Two Brothers Brewing
Two Brothers Brewing is an independently owned Illinois craft brewery and hospitality business founded by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Two Brothers Brewing is an independently owned craft brewery and hospitality company based in Warrenville, Illinois. Brothers Jim Ebel and Jason Ebel founded the business in 1996 after returning from France, where exposure to the breadth of European brewing traditions highlighted the limited availability of comparable beers in the Chicago market. Both brothers had prior brewing experience, including work at a Denver brewery, and began their venture with equipment adapted from the family’s agricultural background: bulk milk tanks donated by their grandfather, a retired dairy farmer, were converted into fermentation vessels. The company’s roots also include a home-brewing supply mail-order operation and retail store in Naperville. From that base, Two Brothers developed a portfolio of more than twenty beers spanning year-round, seasonal, and limited Special Projects releases. Its range has included traditional and contemporary styles such as pale ales, India pale ales, double IPAs, sour or lambic-style beers, and barrel-aged products. Hop Juice Double IPA became an important recurring release and the focus of a series of public festivals that combined beer launches, guest breweries, music, home-brewing competitions, and charitable activity. Two Brothers expanded beyond its original brewery and taproom through a group of restaurant and entertainment venues. The original Two Brothers Tap House remains associated with the Warrenville brewery and offers public brewery tours. In 2011, the Ebels acquired Aurora’s historic railroad roundhouse after its previous operator entered bankruptcy proceedings. The building reopened as Two Brothers Roundhouse in June 2011 as a restaurant, brewery, event venue, and wedding and banquet destination. In 2015, the company entered Arizona with Two Brothers Tap House and Brewery in Scottsdale. The site initially operated as a restaurant and began brewing beer locally later that year. The company broadened its hospitality concept again in 2016 with The Craftsman in Naperville, a multi-level establishment combining a bakery, café, juice bar, deli, market, butcher, restaurant, tavern, and cocktail bar. Unlike the company’s brewpub locations, The Craftsman did not include an on-site brewery; its beer was produced elsewhere within the Two Brothers operation. A planned Two Brothers Social Tap in Oak Park was described as a café-oriented venue offering coffee, beer, spirits, and food, although the available reference material does not establish its eventual opening or current status. Two Brothers presents itself as a sustainability-focused brewer under the idea of “crafting with a conscience.” Reported practices include renewable or green energy use, energy-efficient brewing equipment, water conservation, recycled and recyclable packaging, organic rooftop gardens, local sourcing, and the distribution of spent grain to nearby farmers for cattle feed. Its Warrenville and Aurora restaurants were identified as early members in their respective counties of the Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition, and the company has supported clean-water advocacy through the Natural Resources Defense Council. Beer distribution has extended across a group of U.S. states through regional distributors, while the company’s physical hospitality footprint has centered on the Chicago metropolitan area and Scottsdale.
