Q&A with Jeff Whelpley, member director of this diverse group of talented and energetic homebrewers with their own 24/7 space — and plenty of events — in Chicago

Q. Tell us a bit about the background of CHAOS and how things got started.

A. CHAOS started the way most good Chicago ideas do. A few homebrewers who wanted to brew together but didn’t have the space. Most of our founding members were living in apartments or condos, and anyone who’s tried to run a propane burner in a studio kitchen knows that’s not a long-term solution. The idea was simple: pool the resources, share the equipment, share the knowledge, and build something bigger than any of us could do alone.

The first version of our “makerspace” came together in 2011 in a former community center workshop tucked into the backyard of a three-flat where one of our founders lived in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. Members pitched in on rent, started paying dues and built out the brew space themselves. What happened next surprised even us. The moment we had a dedicated space with multiple brew stations and temperature-controlled fermentation that members could access 24 hours a day, the club took off.

Most of our founding members were living in apartments or condos, and anyone who’s tried to run a propane burner in a studio kitchen knows that’s not a long-term solution. … We wanted to build something bigger than any of us could do alone.

That growth pushed us toward becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which in turn gave us the infrastructure to grow responsibly with real budgeting, programming, a board and a path for members to get involved beyond just brewing. It also opened a door we hadn’t expected. The uniqueness of having our own dedicated facility created a buzz in what was then a blossoming Chicago craft brewing scene. Up-and-coming breweries started coming to our monthly meetings to share their beer and talk about the commercial side of the craft.

When that original property was sold in 2012 and slated for demolition, we were already outgrowing it anyway. Moving into our current 2,000-square-foot space (at 2417 W. Hubbard in Chicago) was the real turning point. The first thing we built was the fermentation chamber, which is the beating heart of CHAOS. We designed it with significantly more capacity and better temperature control than anything we’d had before. Everything else grew from there.

Q. What differentiates CHAOS from a typical homebrew club?

A. A typical homebrew club meets once a month, maybe runs a few classes, and calls it good. CHAOS is something different, closer to a makerspace for beer than a traditional club. Our facility runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Members can book time at any of our brew stations whenever they want. We have three gas burners with Spike kettles, two electric brewing systems including a larger electric trio system, and all the supporting gear: mash tuns, grain mill, counterflow chiller, transfer and bottling tools, and full fermentation capacity for both ales and lagers. We even have ongoing barrel-aging projects that no individual homebrewer could pull off on their own.

We were awarded a $10,000 educational grant to purchase our Spike electric systems, and Spike offered us additional equipment at a discount. The only things a member needs to bring are their fermenter and ingredients. We handle the rest, and we’ve partnered with Gnome Brew, a local homebrew shop, for bi-weekly free deliveries directly to the brewhouse.

What really separates CHAOS is the breadth of what membership actually means. Beyond brewing, we have collaborative side groups within the club, members who bond over travel, cooking, smoking and curing meats, gardening and even whiskey collecting.

But equipment is only part of it. What really separates CHAOS is the breadth of what membership actually means. Beyond brewing, we have collaborative side groups within the club, members who bond over travel, cooking, smoking and curing meats, gardening and even whiskey collecting. When a problem needs solving, our membership brings whatever skill set is required. We’ve yet to face a challenge we couldn’t solve, and we usually come out better for it.

We also offer a Friend of CHAOS membership for people who aren’t brewers but love great beer and great community. That structure matters more than it might seem. It keeps the club vibrant and financially sustainable even through homebrewing’s natural cyclical slowdowns.

Q. Are there professional aspirations for members, or is it more about the love of the craft?

A. Both, and that’s genuinely one of the things we’re most proud of.

Think of CHAOS as the minor leagues of brewing in Chicago. When you come to one of our parties and taste what our members are pouring, there’s a real chance you’re drinking the future. Members who’ve come through CHAOS have gone on to brew professionally at Goose Island, Marz, Begyle, Pilot Project, More, Horse Thief Hollow, Open Outcry, Ravinia, On Tour, Funky Town and District Brew Yards. One of our founding members, Dave Williams, opened his own brewery called Subculture Artisan Ales in New Jersey.

