Made In Chicago: Two Brothers Brewing Company
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two Brothers Brewing Company was founded 21 years ago on one thing: passion.
When brothers Jim and Jason Ebel discovered their passion for great beer while traveling, they left the corporate world and started the family-run microbrewery.
"We were, for a while, the only strictly production brewery in the state of Illinois for almost a year and a half. Now you think about it and there's almost 300 breweries in Illinois," Jason said.
Jason says once they had their first label, they had a hard time convincing people to buy it. "Our bigger challenge was just going in and saying we have this product and it's got a ton of flavor and all these different characteristics than you're used to on beer, give it a try. And they would say 'but that's not beer, that's just weird -- I don't understand all those flavors going on.'"
Two Brothers has helped revolutionize the Chicago craft beer scene with their high-quality, well-balanced beers that "push the boundaries of flavor and innovation."
Jason considers himself a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur who, along with Jim, have expanded the Two Brothers brand beyond beer.
"5 restaurants, we have a distillery, we have a coffee roasting company."
Two Brothers produces more than 30 different craft beers a year with 450 employees. Jason says the Two Brothers operation is dedicated to company culture and core values.
"End of the day, when I'm gone, are people going to say oh, he made great beer or are they going to say he was a great person to work for -- and the latter is the better for me."
Two Brothers remains 100 percent family-owned.