History
Jim and Jason Ebel developed the foundations of Two Brothers Brewing through home brewing, brewing-supply retail, and professional brewing experience. After living in France, they returned to the United States and saw an opportunity to introduce more European-influenced beer styles to the Chicago area. They founded the brewery in 1996 in Warrenville, Illinois, using bulk milk tanks supplied by their grandfather, a former dairy farmer, as fermentation equipment. The Warrenville operation became the company’s principal brewery and hospitality base. Its associated Two Brothers Tap House offered food, beer, and public brewery tours. The company expanded its beer portfolio beyond a single core style, producing year-round and seasonal beers alongside experimental releases through a Special Projects program. More than twenty beers were associated with the brewery in the reference material, including pale ales, IPAs, double IPAs, sour beers, and barrel-aged products. Hop Juice Double IPA became a recurring release with a dedicated festival program, while Hop Juice Black and other specialty beers were introduced through related events. Two Brothers’ growth strategy combined brewing with destination hospitality. In May 2011, the company announced the purchase of Aurora’s historic roundhouse, a nineteenth-century railroad building that had previously been converted into a restaurant and later became available after the former operator entered bankruptcy proceedings. The property reopened in June 2011 as Two Brothers Roundhouse, incorporating a restaurant, brewing operation, and facilities for weddings, banquets, and other events. In January 2015, Two Brothers opened its first out-of-state venue in Scottsdale, Arizona. The site initially functioned as a restaurant, then began brewing beer on location in October 2015. In September 2016, the company opened The Craftsman in Naperville. This concept extended the brand into bakery, café, deli, market, butcher, restaurant, tavern, and cocktail-bar categories. It was distinct from the brewery’s brewpub model because beer served there was brewed at another Two Brothers facility. The reference material also describes plans for Two Brothers Social Tap in Oak Park as a café serving coffee, beer, spirits, and food, but does not confirm the venue’s final operating history. Community events were an important part of the brewery’s public identity. Beginning with the 2007 tenth-anniversary celebration, Two Brothers staged release events for specialty beers and later developed the For the Love of Hops and Two Brothers Summer Festival series. These events featured guest breweries, live music, home-brewing competitions, charitable partnerships, and new beer releases. Beneficiaries mentioned in the source material include Make-A-Wish, Mutual Ground, and Communities in Schools of Aurora. Environmental initiatives have also been central to the company’s stated operating philosophy. Two Brothers has reported the use of renewable energy, recycled and recyclable packaging, efficient boilers, water-saving equipment, rooftop gardens, local sourcing, and the reuse of spent grain as livestock feed. Its Warrenville and Aurora restaurants joined the Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition, and the brewery supported clean-water efforts associated with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Distribution expanded beyond Illinois into a number of U.S. states through independent regional distributors. The available material does not provide a definitive current ownership structure beyond the continued association of the Ebel brothers with the independently owned company.
- 2017
Two Brothers Social Tap is planned for Oak Park
[1]The company announces plans for a café-oriented location offering coffee, beer, spirits, and food; the available source does not confirm its eventual opening.
- 2016
The Craftsman opens in Naperville
[1]Two Brothers launches a broad food, beverage, retail, and cocktail concept that does not include an on-site brewery.
- 2015
Scottsdale brewery location begins operations
[1]The company opens its first Arizona venue in January and begins brewing beer at the Scottsdale site in October.
- 2011
Two Brothers Roundhouse opens
[1]Following the acquisition of Aurora’s historic railroad roundhouse, the company reopens the property as a restaurant, brewpub, and event venue.
- 2007
Tenth-anniversary celebration
[1]The brewery marks its tenth anniversary with the release of Project Opus 10, described as a lambic-style sour ale.
- 1996
Two Brothers Brewing is founded in Warrenville
[1]Jim and Jason Ebel establish the brewery after returning from France and begin production using converted bulk milk tanks donated by their grandfather.
Products and positioning
Independent, experimental, community-oriented Illinois craft brewing combined with destination restaurants, brewpubs, event venues, and sustainability-conscious operations.
Double IPA · 2009
Hop Juice Double IPA
A recurring Two Brothers specialty release and one of the brewery’s best-known event beers. Its annual or periodic release supported the For the Love of Hops and later Two Brothers festival programs, where the beer was presented alongside guest craft beers, music, and community activities.
Black IPA
Hop Juice Black
A darker hop-forward beer associated with the Hop Juice release program. It was featured with Hop Juice Double IPA at the company’s 2011 Hop Juice Festival.
Lambic-style sour ale · 2007
Project Opus 10
A sour-ale project released for Two Brothers Brewing’s tenth-anniversary celebration in 2007. The beer illustrates the brewery’s interest in traditional and experimental styles beyond standard American ales.
Craft beer portfolio · 1996
Two Brothers beer portfolio
The brewery produces a broad portfolio of more than twenty beers across year-round, seasonal, and Special Projects categories. The referenced range includes pale ales, India pale ales, double IPAs, sour or lambic-style ales, and barrel-aged beers.
