First Penrose Beer Could Be Brewed By Fall

The city of Geneva's Committee of the Whole gave a unanimous thumbs up Monday night for a Class C6 liquor license that will allow Geneva's new micro brewery to have a hopsy beer ready for tasting—perhaps as soon as September.

The Penrose Brewing previously got the city's OK for zoning on Stevens Street. On Monday night, it recommended approval of a C6 liquor license—the only one of its kind so far in Geneva.

The C6 license will allow the brewery and tasting room. Owners Eric Hobbs and his partner, Tom Korder, previously decided they didn't want to compete against traditional taverns and simply asked for the tasting room.

Click here to learn more about Penrose Brewing, or visit the Penrose Facebook page here.

For the first year, the liquor license fee is $3,500. After that, it's $2,500 for renewal each year. The liquor license fees are set basically so that the city can recoup the expenses associated with inspection and licensing.

City Administrator Mary McKittrick said the fees for liquor licenses range from a couple hundred dollars to as high as $8,000 and generally are commensurate with the fees established by other municipalities.

"A year and a half ago, we went thorugh all the (liquor license) classifications," McKittrick said. "We aslo did an analysis of time spent on licensing. And between those two databases (was the information) we used to establish the liquor license fees."

Hobbs, who is a 1999 graduation of Geneva High School and a former employee of Goose Island Brewing Company, said he's really looking forward to starting the business in the town where he grew up.

"We really appreciate everything, and can’t wait to start brewing some beer," Hobbs said Monday night. "We expect that, this fall, we’ll have some."