About me
I’m Lee. In 2021 I left my job of 10+ years working in the Chicago beer industry, and decided to try pursuing other beverage horizons. After a wine harvest on Old Mission Peninsula that fall, my wife and I uprooted our lives to try out the other side of Lake Michigan. I worked another 3 harvests at other wineries in the area before finally getting my garage licensed as a winemaking facility in 2025.
The idea for Brim started percolating in my mind towards the end of 2019. It’s been six glacial-paced years of scratching, clawing and gnawing my way through figuring out how to create and self-fund a wine/beverage project that was legal. It’s a small footprint. On a small budget. Making a small amount of wine. Most of my equipment is Facebook Marketplace finds or cobbled together hand-me-downs from other wineries.
I’ve been making fermented drinks for over 15 years now. It’s moved beyond just a hobby or a profession. I inherited a pretty stupid level of curiosity from my father. We scratched that itch very differently– he was an engineer, vs me being an English major– but cooking, flavor, and fermentation have always had a unique way of being both a stimulant and a means of slowing me down. It forces me to be in the moment, push out everything else in life and observe what is happening in the now, while simultaneously thinking to the future and attempting to chart a course of where the waves will lead.
I have never been the most knowledgeable when it comes to the science of fermentation. My understanding of chemistry is pretty abysmal. I took AP Chem in high school and got the lowest score possible on the mock exam. I’ve kinda always been more of a rule of thumb person, playing it fast and loose, instead of knowing things with certainty. It’s just the way my brain tends to operate. I’ve got a pretty slow moving mind, and towards the end of my time in brewing, I started gravitating more towards the long timeline beers—wild beer and barrel aged dark beers—thinking more in months and years, than days and weeks. One isn’t better than the other, but I just need the quiet moments during slow fermentations to catch up and cool down. To take the time to smell, sip, ponder–where is this wine going, where am I going? It’s become a way of helping me process and engage with life.
But enough about me. I owe so many people a thank you. Liner notes style-
To the many creative brewers, brewery owners, and nerdy custies who made a mark on me. Too many to name.
To the wine folks that have shown me encouragement and allowed me to pester them endlessly.
To all of my friends who have given me grace as I’ve disappeared the last year while being buried by parenthood and opening this spot.
To Stout Collective for the friendship of almost 20 years, and for the incredible visuals/logos/eccentric fish illustrations that all feel so very me.
To Rachel Winslow whose photography has been a huge inspiration for me as I’ve been dreaming about what Brim would look like. I’m thrilled you were willing to let me use your photos.
To Chris and Angela at Two Lads, I wouldn’t have wines from the 2024 vintage if it hadn’t been for their willingness to let me utilize space in their winery while I worked there, and then transfer those wines to me–free of charge–after my space became legal. That generosity can never be repaid. And will never be forgotten.
Most of all, I want to thank my family–but especially Pops–who we lost a little over 8 years ago. This whole process has made me miss you inconsolably, yet simultaneously also make me feel so close to you.
Meredith– there’s no way I could have ever made it here without you. I’ve struggled a lot over the years, wondering if anyone would even give a shit about all of this. You haven’t yet convinced me that anyone will, but you’ve won me over that ultimately it doesn’t matter.
Finally, to Townes. I wasted a lot of time as a brewer, hoping if I could make enough highly lauded/hyped beer, I could be a success. But thank you for clearing the table of that. This whole thing could go down the drain as a laughable charade, and that’s ok. This is ultimately an attempt to revise what success looks like for myself. And to hopefully be an example to you that sometimes the greatest achievement is being able to find a way to slow down, and take in what matters. Love you forever.
Thanks for putting up with the sap. I swear. It won’t always be this way