About
Scratch Brewing Company is a farmhouse brewery located in Ava, Illinois, near Shawnee National Forest, specializing in beers made with estate-grown and foraged local ingredients like nettle, elderberry, ginger, and wild mushrooms to showcase the terroir of Southern Illinois. Owners Marika Josephson and Aaron Kleidon have been nominated for four James Beard Awards, most recently in 2025. They offer an ever-rotating selection of farmhouse styles, wood-fired pizzas, and bottle special releases distributed in Illinois and other states.
farmhouse beers with foraged and estate-grown ingredients
terroir-focused brewing
wood-fired pizzas with local ingredients
What They Make
wild carrot & nettle
farmhouse ale brewed with wild carrot and nettle from property
sassafras lager
pilsner-style lager with sassafras leaves
sumac sour
hopless sour with wild sumac
festbier
lagered fest beer with local malt and hops
spiced brown ale
brown ale with hickory bark, juniper, sweet clover
fig leaf schwarzbier
black lager with fig leaves and other ingredients
dead leaves
english-style pale ale with autumn leaves
dry-hopped apple
farmhouse ale co-fermented with heirloom apples, foeder-aged
basil saison
farmhouse beer with lemon basil
basil IPA
IPA with various basils and honey
fig porter
porter with dried fig leaves
foeder-aged grapevine
farmhouse ale with wild grape vines, foeder-aged
Awards
Featured in 'The Fermented Man' book
2023
Recognized by Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine for innovative brewing.
2023
Latest News
Nominated for James Beard Award in 2025 for Outstanding Professionals in Beverage Service. The New York Times called Scratch one of the Top 22 pizza places in the United States and 'worth a road trip.' Draft list for weekend of February 6-8.
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