Cheers to Kane County’s Finest breweries

With cozy season upon us, what better time to belly up to the bar and soak up some satisfying and delicious beer? Winners of the Kane County’s Finest breweries, these expert establishments are masters of their craft. Read on to find out where you can get the perfect sip all year round. BREWERIES Stockholm’s Restaurant & Brewery 306 W. State St., Geneva For nearly a quarter-century, Stockholm’s has brewed their ever-growing lineup of Old World-style beers. But unlike many other breweries, Stockholm’s doesn’t enter their brews into contests or seek fame outside of the acclaim of their customers and their enduring popularity. The beers at Stockholm’s are unfiltered and naturally conditioned, meaning they are naturally carbonated through fermentation, resulting in what they say is a “full-balanced flavor ideal for pairing with your meal.” As owner and brewmaster Michael Olesen puts it: “Stockholm’s did not feel obliged to brew what became the popular styles so many craft brewers did. Case in point is our number one selling beer, State Street Pilsner.” While a Pilsner is a traditional kind of brew, Olesen said Stockholm’s opted to brew the State Street Pilsner as a Northern Style Pilsner, which offers a less bitter flavor profile versus the traditional Bavarian-style Pilsner. “These are naturally brewed and known for their crisp finish,” Olesen said. “In fact, in 2015, we received a review of our State Street Pilsner from a German national. He recognized ours as similar to Sauerland (an area north of Frankfurt) Pilsners. He summarized, ‘A lot of German Pilsner are very bitter, not so the Sauerland Pilsner. And not so yours. It tastes really great. Congratulations.’” Riverlands Brewing Company 1860 Dean St., Unit A, St. Charles For more than seven years, the co-founders of Riverlands, including head brewer Eric Bramwell, have crafted not only some of the region’s best beer, but a new hot spot for celebrating community and togetherness. Riverlands, for instance, has collaborated with both the Kane County Forest Preserve and the city of St. Charles to craft unique brews to celebrate local events, including the Maple River brown ale in honor of the annual Maple Sugaring Days at LeRoy Oaks Forest Preserve. However, the brewery has also staked a claim on the broader stage as well. Their Kayak Pilsner took gold in the German Pilsner category at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship. Riverlands followed that with a bronze medal for their Tranquil 2025 brew at the Festival of Wood & Barrel Aged Beer. In discussing that win, Bramwell said that “FoBAB” award “might be my favorite of all” secured by Riverlands, thanks to his personal history, dating back to 2015, of experiencing the stunning brews at the festival produced by the stiff competition, “some of the best breweries not only in Chicagoland, but also nationwide.” The award-winning Tranquil 2025 is a non-adjunct barrel-aged imperial stout, which Riverlands describes as a “blended concoction of epic proportions” and a “mind melter” that “combines our specially brewed stout base aged for a total of 31 months in premium Widow Jane and Calumet Farms 15 year bourbon barrels,” followed by another 12 months in “freshly emptied Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels.” The beer is then “double oaked ... with American and French Oak inserts from our friends at Creative Oaks to further drive oak complexity.” Penrose Brewing Company 509 Stevens St., Geneva Founded in 2014, Penrose has staked out a reputation not only for top-flight craft beer, but also as a unique stop for a lineup of award-winning hard seltzers. In 2025, for instance, Penrose Brewing took home six medals at the U.S. Open Hard Seltzer Championship, the largest hard seltzer judging event in the U.S. Gold medal winners included the Pink Lemon Seltz-Up flavored lemonade and the Blueberry Pomegranate Lemon Seltz-Up mixed fruit beverage. The 2025 awards followed multiple medals won in the seltzer competitions in 2023 and 2024. In celebrating the 2025 awards, Penrose founder and head brewer Tom Korder said the awards reflected recognition on the national stage for the work and skill demonstrated by Penrose’s team at creating “seltzers that not only taste great, but also push the boundaries of flavor innovation.” Among others in an assortment of palate-popping hard seltzers, Penrose describes its gold medal-winning Blueberry Pomegranate Lemon Seltz-Up as a “delightful concoction (that) combines the tangy zest of lemon with the sweet burst of blueberry and the exotic allure of pomegranate.” They say the beverage promises “a symphony of flavors that refreshes and invigorates with every sip.” The seltzers, however, come on top of a long list of craft beers that earned Penrose its start and built its reputation. They are led by the Goofy Boots Hazy IPA, which took a gold medal at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival. Goofy Boots is described as “a circus full of intense hop flavors,” featuring “notes of candied lime, ripe peach, and dried mango ... landing on a pillowy wheat finish.”