Bust’d Brewing
Bust’d Brewing opened in 2023 inside a converted former Subway sandwich shop on North Prospect Road in Peoria Heights, Illinois — just down the street from the historic Pabst complex that once defined this village’s beer-soaked legacy. Founded by husband-and-wife team Brian and Amber Buss, the family-owned nano-brewery is the product of a long-running homebrewing hobby that grew into a three-barrel production system, a community-driven taproom, and even a drive-thru window. Brian, an ERP administrator by day, serves as head brewer and co-owner, while Amber — with a background in adult special education — runs the front of house and the brewery’s relentlessly active events calendar.
Step inside and you’ll find a warm, brightly lit room wrapped in natural wood, with a deep library of board games scattered across communal tables and a giant Connect Four standing ready for challengers. The space is intimate by design — this is a small brewery, and on a busy night the energy spills happily from the bar to the patio. A near-perfect 4.9-star Google rating speaks to what regulars already know: the staff are quick to make recommendations, the beer is poured with care, and strangers tend to leave as friends.
“Bringing brewing back to the Heights — one small-batch pint at a time.”
Head brewer Brian Buss splits his lineup between tradition and experimentation. The rotating taps always carry approachable lagers and pilsners alongside hop-forward IPAs, rich porters, and limited barrel-aged releases like Ivan the Terrible — a Russian imperial stout aged six months in Black Band Distillery bourbon barrels. Collaborations are a Bust’d signature: recent partnerships have produced Heights Heritage, a tribute lager modeled on the original Red White Blue recipe Pabst brewed up the street in 1934, plus crossover beers with neighboring breweries Nightjar and 8 Bit and local radio station 93.3 The Drive. The brewery also runs its taproom as a community engine through “Pints with a Purpose” charity releases that have benefited St. Jude Runs and the Peoria Heights Kiwanis Club.
A visit to Bust’d is part beer pilgrimage, part neighborhood hangout. Pop in on a Thursday for Joggers and Lagers — the weekly run club that rewards finishers with 10% off their first pour — swing through for a Mug Club beer release, or just grab a flight, claim a couch, and challenge a stranger to Connect Four. The annual Bust’d Beer Bash, which brings a dozen-plus regional breweries together each spring, has quickly become a fixture on the central Illinois beer calendar. For anyone tracing the Midwest’s craft beer revival, Bust’d is essential viewing: a small brewery doing oversized work to restore Peoria Heights’ brewing identity, one pint at a time.