Gillian Anderson, the famous activist, actor, and writer, used to work for Goose Island Beer Company. You can forgive her for leaving it off her impressive resume, but this is not a fact that should be ignored.
When Anderson was attending The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago between 1986 and 1990, she worked as a hostess at what is now Chicago’s most well known brewery. She told IndieWire she doesn’t remember the exact dates of her employment, but John Hall, who founded Goose Island in 1988, remembers well. It was the same year the original brewpub opened in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Hall told Package Design Magazine.
Anderson has two Goose Island beers named after her. Both are part of the brewery’s barrel-aged series named after the women who inspired Hall. One of the Anderson-inspired beers is called Scully (her character in the X-Files), which is a saison, and the other is called Gillian, a strawberry, honey, and white pepper saison.
She didn’t spend much time at the Goose Island brewpub, but they were formative years — both for her and for the brewery.
“At the time I was studying acting at the Dublin Theater School Conservatory, and my dream, as I’m sure it is with most actors, was that I’d be working professionally and being known amongst the world,” Anderson told IndieWire. “That’s all a part of the fantasy, right?” And having a beer with your name? Well, Anderson said, “I guess part of that fantasy might include someone naming something after me. There’s a lot of ego involved in that particular thought pattern.”
It’s time that Anderson is recognized for her impact on one of the most influential former craft breweries. