Homewood Brewing Company

Cam Horn
Director of Brewing Operations
Homewood Brewing Company
Homewood, IL

Favorite breweries: I’m a brewer’s brewer who’s been doing traditional beers for a long time, so that’s what I tend to gravitate toward. Midwest Coast Brewing in Chicago’s West Loop and Flipside Brewing in Tinley Park are so good at making milds and ESBs that you can’t find everywhere. Making beer for nerds like me who’ve been around it for a while is a beautiful thing. And if you have kids, check out the family Sundays at Midwest Coast. It’s a lot of fun to bring the kids for that.

Drinking tendencies: In my older age now — I’ve been brewing for 18 years and have seen all the ups and downs and trends — I find myself facing back to the old traditional stuff. Lighter lagers, schwartzbiers and English ales/milds. Malty beers with lots of character, but also one you can drink several of in the summer.

Recent beers that have caught your eye: Twisted Hippo’s Blackbeard’s Cannon is a fantastic blueberry lime sour. It’s so clean, not too fruity, and it struck the perfect balance in my mind. And that’s coming from someone who’s not a big sour guy at all.

Midwest Coast in Chicago’s West Loop and Flipside Brewing in Tinley Park are so good at making milds and ESBs that you can’t find everywhere. Making beer for nerds like me who’ve been around it for a while is a beautiful thing.

What are you looking forward to enjoying on draft this fall: Marzens for sure, especially with the caramel sweetness, and sometimes you get a little of that dark fruit, like fig or plum, which makes it even better. I know it’s stereotypical for sure in the fall, but it’s one of my favorite styles, especially considering I came up in the industry brewing a lot of German styles. I had Pipeworks’ Marzen back in August, and it was solid. Safe to say I have a lot of favorites around Illinois.

Favorite beer bar in Illinois: I’m going to be a homer and stay close to home and say rhe Beer Shop in Oak Park. It was my first introduction to the Chicago-style package store and taproom combination. They have a good craft beer selection on tap and to go, and it’s only six blocks from my house. They were one of the original bottle shop taprooms.

Twisted Hippo’s Blackbeard’s Cannon is a fantastic blueberry lime sour. It’s so clean, not too fruity, and it struck the perfect balance in my mind.

Secret beer spot: A block away from Homewood Brewing Company is the 5th Quarter, which is this old-school neighborhood dive bar with low-slung ceilings, lots of dark wood and a surprisingly good beer selection. It’s the only place I know that serves LaBatt Blue on draft, and you can get a $5 club sandwich too.

Best brewery you’ve hit on vacation: Point Ybel Brewing in Fort Myers, Florida. They’re actually able to make Florida water taste good. It was warm and welcoming, and all their beers were solid. That’s what I want on vacation — to relax in a comfortable spot and have some good brews. And the fact it’s a couple minutes from the beach is a bonus.

Point Ybel Brewing in Ft. Myers, FL