Brewing Success with Intent: How Dovetail Brewery Blends Tradition, Quality, and Community

This month’s “Small Business, Big Lessons” features Dovetail Brewery , a Chicago-based craft brewery founded in 2016 by master brewers Bill Wesselink and Hagen Dost after meeting at beer school in Munich.?

Known for its dedication to continental European-style beers, Dovetail embraces traditional brewing methods like open fermentation in copper vessels and extended aging in wooden barrels to create complex, flavorful brews.

From the start, Dovetail’s founders adopted a “compass” to guide their business decisions. Central to this compass was a commitment to being truly embedded in the community, ensuring that Dovetail wasn’t just another business, but a space that actively contributes to and connects with the people it serves.

Jenny Pf?fflin , Creative Marketing Manager at Dovetail Brewery and a key member since its founding, shares how the brewery’s intentional approach and commitment to quality and community have shaped its success.

Can you take us back to the beginnings of Dovetail Brewery? What were some unexpected challenges you faced while starting the business?

First Impressions of the Brewery's Differentiated Style: In 2016, there was a kind of brewery boom happening—thousands of craft breweries popping up in the U.S., with hundreds in the Chicago metro area alone. Hagen and Bill’s focus on continental European styles and traditional methods set them apart from most other breweries, particularly the American craft breweries dominating the market at the time. American craft beer drinkers were used to seeing IPAs, American pale ales, and blond ales, so our offerings were different right from the start.

To make it even more challenging, we opened with just three beers. I worked in the taproom back then, and many people were surprised by the limited selection. But Hagen and Bill were determined to perfect each beer, focusing on quality ingredients, refining the brewing process, and allowing time for maturation before releasing new beers.?

Today, we offer at least 12 beers, but in the beginning, it was definitely a challenge to draw people in with such a differentiated approach.?

How did you overcome those early challenges and build a strong customer base?

A Blueprint for Lasting Success: Building a Business with Intentionality, Clarity and Purpose: Everything that Dovetail does is intentional. Before we even had a name or logo, we developed something called a compass—a set of four guiding questions:?

• How do we want people to feel??
• What value do they get??
• Who are we??
• And what do we do??

These four quadrants form the core of our business, helping us stay focused, grounded, and aligned in everything we do. One key question for us is, 'How do people feel when they're at Dovetail?' When people have a positive experience here, it's because they see a place that genuinely cares about its community.

We also pay great attention to detail. Each beer is served in its own distinct glassware, designed to elevate the color, aroma, and overall tasting experience. We even set strict pour guidelines, including pour lines, to ensure consistency with foam.

And we’ve begun offering brewery tours, where customers can see our traditional brewing techniques, specialized equipment, and unique ingredients—things that set Dovetail apart from other breweries.

Ultimately, it was our dedication to quality, service, and creating memorable experiences that helped Dovetail build a following in those early years.

How do you see community involvement playing a role in the success of a business?

Brewing Relationships, Not Just Beer: A key part of our compass is ensuring that we’re truly part of the community. We like to think of our space as a 'third place'—a space between home and work where people can gather, relax, and connect. We don’t have TVs to encourage conversation and the fine art of hanging out.

We didn’t want to be just another anonymous business; we wanted to be part of the community. Twice a year, in partnership with our neighbors at Begyle Brewery, we host a street party. What makes it unique is that it's independently produced—just the two of us working together.

We also partner with The Friendship Center , a local food pantry that’s been serving the North Side for over 50 years. We donate the gate proceeds from our events, so it has an immediate impact on our community by providing direct support. Since 2018, we’ve helped serve nearly 3 million meals. Showing that kind of investment in your community, not just in your product, is an important lesson we’ve learned.?

You host everything from standard brewery tours to yoga classes, origami workshops, craft nights and more. How do these unique experiences help build a stronger connection with your community?

Beyond the Tap: Crafting Unforgettable Experiences: Sometimes, just being a venue for people to come together is our best role—to provide a space for people with similar interests to come together. There are tons of places in the city to watch a football game. But how many places can you meet other people who giggle their way through an evening of trying to intricately fold small pieces of paper into a bouquet of flowers? We want to be a venue for those kinds of experiences. Also, I think you’re more likely to try something new when you’re in a place where you’re already comfortable—sure, I came here for a beer, but you know what? Maybe I’ll give yoga a try tonight.

What advice would you give to businesses looking to adapt and grow while remaining true to their founding principles?

Evolving with Purpose, Staying True to Your Core: If I were starting a brewery today, I would follow the same approach that Hagen and Bill took. The first step is finding your voice and understanding what that voice is. I don't think they could have weathered the challenges of the past eight years without their compass—it gave them a clear sense of who they were at the core. Staying true to that foundation, no matter what external changes came their way, has been key to their success.

Learn more about Dovetail Brewery here and check out their events here .

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.