Brewery helps SXU celebrate 175 years
Saint Xavier-themed beer ‘1846’ is on tap at Horse Thief Hollow
Saint Xavier University is celebrating 175 years of education draped in the school colors of scarlet and gray. So when Horse Thief Hollow owner Neil Byers was tasked with crafting a special beer to celebrate the big occasion, he had just the style.
“That’s where the fun of it comes in,” Byers said. “The Vienna lager has a reddish tint to it. We wanted a red, hoppy ale — good for the masses but authentic to SXU colors.”
The beer, simply dubbed 1846 to denote the year of the university’s founding, was officially poured for the first time last month during an Unveil the Ale event for alumni, friends of SXU and the community at the Beverly brewery. But Byers said it should last at least a month, and $1 of every pour of 1846 will go toward scholarship support for students of the university in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood.
The collaboration is not a first for Horse Thief Hollow and Saint Xavier, having partnered in the past for other exclusive beer creations, including homecoming — one of several other university events this fall where the beer was expected to be served. Byers said the relationship was born from a connection with an employee’s mother in alumni relations at the university.
“They approached and asked if we could collaborate,” Byers said. “It’s just grown over the years.”
Horse Thief Hollow has been a supporter of neighborhood causes since it opened, which makes them a great partner, according to Erin Mueller, associate vice president for university advancement at Saint Xavier. Especially amid the trials of the COVID-19 pandemic, SXU wanted to support a local business by holding part of its anniversary celebration there, she said.
“Horse Thief Hollow just does a good job of connecting with the community, and at Saint Xavier we try to support our local businesses as much as we can,” Mueller said. “So, it seemed like a natural evolution. … We were really excited to partner with them and do something fun.”
The university’s only guidance regarding the beer style was not to go too wild with the alcohol content, considering the beverage would be served at Saint Xavier’s gala and other events. Horse Thief Hollow crafted a beer that fit the bill at 4.9% ABV with notes of caramel and a light malty sweetness.
“It’s phenomenal,” Byers said. “It’s one of my favorite beer styles. It’s a great time of the year to be having that.”
Mueller noted the university’s Office for Mission and Heritage also played a role in naming the celebratory lager. Cherith Clottey, an art and design student at SXU, created the label for the lager.
“It was just a really fun way to collaborate across the campus and also involve the local businesses and the community,” Mueller said.
The artwork is indicative of another collaboration between brewery, educational institution and community. For the Unveil the Ale event — which featured beer, wine, food and live music — art created by SXU students, faculty and alumni was on display.
Horse Thief Hollow rotates art quarterly to feature South Side artists in a partnership with the Beverly Area Arts Alliance. The changeover timing worked out perfectly to hang work connected to SXU, Byers said, adding the art is for sale.
“Anything that sells will go directly back to the artists themselves,” he added. “That’s another cool collaboration we did with them.”
Mueller said the brewery got the SXU art up in time for last month’s Beverly Art Walk, making Horse Thief Hollow one of the hubs for that popular event. Combined with homecoming week festivities, it has made for an exciting month for SXU.
“The timing of it was just beautiful,” Mueller said.