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mokenamessenger.com dining out
the Mokena Messenger | February 21, 2019 | 21
The Dish
Arrowhead Ales to release two new pastry-based beers
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Contributing Editor
Something new is brewing
in New Lenox.
Arrowhead Ales Brewing
Company is set to release
two new dark stout beers
that are made with a sweet
twist. The New Lenox-based
brew pub has partnered with
Fleckenstein’s Bakery to
create a chocolate Bavarian
cream and a strawberryglazed
imperial stout made
using paczkis.
“It’s not like I make the
beer out of a whole bunch
of doughnuts; it’s more like
there are doughnuts incorporated
into the brewing
process,” owner and head
brewer Mike Bacon said.
“But to achieve the different
flavor profile of those different
paczkis, I’m mimicking
the flavors they use in those.
But it’s all natural, real fruit,
real chocolate products, real
solid ingredients that make it
pair well with those paczkis.”
Bacon said that he used
roughly 100 paczkis in each
beer to make them.
The brewpub always features
12 beers on tap that are
made by Bacon, including
IPAs, pale ales, stouts and
red ales. Last December,
the business partnered with
Home Cut Donuts in Joliet
to make an imperial stout
out of doughnuts, creating
the beer Home Cut Hero.
“It’s a newer development,
these pastries styles,
for us,” he said. “Just seems
that people are really taking
a liking to them, so we’ll
give the people what they
want.”
The two new imperial
stouts are “packed full of flavor”
and have a little higher
alcohol content compared to
other beers on tap, according
to Bacon.
“It warms you up on the
“I think it just brings back the
nostalgia of a lot of people who
grew up on those doughnuts
and those paczkis from those
respective bakeries. And I think it
just makes people feel like they’re
kids again, but they can wait in
line and get a beer instead.”
Mike Bacon — Arrowhead Ales owner and head
brewer, on creating pastry-inspired stouts at the
brewery.
inside and makes you feel
warm and cozy,” Bacon said.
“And I think it just brings
back the nostalgia of a lot
people who grew up on those
doughnuts and those paczkis
from those respective bakeries.
And I think it just makes
people feel like they’re kids
again, but they can wait in
line and get a beer instead.”
Bacon said he anticipates
the beers will be on tap for
roughly one week before
they are sold out. When they
are released March 2, he anticipates
all of the 22-ounce
bomber bottles ($15) of the
beers to be sold out that day.
There is to be a limit of two
bottles of each kind of beer
per person. On tap, the beers
will be sold in a 9.5-ounce
snifter glass for $6.
Arrowhead Ales also offers
a variety of food that
pairs well with a variety of
beers. Bacon said that Arrowhead
Ales is an American
restaurant that offers a
lot of handhelds, burgers and
sandwiches.
“Our chef does a lot of
fun weekend features,” Bacon
said. “So, every weekend
we have an appetizer
Arrowhead Ales
Brewing Company
2101 Calistoga Drive in
New Lenox
Hours
• 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-
Saturday (kitchen closes
at 10 p.m.)
For more information...
Phone: (815) 717-6068
Web: arrowheadales.
com
or a couple entrees that you
wouldn’t find on the menu
that gives him a chance to
shine and show off his skills.
He does some fun things on
the weekends.”
One of the most popular
dishes is the fish and chips
($15), featuring beer battered
cod that comes with
seasoned fries, slaw and
house tartar sauce. The Early
Riser ($13) is one of the
top-selling hamburgers. That
comes with a half-pound
Angus burger, over-easy
egg, bacon, sharp cheddar
cheese and remoulade on a
pretzel bun.
Mike Bacon, owner and head brewer at Arrowhead Ales Brewing Company in New Lenox,
brews new dark imperial paczki stout beers. Photos by Thomas Czaja/22nd Century Media
The Early Riser ($13) is one of Arrowhead Ales most popular hamburgers. It comes with a
half-pound Angus burger, over-easy egg, bacon, sharp cheddar cheese and remoulade on
a pretzel bun.
“We get a lot of positive
feedback that we’re accommodating
to a lot of families,”
Bacon said. “And we
have a wide selection of
things to offer, and we have
some of the freshest food
you can get. Everything is
made from scratch.”
While breweries seem to
be popping up on every corner,
Bacon said what sets his
apart from others is the fact
he offers a full restaurant.
And in addition to the beer,
he has a full-service bar.
“We don’t specialize in
certain styles; we pretty
much make a really wellrounded
selection,” Bacon
said. “So, you’ll always find
a sour beer, a red ale, a dark
beer, a hoppy beer, wheat
beers. We cover a lot of the
broad spectrum, and so do a
lot of other people, but we
try to do a lot of things with
food and beer combined.”
Having a smaller brew
system allows Bacon to
create “outside of the box
things,” such as the doughnut
and paczki beers.
“It just gives us a little
more freedom to express
ourselves, as opposed to a
very, very large brewery
that’s worried about production
and distribution,” Bacon
said. “We don’t have to worry
about that. We can have a
little more fun with that.”