Our Story
The Town whistle
Growing up, Brewmaster Paul Kreiner and his extended family spent summer vacations in a small town in central Wisconsin where every day at noon the town whistle blew. The sounding of the noon whistle indicated it was time to crack open the first beer of the day. This tradition was about drinking great beer of course, but more importantly creating lasting memories with family and friends.
A tradition of good beer & creating good memories
Our History
Fast forward to 2012 when Paul and his two lifelong friends Mike Condon and Jim Cagle decided to open a brewery in Illinois. The three friends set out to develop great tasting session beer with the intention that these lower alcohol ales can be enjoyed all day with family and friends. Noon Whistle officially opened its doors in 2014 with the original production facility and tasting room in Lombard, IL. Before long, the guys branched out beyond only producing styles with lower ABV to include hazy, hoppy, sours and everything in between.
Expansion
In 2020, Noon Whistle expanded the original Lombard location to increase space for the tasting room, and add an in-house kitchen and a dedicated private events space. With the opening of our second location in Naperville that same year, Noon Whistle has moved production of our flagship beers to the larger facility leaving Lombard as our dedicated facility for producing innovative and wild/funky beer. Every day the team is looking to make something new, better, and maybe never done before, while still producing the popular beers you know like the Gummy Series, Cozmo, Bruski, Hop Prism Blue, Leisel Weapon, and Smack Series.
Where are we now?
Since the expansion we have moved the majority of our brewing to Naperville, while we do still brew at Lombard, it is reserved for smaller batches. Upon growing internally, we have grown in the market as well. We now distribute in all of Illinois, and Wisconsin. As the craft beer world continues to evolve, so do we; today we strive to brew a sustainable balance between sessionable and unsessionable beers. Our core brands keep a lower ABV while some of our newer batches take on a higher ABV. Now that we are a bigger brewery we have the time and resources to take on more experimental styles while still brewing the beers you know and love. This is why we love to brew, we believe there is a beer for every occasion.
Following tradition, our brewery continues to pour the first beer at noon each day. However, we feel there are some occasions when it is necessary to get a head start.
Our Founders
Co-founder
Paul Kreiner
Paul Kreiner
Paul worked for 12 years in the beer industry as a sales rep for a Chicagoland distributor, but he always knew his real passion was brewing beer. The idea for the brewery started in 2011 when Brewmaster Paul Kreiner enrolled at the Siebel Institute, taking the first step towards professional brewing and fueling his dream to turn his award-winning home brewing into a profession. Paul brings a passion for creative, distinctive beers and adventurous brewing. Paul oversees all backend brewing operations along with leading all collaborations, creative ventures and beer innovation.
Paul’s Favorite Noon Whistle Beer: He doesn’t have one. One reason Paul loves beer so much is that he changes the style he is drinking with what he is doing and feeling in the moment. There is a great beer for any occasion!
Co-founder
Mike Condon
Mike has been in sales pretty much his entire professional career …
Mike Condon
Mike has been in sales pretty much his entire professional career, which coincidentally makes him a pretty good beer drinker. Much of his professional sales career had him traveling throughout the US and sampling beers from local breweries along the way. However, he still thinks the best place for quality craft beer is right here in Illinois (he may be a little biased though). Mike’s focus at Noon Whistle is leading all marketing, distribution and sales efforts for company.
Mike's Favorite Noon Whistle Beer: Cozmo
Co-founder
Jim Cagle
Jim Cagle
Jim’s professional background is in finance and legal. Jim oversees all the boring stuff: finances, taxes, budgets, etc. Exciting, right? No worries. Jim loves spreadsheets almost as much as Noon Whistle.
Jim’s Favorite Whistle Beer: Gummypocalypse