After building a following in St. Charles County, Good News Brewing is expanding once again.
Slated to open this summer in the Post Commons building (300 Alby) in Alton, Illinois, the brewery will mark the brand’s sixth location—and its first franchise location—with more Good News on the way. Here’s what to know before you go.
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The Backstory
Dan Tripp and Matt Fair opened the first Good News location in O’Fallon, Missouri, in 2017. At the time, they had little more than a pizza oven, some brewing gear, and a mission to share—well, good news. Over the years, they added more locations, including in Defiance, Augusta, St. Charles, and, coming soon, Wildwood.
Now, the Alton franchise marks the beginning of a new chapter in the brand’s community-first model. “My one goal for the year was to find a franchisee,” says Good News co-founder Dan Tripp, who started the brewery alongside Matt Fair in 2017. “We developed all our franchise documents, and I just wanted to find one person who was willing to open a franchise.”
Enter Hugh Halter, a former pastor and author, whose book inspired Tripp and Fair to start brewing together, approached Tripp. Years earlier, Halter and Tripp had connected over a shared vision for creating spaces that foster connection and faith. In 2018, Halter, who’s now president of the Lantern Network, helped revive Alton’s long-closed federal post office building as the Post Commons, a gathering place for “connection, food, coffee and collaboration.” So when Halter decided to add beer and pizza to the mix, he called Tripp.
“I went out there January 1,” recalls Tripp. “We walked the property, and I was like, OK, you can put a pizza oven here. Here’s where you could do beer lines. Here’s where you could do a bar—just giving him my opinion on the build-out. Then I started to ask him questions like, ‘Do you have a name for your pizza business?’ He’s like no. ‘Do you have a recipe for your pizza?’ No. ‘Do you know how to do draft beer lines?’ No. ‘Do you know much about beer?’ No.”
The next words out of Tripp’s mouth sealed the deal: “Well then, how about we make this a Good News?”
The result is a partnership between Good News Brewing and the Lantern Network. The Alton location will operate out of the existing Post Commons building, which already houses a coffee shop and event venue.
“We are hoping to be open early summer,” says Tripp. “The pizza oven is there. The walk-in cooler is there. We’ve got to run some beer lines and hook them up.”
The Alton location won’t brew beer on-site. Instead, beer will be delivered from Good News’ production facility in Augusta via an Illinois distributor. “Because of the laws crossing state lines, we had to find an Illinois distributor,” Tripp says. “Now this allows us to expand our footprint of distribution as well.”
The Brews
Like Good News Brewing’s other locations, the Alton location will offer a well-rounded tap list, with just about every style of beer, from the citrusy Local 636 Hazy IPA to the malt-forward Dirty Laundry Brown Ale.
Fans of richer brews can try the Hazelnut Coffee Milk Stout, while lighter fare includes German wheat ale called Pastel, conditioned on pineapple and passionfruit.
Whether you’re into Belgian whites, German lagers, or something a little nutty (hello, Turtle Power pecan-caramel brown ale), the beer menu is built to not overwhelm.
The Future
Tripp hints that more Good News locations are in the works, including a possible expansion into St. Louis City. “My son, Westan, is looking at The Grove,” he says. “But there are no official plans yet.”
At the same time, Tripp says the brewery is taking a balanced approach. “We want to do a natural, organic growth,” Tripp says. “We’re just reinvesting in the company. That’s been the engine for our growth.”
