Rt. 66 Old School Brewing Adds Gemini's Reentry, Unveils Summer Beers

WILMINGTON — While Joliet, the third-largest city in Illinois at 150,000, is down to zero microbreweries following the past year's closings of both MyGrain Brewing and Elder Brewing, the small city of Wilmington's Route 66 Old School Brewing is flourishing.

Old School Brewing celebrates its fifth anniversary on June 15th and this weekend marks the debut of the new summer seasonal beer menu for Old School, which is located on the edge of downtown Wilmington, close to the Kankakee River, at 110 Bridge St.

Old School is open seven days a week, opening every day at 11 a.m.

Old School Brewing shares space with Nelly's Restaurant On Route 66 and the partnership has worked out great, according to head brewer Pauly Bidne. The Wilmington business is owned by Tina and Steve Wilson.

"It's two businesses under the same roof, Route 66 Old School Brewing and Nelly's Restaurant," explained Bidne. "I can't believe how far we've come. We opened a year before COVID and we made it through COVID. We love history. We have board games and gambling rooms and we have a party space room for birthdays and wedding receptions.

"Being on Route 66, we get a lot of 66 travelers over the summer."

Regionally, Old School Brewing wants to be known for making a quality product; Old School has 20 different taps inside the establishment — 18 for craft beers, one for its homemade root beer and one guest tap for Unpossible Mead in Dwight.

With summer here, Old School's head brewer's favorite selections include:

• Mango Is Our Middle Name: a Berliner weisse at 3.9 percent alcohol, featuring mango, honey and slightly tart flavors.
• Pink Ale Wife: 6.2 percent alcohol, is a wheat ale.
• Island Life: 6.9 percent alcohol, a blonde ale described as crisp and refreshing.

Bidne is hoping that the new addition of Gemini's Re Entry will be a huge success over the summer. It debuts this weekend. Classified as a golden ale, it's 4.8 percent alcohol, smells fruity. The menu describes it as a "refreshing fruit punch."

Gemini Re Entry will be available in 10 ounce drafts for $5, 16 ounce drafts for $6.50, 32 ounce cans for $12 and 64 ounce growlers for $20.

"We really only keep three beers year-round, so it's not boring for people," Bidne explained during Thursday's interview with Joliet Patch.

The staple beers at Old School include The Wildcat, an Irish red and Mango Is Our Middle Name. The Wildcat is a cream ale with 5.5 percent alcohol, and it's described as light, refreshing and creamy.

In addition to tap pours, Old School typically sells seven or eight to-go beers available in four-pack cans.

Summer is the busiest time of year for Old School, according to Bidne.

He strongly encourages people throughout the Joliet and Plainfield area to drive south to Wilmington. "I love being on Route 66. We love getting first timers," he remarked. "Our beer-tending staff, all are very nice, all very helpful."

The walls of Old School feature paintings and pictures showcasing Wilmington's history. Wilmington's population is about 6,000 residents. Later this summer, perhaps in July, the Gemini Giant will be unveiled at his new permanent location, which is within a short distance of Old School Brewing, at the south island park along the Kankakee River.

"In July, we do Catfish Days and the whole town gets involved, there's a band at every bar and a laser light show at north island park," Bidne remarked.

As for the addition of the Gemini Giant, "I think it's going to be helpful for us. We try to make quality beer and make it very comfortable. It feels cozy in here."

If you can't make it to Wilmington, Old School Brewing is also on tap at a handful of Joliet bars including Chicago Street Pub in downtown Joliet, Forno Pizza on West Jefferson and the Industry Tap House in the Twin Oaks Plaza.

As for Nelly's Restaurant, Nelly's is best known for its burgers, which are hand-made patties, and its fresh-cut fries are made daily, never frozen, according to Bidne.

The food menu features 10 burgers and one of the most popular is the Yardbird: pulled chicken, honey and mustard, mushrooms, bacon and cheese on a brioche.

The daily specials range in price from $7.75 to $11.

Monday is pork tenderloin and fries, Tuesday, a 1/2 pound burger and fries, Wednesday is hoagie and fries, Thursday is two hot dogs and fries. Friday is pulled pork and fries. Saturday is 1/4 pound burger and fries and Sunday is pulled chicken and fries.

You can view the entire menu for Nelly's and the new beer menu at the bottom of this story.