Heard on the Street: Knack crafts riverwalk brew, speakeasy opens in Majestic

The Currents Kankakee and Knack Brewing and Fermentations have teamed to create a special beer to celebrate the Kankakee Riverwalk and the history of the Radeke Brewery on the Kankakee River.

Knack is using a pre-Prohibition recipe, historic German hops and the water straight from the Kankakee River to create a bock beer similar to one brewed more than a century ago.

According to a post of The Currents of Kankakee’s Facebook page, Matt Strysik, Knack’s co-owner and brewmaster, invited representatives of the group Thursday to add the hops to the “Riverwalk Bock.”

Dave Baron, Stephanie Vanderweide and Bill Yohnka did the honors.

The beer is set to debut in late May.

A portion of the proceeds from each Riverwalk Bock will help support The Currents of Kankakee.

F.D. Radeke Brewing Co. was located in the 600 block of South Dearborn Avenue. It opened in 1877 and closed in 1920.

The location reopened under a series of names after the repeal of Prohibition but closed for good in 1937.

Strysik said Knack wanted to do something to aid the Riverwalk development and when Yohnka came up with the idea of creating a beer, the concept was born.

He said four kegs would be produced.

“When it’s gone, it’s gone,” Strysik said before adding that more can be produced upon request.

The beer will have an alcohol content between 5% and 5.5%. The beer will be available only at Knack, 789 S. McMullen Drive, just southwest of the South Washington Avenue bridge.

The beer can also be purchased in a 32-ounce to-go container.

Once popular, bock beers are not easy to find. Strysik said the beer is still considered light to drink. The beer goes through a two-week fermentation process and then a four-week conditioning or “lagering” period.

Strysik said Knack has hosted several riverwalk functions and he was looking for a way to help out with their efforts in a more concerted, or maybe “liquid” way.

“I thought this would be a good way to help raise money,” he said.

How much? Customers and the popularity of the Riverwalk Bock will determine that total.

City speakeasy opens in Majestic

With the name Larry Tapp, it would only be natural for this Herscher man to open a lounge.

And that is just what the 47-year-old Tapp has done.

On March 1, Tapp opened the Hideout Lounge in the basement area of the Majestic property, 150 N. Schuyler Ave., in downtown Kankakee.

He describes the spot as a speakeasy.

A speakeasy often refers to a somewhat hidden establishment, known particularly during the Prohibition era, that illegally sold alcoholic beverages, often hidden behind unmarked doors or disguised as a business.

Tapp, aptly named to operate such a business, does not plan to be hidden to the public, but he said the interior will certainly be dark as the interior has been painted gray, black and a splash of white.

He said the paint covers over the greens and orange colors which had been used when the location was a second location for Grant Park-based Flanagan’s Irish Pub.

The Hideout Lounge features live rock or country music every Friday and Saturday, Tapp said. Live music runs from 7 to 11 p.m.

The bar is open from 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday.

“The overall goal is to make it a music hub for Kankakee County,” Tapp said.

The Hideout will have eight varieties of beer on tap, but the site specializes in Old Fashioneds, he said.

“Old Fashioneds will be the calling card,” he said.

Tapp has a staff of six part-timer employees, and he can also be found behind the bar serving drinks and cooking pizzas.

There will be a wide assortment of other mixed beverages as well.

The business will also offer what he labeled “bar pizzas,” which are frozen 14-inch pizzas produced by Champion Pizza in Joliet.

Tapp was with John’s Pub for about 10 years when it was across Armour Road from CSL Behring. He also is president of the Bradley-Bourbonnais Sportsman’s Club in Bourbonnais.