Oswego Brewing Co.
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The People Behind the Beer

Carolyn Stephens

Head Brewer

Carolyn's passion for Craft Beer began on a trip to Europe, visiting Germany, Belgium and (then) Czechoslovakia where she began to understand this beverage as an art form.  A chance encounter a number of years later had her enrolled in a "Business of Craft Beer" program; From that moment on, she was all in. 

A homebrewer since 2015, Carolyn immersed herself in all the literature and resources she could find and her desire to be part of this industry only increased. So, in January 2019, she proudly left corporate America and became an Assistant Brewer first at a brewery in Wheaton and later here at Oswego Brewing Co.

Quoting Carolyn: "What truly drives me to forge a path in this industry is the amount of support across individual breweries. I have been fortunate to participate in small collaborations with other local breweries like our Box of Chocolates to large collaborations like the annual Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day.  You would be hard-pressed to find an industry that impacts its community and truly embodies the “rising tide raises all ships” philosophy."

Chad Lindahl

Asst. Brewer

Like many people in the craft beer industry Chad started his journey as a home brewer. He joined Nik & Ivy in downtown Lockport as Head Brewer two years ago. He’s curious and excited to learn and contribute to the growth of Oswego Brewing Co.

Chad is a longtime Oswego resident who has continually sought ways to improve his brewing methods and knowledge. and looks forward to honing his craft in his hometown!

Aaron Royster

General Operations Manager - Owner

Over 14 years ago, Aaron started on a journey with his first batch of homebrewed beer. Although that wasn’t the start of his craft beer journey, it was a signal that more was to come for Aaron in the world of craft beer. Eventually, his passion led him to study with Portland State University and receiving certification for the Business of Craft Brewing and then on to be a certified Cicerone. With Aaron’s knowledge and the 20+ years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Aaron and Oswego Brewing Co. were a match made in heaven.

​Aaron joined OBC in April of 2018 as the Tap Room Manager and quickly helped hire, train, and develop staff with the charm, knowledge, and hospitality of a veteran crew. As the Oswego Brewing Co. family grew, Aaron’s leadership with staff and skill dealing with customers has earned him the moniker of “Dad” to those he works with. Now as Front of the House Manager, Aaron seeks to provide a warm welcoming atmosphere for the experienced and novice craft beer drinker served by the welcoming and intelligent staff of a brewery that is the cornerstone of a community he loves.

Lacey Bower

Tap Room Manager

Lacey is a veteran industry employee with a passion for creating exciting and interesting ways to bring the community together at Oswego Brewing. Lacey joined the brewery shortly after our 1st Anniversary and since has helped plan and run events, such as paint and sip nights, small business vendor pop-ups, Backyard BBQ, and Oktoberfest. She also helps with finding new food trucks to visit the Tap Room and new music talent for our guests to enjoy.

​Lacey joined OBC because she wanted to be involved in the early years of a small business to help it grow and commit to being a cornerstone in the Oswego community.

Josh Edges

Brand Ambassador

My passion for craft beer started in 2012 after visiting a local brewery in my hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin. I later became interested in the craft beer industry trends and created a YouTube channel where I shared those trends and reviewed new beer for my followers. After spending time working for a craft beer distributor, I knew my dream was to be an Ambassador for an independent brewery. When my personal life brought me to Illinois in the beginning of 2021, I was instantly attracted to the local beer market. Oswego Brewing Company felt like home. I am excited to grow this brand throughout the Chicagoland area by expanding our beer distribution.

Chris Heinen

Back of House Manager - Founder

A few years ago, Chris dreamt up the idea for a brewery while home brewing. After a few beers with some home brewing friends, a new project emerged, Oswego Brewing Co.  After a couple of years of raising funds, construction, and installing all of the brewing equipment, Oswego Brewing opened up in May 2018.  Since then our brewing capacity has been continuously growing.  Chris' vision has always been focused on a community based establishment that focuses on producing well crafted beer and ensuring quality to patrons of Oswego Brewing. 

​Chris has spent the past 16 years in Urban Planning and Economic Development and has used his experience to better enhance the overall structure of the company.  While away from the brewery, Chris spends his time with this wife and two daughters and loves to travel.

Peter J. Rzeminski II

Chief Beer Taster - Founder

A homebrewer since 2001, Pete learned early on that he loved craft beer.  He met Chris at a local homebrew club meeting shortly after he moved to Oswego in 2010.  At that first club meeting, he met three of his future business partners and a lot of the people that would end up defining the beer industry for the Western Suburbs of Chicagoland.

Quoting Pete: "My favorite part of this business is introducing somebody to beer that swears they 'hate beer'.  I love the challenge of finding out what flavors they like, bringing them back a few samples, and watching their expression as they try them, and say 'This is beer?!  This tastes great, I'll take glass of that!'  Being able to do that, to convert a new fan to craft beer, remains my favorite thing to do!"

For his day job, Pete has spent the past 25 years working in Web Infrastructure IT and the last 14 of those years as a Group Manager at the local physics laboratory.  He uses those skills at the brewery as in-house IT and to help with the organization of the brewery.

Marc Wilson

Founder

Meet our former head brewer, Marc Wilson.

Formerly a Chemistry Teacher, Marc made the decision that making beer was a more interesting use of his talents, so he left his job in the teaching world and pursued his dream career.  Over the past decade he has honed his craft at other breweries, earning national awards for his lagers & malt forward brews.  In 2018, we had the honor of bringing him aboard at Oswego Brewing Co. to develop and run the brew house!  Marc has since retired and moved to Texas with his Family for new and exciting adventures!