We’ve built a more active bridge between homebrewing and the professional world. We run an aggressive collaboration program, and at this point, there’s almost always a CHAOS beer on tap somewhere in Chicago.

It’s a little like knowing a band before they were famous. The people pouring beer at our events are that good, and some of them are going to have their names on tap handles across the area in a few years.

But we’ve also built a more active bridge between homebrewing and the professional world. We run an aggressive collaboration program, and at this point, there’s almost always a CHAOS beer on tap somewhere in Chicago. Our current ongoing partnership with The Perch in Wicker Park features a rotating tap of CHAOS scale-ups, meaning members who win our internal competitions get the chance to brew their recipe on professional equipment and see it poured commercially. That experience is rare. Most homebrewers never get it, but we’ve made it a regular part of what CHAOS offers.

Q. Talk about the camaraderie within the club.

A. There’s something that happens when you put a diverse group of people in a room with a shared obsession. The kind of camaraderie that’s hard to manufacture and impossible to fake. CHAOS has it, and it extends well beyond the people who brew.

Our Friend of CHAOS membership exists because great beer culture isn’t just for brewers. It’s for anyone who’s curious, passionate and wants to be part of something. Friends of CHAOS come to the parties, attend Hoppy Hours, swap bottles, take classes, and over time become some of the most deeply connected members of the community. They’re the regulars at our events who know every brewer by name and what they’re working on. In a lot of ways, they’re the audience that makes the whole thing matter.

Our Friend of CHAOS membership exists because great beer culture isn’t just for brewers. It’s for anyone who’s curious, passionate and wants to be part of something. Members come to the parties, attend Hoppy Hours, swap bottles, take classes, and over time become some of the most deeply connected members of the community.

The monthly Hoppy Hours are a big part of this. They rotate through breweries across Chicago and consistently pull in 30 to 40 members on a weeknight — brewers and non-brewers together, no agenda, just good beer and good company. Those nights are some of the best the club produces.

And when something needs to get done inside the club, the community shows up in a different way entirely. Brewhouse renovation? Members arrive with tools. New DIY equipment? Someone in the club knows how to build it. An event that needs catering? We have members who cook at a level that would embarrass some restaurants. Whatever the challenge, the membership solves it together and takes pride in having done so.

Q. What events do you have coming up?

A. CHAOS runs four major quarterly parties each year, and they’re genuinely unlike anything else in the Chicago homebrew scene.

We kick off the year with Stout and Chili Night, always held the Saturday before Super Bowl weekend. Dark beer, member-made chili, and strong opinions about both.

In spring, Cerveza de Mayo (Saturday, May 9 from 2-7 p.m.) gets a special twist this year. We’re celebrating the FIFA World Cup with beers inspired by countries competing in the tournament, plus our new keezer featuring eight Beers of the Americas. Expect a potluck of smoked and slow-cooked meats, and yes, plenty of vegetarian options too.

Summer brings BrewBQ (Saturday, Aug. 22 from 2-7 p.m.), which started as a homebrew club beer festival in our parking lot and has grown into a full street festival. Brew clubs come from Indiana, Wisconsin and across Illinois. There are brewing industry vendors, live music and food vendors. And unlike our other events, which require membership, BrewBQ is free and open to the public. It’s our biggest statement to the city about what the homebrew community can be.

We close the year with Oktoberfest, held at the end of September. German beers, German food made from scratch by our members, stein-holding contests and live music.

Beyond the big four, we run a summer beer and barbecue pairing picnic, a Halloween costume bottle share with Barley’s Angels, and our annual holiday party in December, all members-only.

Q. How can people get involved?

A. The easiest way to find out if CHAOS is for you is to come to one of our monthly meetings. Our club meetings and bottle shares are open to the public every second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the brewhouse (2417 W. Hubbard in Chicago). Bring something to share if you have it, but the door is open either way.

If you’re ready to join, membership details are at ChaosBrewClub.org. There’s a 45-day trial membership if you want to test the waters before committing.

Breweries interested in hosting one of our Hoppy Hours or collaborating on a scale-up can reach out at Contact@ChaosBrewClub.net. We’re always looking for the next partnership. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for events, member spotlights and whatever we happen to be fermenting that week.