Marketing campaigns
- 2017Two Brothers Summer Festival
Illinois
The company planned another summer festival at RiverEdge Park in Aurora with charitable fundraising as a principal objective.
- 2015Two Brothers Summer Festival and Hop Centric release
Illinois
Two Brothers held its summer festival at RiverEdge Park in Aurora and released Hop Centric Double IPA as part of the event programming.
Outcome. The festival extended the brand’s public beer-release and charitable-event model into a larger park setting.
- 2014Two Brothers Summer Festival
Illinois
The sixth annual summer festival supported Make-A-Wish and Communities in Schools of Aurora.
Outcome. The festival continued the company’s community-giving program.
- 2013Two Brothers Summer Festival
Illinois
The summer festival at Two Brothers Roundhouse supported Make-A-Wish and Mutual Ground.
Outcome. The event combined beer-focused programming with charitable fundraising.
- 2012Hop Juice Festival home-brew competition
Illinois
The fourth annual Hop Juice Festival included a home-brewing competition at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora.
Outcome. The program deepened the brewery’s engagement with local and regional home brewers.
- 2011Hop Juice Festival
Illinois
The annual festival celebrated Hop Juice Double IPA and Hop Juice Black at the newly opened Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora.
Outcome. The festival helped connect the new Roundhouse venue with the brewery’s established specialty-beer events.
- 2010For the Love of Hops
Illinois
The second annual Hop Juice festival was held at the Warrenville brewery with live bands and guest beers from across the United States.
Outcome. The event continued the brewery’s annual release-festival format.
- 2009For the Love of Hops
Illinois
A festival organized around the release of Hop Juice Double IPA, featuring guest beers from breweries including Surly, Dogfish Head, Stone, Allagash, and Ska, along with music and public programming.
Outcome. The event positioned the Hop Juice release as a recurring community and craft-beer occasion.
- 2007Project Opus 10 anniversary release
Illinois
Two Brothers celebrated its tenth anniversary with a public tapping of Project Opus 10, a lambic-style sour ale, at Charlie’s Ale House in Wheaton, Illinois.
Outcome. The event marked the brewery’s first decade and highlighted its specialty-beer program.
Brand decisions
2016
Extend the brand into a non-brewery food and beverage conceptStrategyBackground
The company explored hospitality formats that were broader than a traditional brewery or brewpub.
Action taken
Two Brothers opened The Craftsman in Naperville, combining retail food, bakery, café, restaurant, tavern, and cocktail-bar functions without an on-site brewery.
Aftermath
The brand’s hospitality offer expanded beyond beer production and conventional brewpub dining.
2015
Expand outside IllinoisStrategyBackground
After developing multiple Chicago-area operations, the company sought its first location beyond Illinois.
Action taken
Two Brothers opened a tap house and brewery in Scottsdale, Arizona, initially operating as a restaurant before local brewing began.
Aftermath
The Scottsdale venue became the company’s first out-of-state location and expanded its distribution and hospitality presence into Arizona.
2011
Acquire and redevelop Aurora’s historic roundhouseM&ABackground
The former roundhouse restaurant operator entered bankruptcy proceedings, creating an opportunity to acquire the historic property.
Action taken
Two Brothers purchased the building and reopened it as Two Brothers Roundhouse, retaining its restaurant and event functions while adding a brewing operation.
Aftermath
The property became a major hospitality and event venue for the company.
Recent events
- 2016
The Craftsman opens in Naperville[1]
Other · Product launch
Two Brothers launched a multi-level food, beverage, and retail concept in Naperville without an on-site brewery.
- 2015
Two Brothers Brewing enters Arizona with a Scottsdale venue[1]
Other
Two Brothers Tap House and Brewery opened in Scottsdale, marking the company’s first location outside Illinois; beer production at the site began later in the year.
- 2011
Two Brothers Brewing opens Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora[1]
Other
The company acquired Aurora’s historic railroad roundhouse and reopened it as a restaurant, brewery, and event venue.
Sources1 sources
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