On the previous Saturday, July 22, I finally chanced to stop by the “Little Key” adjunct of Skeleton Key Brewery in Woodridge. Long time beer fans will remember that their industrial park location was heavily damaged in last Father’s Day tornado that whipsawed through the Southwest suburbs.

The brewery’s recovery has been an exemplar of cooperation among local beer folk. Representatives from bars and other breweries gathered to pick up packaged kegs and put them on tap. A GoFundMe campaign currently stands at $145,000 to help cover salvage and rebuilding costs.

Recently, the brewery opened a “Little Key” tap room at the south end of their space, accessible from the rear, by the loading docks. They have been operating Thursdays through Sundays.

Through this recovery period, they have been brewing collaborations at other nearby breweries, some of which were able to open with Skeleton Key’s training and support.

The space looks nicely cleaned up and, of course, fit for customers to come in. Adam, the day’s server, told me and other patrons that they had been able to get the roof repaired first, and had been repairing their brewing equipment. Their largest fermenter, which I believe was 30 barrels, had just been tapped for packaging, but still had about 300 pounds of dregs and dead yeast in the bottom, which kept it from being blown over by the storm.

There is still quite a bit of work to be doing, but Adam said they were to stage their grand reopening in mid to late March.

Recovery work at Skeleton Key Brewery.

I did get to try out some of their beers:

First Squirrel Problems

Part of a “Lift and Let Lift” “collaboration tour,” this beer was made with Wolfden Brewing Co. and Afterthought Brewing. It’s a 5% abv brown ale with added walnuts, foraged from the brewers’ back yards.

I tend to be wary of things with nuts in them, but this was a pleasant surprise. No big nut flavors, which is on its favor. A nice, malty beer, reminiscent of Goose Island’s much-missed Hex Nut Brown Ale.

Winter’s Bone

A strong, English-style “winter warmer” made at Phase Three Brewing. 7% abv.

Deep brown with thin bit of foam. 7%  Smell of a light porter. I can’t really smell much right now, it seems. Taste is a rich malt, tending towards a caramel roast, with some residual sweetness. I’m picking up some fruitiness, perhaps from the hops. The server said they did their usual hop combination of Simcoe, Chinook, etc. A bit filling, as the style should be, but not overly so.  Again, a kind of nut brown ale impression, more than any darker style. Sweet, slightly Woody. Nice lace on the sides of a plastic cup.