By Trent Modglin

We sat down with Saint Errant Brewing co-founder Brent Banks to discuss departing the corporate world, expectations about his new taproom opening March 27, and what’s in the tanks that has him excited

With a background in finance and consulting, Brent Banks, who has been brewing for nearly two decades, admits to being burned out for a long time in the corporate world and “just trying to stick it out until I decided to say enough is enough.” Finally, some 13 years ago, he took the proverbial career plunge and went all in on Saint Errant (with “Errant” properly pronounced with a French accent, by the way).

Over the years, Banks, who isn’t shy about carrying a “gyspy brewery” label, churned out Saint Errant beers at breweries across the city and suburbs like Temperance, Pipeworks, Mikerphone, Begyle and Noon Whistle to name a few. We became big fans of his hazy IPAs, in particular, regularly snagging them at various bottle shops over the years. Then last fall, news broke that he and his business partner, Ryan Jacobs, were putting down roots in Temperance’s shuttered space in Evanston. They are officially opening March 27.

I remember 12 years ago walking into this space and looking at the equipment going, “Oh my god, I have no clue how to do anything,” because at the time I was brewing on a seven-gallon pot on my stove at home. Years later, it’s come full circle and we’re doing it.

Q. Did you have any mentors or people who guided you in the right direction back then, or were you kind of navigating things on your own?

A. I wouldn’t say a mentor necessarily, but I would just be hanging out with the Pipeworks guys and Spiteful guys — and Drew Fox from 18th Street Brewing and Mike Pallen from Mikerphone — as they all were starting, and I created a base of friends in the industry. I remember Claudia Shaffer, the original head brewer at Temperance (and wife to Brad Shaffer at Spiteful), asking me if I wanted to come in and help brew for a day, so I was actually in this place before it even opened. I remember 12 years ago walking into this space and looking at the equipment going, “Oh my god, I have no clue how to do anything,” because at the time I was brewing on a seven-gallon pot on my stove at home. Years later, it’s come full circle and we’re doing it. … We have a good relationship with the Temperance people, and I still have a good relationship with the owner and brewer, so it’s a little bittersweet as far as that’s concerned.

Q. I assume you always wanted your own brewery space and taproom. Did it take this long for the timing to feel just right?

A. When things are going great (in an industry), everything is ungodly expensive. And it didn’t seem right to jump in when things blew up with craft beer a decade or more ago, especially when we were just getting our feet under us. We also questioned whether we wanted to get in now, when the industry is hurting a bit, but this process of looking for a space started awhile back, and things are a lot less expensive than they were. The capital outlay is considerably less now, and the landlord was amenable to having another brewery here because it was built for it already. Then it just came down to negotiating things with the bank.

Q. When you walked into this space that had been closed since October of 2024, what were your initial impressions?

A. Overwhelmed. There was just so much stuff in here. There were thousands and thousands of printed cans we had to get out of here and recycle and equipment to get ready. But when Roger Cuzelis (formerly of Maplewood Brewing) came on as our brewer, and then we added Megan Atkins as the front-of-house manager, who came over from Half Acre, it started to feel like we were really moving forward.

Q. How big of a score was it to bring Roger Cuzelis on board?

A. It was great. I knew I couldn’t run the pub and the brewery by myself. I feel like I’m on the computer more now than I am anything else, but I’ve known him a long time, and when we started talking and things progressed, I could tell he was interested. And the big thing is, Roger is a partner in Saint Errant now, and he’s running the show in the brewery. I mean, we bounce ideas off of each other and talk about stuff, but he’s brewing the beer and cellaring the beer and everything. He’s such a good guy. We’ve been doing this for several months now, and sometimes when you’re with somebody every day you can get sick of someone, but that hasn’t happened yet. Maybe he’s sick of me already, who knows? (Laughs) But just to have his expertise when it comes to tightening up the process, pumping out beer and scheduling, it’s nice.

We’re excited about a Mexican Vienna-style lager called L.A. Taco Night. … We have a smaller pilot system in place too, so you’ll see some varying styles we haven’t done a lot of right here in the Evanston taproom. We’ll also have some surprises from our barrel-aged collection for the opening weekend.

Q. What do you have coming out soon that people should know about?

A. Takers and Leavers is a hazy IPA we came out with recently that’s been pretty popular out there. Glass Jaw is a West Coast IPA we did a long time ago, and that’s finally back. We’ve got a nice Irish red called Sorin coming out, and Little Green Clouds is a session version of our popular Green Clouds hazy IPA that comes in at just 4.2%. We’ve also got a Czech pilsner and a French pilsner in the tank right now, and we’re excited about a Mexican Vienna-style lager called L.A. Taco Night as well. It’ll be a little like a Negra Modelo and pretty interesting. We have a smaller pilot system in place too, so you’ll see some varying styles we haven’t done a lot of right here in the Evanston taproom. … We’ll also have some surprises from our barrel-aged collection for the opening weekend.

Q. What can both longtime fans and newcomers expect when they visit the taproom for the first time?

A. You’re going to get some of the old favorites that we built our name on, but also an increased variety of world-class beers brewed with care and passion — and served properly. We’re going to have a really cool spot to drink beer and enjoy the outdoor deck when the weather is nice. And pro bartenders with plenty of industry experience who know what they’re doing. Food trucks and fun events are going to be a huge thing here for sure. We want it to be the full experience.

Saint Errant is located at at 2000 Dempster Street in Evanston. Visit SaintErrantBrewing.com and follow them on social media for beer, event and food truck updates.