Illuminated Brew Works to Close June 28; Third Local Taproom Shutters

Illuminated Brew Works announced it will close its Norwood Park taproom, the IBW Lodge at 6186 N. Northwest Highway, and run its last night on June 28, 2026. Hoodline reported that the brewery’s social post included the line, "We will miss all of you," and said the announcement went up on the brewery’s social channels in early 2026.

Hoodline, citing Block Club Chicago and IBW’s social post, reported that the brewery wrote it is done producing and distributing beer and that its final out-of-state shipment will head to Utah. The post, as described by Hoodline, also laid out a run of barrel-aged releases and farewell parties through the spring and said remaining cans will be sold out of the Lodge while supplies last.

Block Club Chicago framed the closure as part of a string of local shutdowns, noting that Illuminated is the third Chicago brewery to announce a closure in the opening weeks of 2026. Block Club reported that Alarmist Brewing in Sauganash closed on Feb. 1, 2026, and said Whiner Beer Company in Back of the Yards announced its closure just hours before Illuminated shared its news.

Founders and operators named in Block Club’s reporting are head brewer and co-owner Brian Buckman and co-founders Matt Shirley and Jason Monk. Block Club reported the trio started the brewery in 2015, went full-time managing the business in 2017, spent six years producing beer out of a West Town warehouse, then opened the IBW Lodge at 6186 N. Northwest Highway in 2021.

The Lodge’s look and programming were a big part of its identity. Block Club described Illuminated as "an eclectic and eccentric purveyor of experimental beers on the Northwest Side" and documented occult- and horror-themed artwork inside the taproom, including an Eye of Providence mural, taxidermy animals, homages to the Pazuzu demon, and a mural by Jason Pritchard that reads, "Enjoy with people you trust." Hoodline added that the Lodge was known for weird-themed parties, live music, late-night events, and small-batch releases that made it a standout on the Far Northwest Side.

Neighbors and beer fans scrambled to plan farewell visits, Hoodline reported, while the long-term fate of the Lodge space and its brewing equipment remains unclear. Block Club’s photo coverage included a portrait of Jeff Fox posed for a Gay Agenda beer at Illuminated Brew Works on June 6, 2025, and a July 22, 2021 photo showing Jason Pritchard’s mural eclipsed by a glass of a premium lager called Trust. Both photo captions credited Colin Boyle of Block Club Chicago.

A truncated Instagram snippet in the reporting reads, "Shortly after Winer announced they'd be closing, Illuminated Brewery Works also announced they'd be closing. Now, they're going to be open a" and stops there; the remainder of that post was not provided in source material. Owners have not provided additional public statements beyond the social post details reported by Block Club and Hoodline, and questions remain about staff impacts, exact inventory quantities, and any plans for the brewery’s equipment or a new tenant for the Lodge after June 28, 2026.