NOT YOUR AVERAGE BEER RUN

The American craft beer movement, delivered unto the world to rid us of those cheap, watered-down corporate brews that plagued American beer-drinkers the ’70s and ’80s, finds itself at a rather interesting crossroads.

Sure, the good guys and gals—all those serious hop hunters and wort-obsessed wizards—seem to be winning the war, but has the movement achieved too much, too quickly?

After all, who could have predicted, even a decade ago, the staggering growth of independent breweries across the greater Chicago area, which, according to recent statistics, have quadrupled over the last decade.

The result? A glorious abundance of really good beer and not enough retail space to sell it all. It’s a real problem for brewers—just ask one of them—especially new players who recently joined the fight.

If there’s a silver lining for consumers, it’s that this glut of quality suds is forcing some breweries to evolve—to move beyond your typical “barstool and brewery tours” and build out restaurants with menus that pay more than lip service to beer and food pairings.

Goodbye salty pretzels and oily peanuts. Hello, lager-marinated sirloin steaks and wheat ale-spiked desserts.

You can find both of the above at the new Alter Brewery & Kitchen in Oak Brook. Officially, it’s Alter’s third location, having already launched a taproom in Downers Grove in 2015 and its first restaurant concept in St. Charles in 2020.

Suffice to say, Alter’s latest entry is the most impressive of the trio. “When we decided to go to Oak Brook, we knew that reclaimed wood and white subway tiles wouldn’t cut it,” says Alter’s president Ken Henricks.

Instead, we’ve been given a space that’s closer in spirit to a Sonoma County wine tasting room than your typical dark and moody Game of Thrones-style guildhall. In Alter’s Oak Brook location, there’s frilly greenery carpeting the ceiling, bright lighting, and colorful accent walls depicting hops blowing free in the wind. All of which directs one’s attention to the restaurant’s Solera brewing room, a ziggurat of American oak barrels that allows Alter’s head brewer, Matt McCowan, to produce serious Old World-style lambics and sours.

The Alter team—a mix of passionate brewers and ex-financial wunderkinds, who all reside in the greater Hinsdale area—believe that building beer-inspired restaurants is the best way to cultivate direct relationships with customers. Thus, their restaurants offer guests brews they can’t find anywhere else. Roughly 10 varieties of Alter beers are sold via retail, while a rotating selection of roughly 50 brews only gets poured inside their brick-and mortar locations.

Alter’s theory: The more unique the beer selection, the more distinctive their menu offerings can be. You’d be hard pressed, insists Henricks, to find a single signature sauce at the kitchen that wasn’t inspired by of Alter’s brews. Case in point: Alter’s impressive 8-ounce pub burger, made from a mix of ground short rib and brisket, feels like it was created to honor Trappist monks and ancient German abbeys.

Unorthodox fixings? Not exactly. You get caramelized onions. Smoked bacon. Whole-grain mustard. All slathered on a pretzel roll. But then Alter’s semi-sweet beer cheese sauce swings into focus. And you think, “Ah, there’s where the Midwest has been hiding.” Very creamy. Very Wisconsin supper club. A versatile burger that can pair with just about any beer you can think of.

There are other clever infusions as well, including the one accompanying Alter’s boneless pork riblets. The ribs are thinly battered in a tempura-like skin. But the flavor of the bbq glaze is made with one of the bar’s IPAs, producing a welcoming mix of black pepper and caramelized hop notes. Then there’s Alter’s extraordinary dark-lager chocolate cake, which is one of the best chocolate desserts around. It’s ultra-moist yet undeniably decadent, in part because pastry chef Joscelynn Miller has found a way to incorporate the loamy mocha-flavored head of a well-poured Guinness into its cake batter, before enveloping the cake in a sweet milk-chocolate frosting casing.

If there’s an extra bonus to visiting Oak Brook, it’s that the menu offers twice the number of composed dinner entrees as its other locations. Various dishes cycle through the menu, but if the oven-roasted branzino is available, order it. You’ll receive a tender filet topped with capers, bacon, and balsamic sprouts, all perched atop a Thanksgiving-style sweet potato puree.

Henricks and the team call many of their dishes “Altered comfort” fare, i.e. dressed-up American classics. Henricks says the menu was designed to be like buying tickets to a Paul McCartney concert: You go to see Paul play Beatles and Wings songs, but since he’s recruited such an amazing band, you’re open to listening to them play just about anything. Same thing here: “We’ll always lead with the beer,” he says, “but we think people will discover some amazing food along the way.”

Alter Brewing + Kitchen is located at 1170 22nd Street in Oak Brook, 630.819.8411, alterbrewing.com

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Cocktails

For a restaurant built on and around beer, Alter offers an approachable and budget-friendly by-the-glass wine list and a full craft cocktail menu. Note the bar’s bourbon-meets-root beer cocktail. Nevertheless, soaking up some suds is generally the order of the hour.

Alterado: This Mexican-style lager is a smooth, light patiostyle larger; not only will it pair with anything—try it with the house brisket chip appetizer—it was built for al fresco dining in the spring and summer months

Swedda Wedda—Cute name: Get it? Sweater Weather with a Chicago accent? Beer’s not shabby either: An oatmeal stout that’s closer to a whip-creamed topped cappuccino than a straight up espresso. Hints of caramel. And a cashmere finish.