PEORIA MAGAZINE November 2023

All four owners of the Coal Creek Brewing Company — Mike Grieve, Trevin Kenedy, Justin Stange and Danielle Bender — have ties to farming

T he new Coal Creek Brewing Company in Princeton credits a fast start to deep roots in farming. The business’ four owners have tight and long ties to agriculture. Two still farm, and the other two grew up on fam ily farms. The lessons learned on fields and in barns, especially regarding the value of hard work and teamwork, helped prepare the quartet to get the brewery up and running quickly this year. “I think growing up around livestock and around the farm teaches you responsibility and to be selfless,” said Trevin Kennedy, 28, the seventh generation to work the family’s nearby farm. “I think there’s been a great rapport with all of us. It’s never been a ‘me’ or ‘I’ or any one individual. It’s been really moving as a team and doing what needs to be done.” Fifty miles north of Peoria, Princeton is the seat of agriculture-rich Bureau County. Mike Grieve grew up on a farm near Buda, not far from that owned by the Kennedy family. The two friends, who these days have non-farming day

jobs, got together a while back to brain storm possible business ventures. As they mulled ideas, they met Justin Stange, 40, who tends to crops on the family farm outside Princeton while wife Danielle Bender, 33, raises livestock. Stange suggested a tasty business idea. “I’ve always had a passion for craft beer,” he said with a smile. In fact, from time to time over the years, Stange had worked in the beer industry. He shared some brewing ideas with Kennedy and Grieve, and they de cided to jump in. “From there, it was just pedal to the metal,” Grieve said. They decided to put their operation in Princeton, as the nearest breweries were 30-plus miles away. Plus, the attitude seemed promising in Princeton, population 8,000. “The … community here supports local business,” Stange said. Further, Princeton, which was settled in the 1830s, has a lot to offer as a tourist destination.

DISH AND DRINK

FARM TO TAP In Princeton, Coal Creek Brewing Company got a quick start, and began making a name for itself just as fast

BY PHIL LUCIANO PHOTOS BY AMY ARHART

18 NOVEMBER 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE