Eli H.
Yelp
I've been going to Solemn Oath for years now, and over the last few months we've been looking at the 2 Fools Cider logo painted on their back door wondering, "When is that place going to open because craft cider sounds amazing." Well, apparently it opened a couple weeks ago and we stopped in for the first time to pick up some cider for a New Year's Eve party yesterday and... I just might have found my new favorite place in Naperville.
If you're used to Solemn Oath, all the same Naperville brewery policies are in place here in that it's a tap room you can drink at or take growlers to go, and there's a three drink limit. (The three drink limit makes a little more sense when you're talking high-ABV stouts at Solemn oath, not quite as much sense with 5%-ish ABV ciders at 2 Fools, but, that's Naperville for you.) Also, they're a similar credit card only no tipping establishment, which I always like as it means they're paying their staff well enough to not be dependent on tips.
As far as the cider itself, we tried a tasting flight of everything they had on tap that day and it all was incredible. Hopped cider was a little strange, as I don't usually think of the flavor profiles of cider and hops going together, but the rest of their lineup I could sit around and drink all day. My favorites would be either the sweet cider or their cherry pie cider. Definitely try everything though, they seemed super generous with their tasting pours.
The best part about 2 Fools is they have a setup to do crowlers. If you've never heard of these before, they're 32oz cans they fill while you wait, then cap off with a lid like a big beer can. When we went, crowlers were between $10 and $12. Not only do they travel real well, but it was cool to not need to invest in a glass growler. Additionally, with them being 32oz instead of 64oz, you can get more varieties instead of committing to a ton of one thing. I really hope these crowlers catch on at other places, because it's a really cool setup. They also apparently will keep for a couple weeks, which is way better than needing to drink a growler inside of a day or two.
Overall we were super impressed, and will definitely be back. I've got my fingers crossed that Solemn Oath and 2 Fools do some cool collaborations in the future, as it seems like it just makes too much sense with them sharing a parking lot and all. Even coordinating getting more food trucks out there or something would be real cool. Everyone there was super friendly, so, yeah. Very happy to have these guys in the neighborhood now.