with fresh, locally-brewed beer, delivered by horse-drawn wagon.
The well-to-do neighborhood of Ravenswood has had a particular attraction to breweries this past year, having taken in both Spiteful and Begyle. Oh, and then there's Half Acre, whose long-awaited tap room quickly gained acclaim among locals, beer enthusiasts, and brewers. With good reason--the place is a marvel of woodworking. But it's their tap-only releases that bring all the boys to the yard. Brad and Jason being two of them.
After a six-month wait, the kettles and tanks from Portland Kettle Works have arrived. Typically, the wait is said to be around four months. But in this case, the customization took longer. Jason and Brad couldn't be more happy with their decision to buy new equipment, and from a reputable American company.
In the brewhouse, songs by Tom Petty and Bob Marley give way to 90's hip hop. Jason cracks open a Central Waters Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout while we wait to transfer Sinister. Drew is beaming--the brewday for his second contract-brewed beer has come to an end.
Brewing on a 2.5 bbl system, with 5 bbl fermentors, Spiteful is proud to be small, making no hasty plans to overextend themselves. Jason and Brad are proud of their beer, too, and proud to be brewing in Chicago--their beer is an illustration of that. So watch out for these guys. Especially if you're behind the wheel. They'll be in the bike lane, and they'll probably be bitter.
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