After traveling extensively in his career in the packaging industry, John Hall was always amazed at how few beer choices Americans had. "When I traveled in Europe, everywhere I went there would always be a local beer… but not in the U.S."Then, in 1986, fate struck John Hall in the form of a thunderstorm in Dallas, Texas. His flight delayed by the inclement weather, Hall flipped through an in-flight magazine to pass the time. There he found his future in the form of an article on boutique beers. "I must be the only person in history who made a major career decision on the basis of a Delta Sky article," Hall chuckles.
Fascinated by what he’d read, Hall began to toy with the idea of starting a brewery. "I just loved the idea," John remembers. "I mean, what could be better than making a product that I was passionate about, and nearly every American adult liked?" After two years of thinking, researching, and planning, Hall scrapped his 20-year career with Container Corporation and opened the original Goose Island Brewpub at 1800 North Clybourn Avenue, introducing the city of Chicago to distinctive craft beer.
Goose Island Beer Co. is now one of the largest craft breweries in the Midwest. The company distributes its beers to 15 states and the United Kingdom. Rapidly growing and highly successful, Goose Island, nonetheless, remains a family-owned company. "I’m working with people I love, and I love what I do," says Hall. "I’m a lucky man."
John resides in Chicago with his wife, Patricia.