My Pulse, My Lifeblood, My darling.

A woman and a man sitting on a bar counter, holding glasses of beer, smiling at each other in a warm, cozy bar setting.

Mike and Megan

They say the key to happiness is following your dreams. Back in 2015, Megan and Mike decided as a couple that it was time to follow Mike’s dream of owning his own brewery. Having been a passionate home brewer for nearly a decade, and no longer fulfilled by his job as a commodities trader, Mike decided he was ready for a change.
 So, they decided to go for it!

It took a few years to get Macushla up and running but it was a true labor of love. They built it together, as a family, in Mike’s hometown of Glenview. Sadly, just shy of Macushla’s first anniversary Mike passed away suddenly. Today, his wife Megan runs the brewery, keeping his dream alive. His spirit will forever live on in the heart of Macushla, aptly meaning “my pulse”, “my lifeblood”, “my darling.”

“We built Macushla together. After he passed, I kept it going for both of us.”

— Megan

Sign for Hackney's Macushla Brewing Co. with a design of a horse-drawn carriage, on a white background with black text and silhouette, mounted under a building with a shingled roof.

In 1939, Mike Welch’s grandparents took ownership of a roadhouse run by his great uncle, Jack Hackney, and opened Hackney’s on Harms in Glenview, Illinois.

Nearly 80 years later, following in the footsteps of four generations of Masterson restaurateurs, Mike founded Macushla Brewery right next door to Hackney’s on Lake.

Macushla is proud to share not just physical grounds, but a vibrant community and rich tradition with Hackney’s and the Masterson family—even some of our beer names are inspired by Hackney’s storied history. So, please drop by for a pint and ask us about Grandpa Jim’s “Chalk Eater” IPA—we’d love to share the story with you.

Deep Roots

People sitting at a bar with drinks, with a woman standing behind the bar, in a restaurant or pub setting.
A young boy and an adult man standing behind a bar. The boy is wearing a gray sweatshirt with a boat graphic and the words 'MarVista,' while the man is wearing a black T-shirt with a circular logo and a cap. They are inside a brewery or bar with a chalkboard menu of beers listed above them.
A man and a girl smiling and standing together in an indoor setting, possibly a brewery or similar venue.
A man wearing a cap and black hoodie working inside a brewery with large stainless steel brewing tanks.