Seven years in, and a homegrown St. Charles' brewery is still doing exactly what it set out to do at the beginning: make great beer, show its work, and give the Fox Valley a place to gather.

Walk into Riverlands Brewing Company on Dean Street and you'll likely notice a couple of things immediately. The barn wood and sandstone walls that make it feel like a friendly workshop, and the wide-open view straight down the production aisle where the brew crew is doing their thing. 

According to co-founder Steve Marck, every aspect was intentional.

“We wanted the space to be inviting, and communal.  A place of gathering,” Steve said. “But we also wanted to communicate a rustic outdoorsy image that is connected to nature and signals that we’re ‘makers.’”

Seven years ago this month, Steve and fellow co-founders (Eric Bramwell, Jason Arges, and his father Andy Marck) opened Riverlands with a specific vision — a community gathering place that made exceptional beer and never pretended to be something it wasn't. 

Locals immediately showed up. And they haven’t stopped.

Appropriately enough, the origin story starts with a friendly gathering. In the summer of 2016, Eric and Jason were throwing a Fourth of July BBQ at their townhouse. Steve and his dad Andy came. 

Eric had been homebrewing for close to a decade by then, and his latest batch sparked an idea.

"Andy was looking to start a brewery and tried Eric's beer that was on tap that day, and really enjoyed what they had," Steve recalled. "That kicked off a multi-year adventure that led to us opening on March 15, 2019."

A lot of preparation occurred between those two milestone dates. During that time, Eric interned at More Brewing Company's Villa Park location — a deliberate move to bridge the gap between garage brewing and commercial production. 

"His time there definitely helped us avoid some of the new brewer pitfalls you hear about homebrewers making the leap," Steve said. 

Naming the brewery turned out to be its own process. Eric's homebrew blog had been shark-themed, with each beer named after a species. That wasn't going to work in landlocked northern Illinois. So they got creative in brainstorming. 

The Fox River kept coming up — it's the defining geographical feature of the area, the thing that connects the downtowns and the forest preserves and the trail system that runs through all of it. They wanted a name that leaned into that theme without being too literal.

"It evoked our memories of canoeing, camping and nature," Steve said. “But also the flavor of the area where we have cute downtowns with local businesses and it's all fed by the Fox. It just fits really well."

The word "Riverlands" emerged from one of those planning sessions. The aesthetics came next.

The barn wood in the taproom was sourced from Polo, Illinois. The sandstone and woodworking projects aim to show what they’re all about. A local artist created the handcrafted sign that anchors the corner where the staff tends to gather on their off hours, surrounded by a collection of German beer steins.

But the most deliberate design choice isn't decorative. It's the sightline straight into the brewery.

"We didn't want a mysterious door where magic happened behind it," Steve said. "We wanted to signal transparency."

That ethos runs through everything at Riverlands — the open production floor, the 16 taps that have been a constant since day one, the wide range of styles that don’t chase trends or cater to one type of drinker.

"As ambassadors to beer, we like to show people that beer can hit almost any taste profile and there's a beer for everyone," Steve says.

Some of Riverlands' most interesting work happens when someone comes to them with an idea.

The Kane County Forest Preserve reached out a couple years ago about collaborating on a beer for their annual Maple Sugaring Days festival at LeRoy Oakes, which incidentally is an event Steve had attended as a kid growing up in St. Charles. 

The result was a maple brown ale designed to complement rather than overpower the syrup. This year's version, called Maple River, was featured prominently at the fest earlier this month.

It's far from Riverlands’ only local collaboration. The City of St. Charles approached them about brewing a pickle beer tied to a park district event. And when the famous Hobson Oak in Naperville (over 250 years old, according to Steve) died, Riverlands saved wood from the tree and used it to brew a lager. A plaque made from the same wood now hangs in the taproom.

"Being a small-batch brewery, these are the fun projects that we love doing," Steve said.

On March 21, Riverlands threw itself a party celebrating seven years. When I walked in, I found myself at the end of the beer line — it stretched all the way to the front door.

Pair a hyped-up Riverlands event with a 70-degree sunny day in March, and I guess that’s what you should expect.

The lively afternoon featured the release of Riverlands VII, the brewery’s latest barrel-aged imperial stout, blended from three barrels aged in Willett Rye Whiskey and Whiskey Acres bourbon. Le Truff Noir served smashburgers on the patio. The Eddy Birth Duo played in the afternoon on the outdoor stage, and the always entertaining Matt Keen Band closed out the night with an evening set. 

It was, by any measure, a full house. Which, seven years in, has become the norm.

"We feel humbled and embraced and honored to be seen as part of the fabric of the Fox Valley's culture," Steve said. "The secret sauce is doing our best to be authentic and transparent, just like we put in that original ethos statement so long ago."

Growth has been intentional and steady rather than aggressive. Riverlands distributes wholesale but has been careful not to overextend. The goal, Steve says, is the long run…stable and organic, not raging fast.

And if you want to understand what Riverlands is really about, Steve says, look past the tap list.

“From the charity events and fundraisers to the events that make it easy to meet new people, we’re not just a place where you buy a beer,” Steve said. “Whether it’s saving the river or fighting cancer or supplying veterans, we’re using that beer to bring people together for causes that matter to us right here in the Fox Valley.”  

Riverlands Brewing Company is located 1860 Dean St., Unit A, in St. Charles. Hours are Monday–Tuesday, 4–8PM, Wednesday–Sunday, noon–10PM.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with questions or comments.

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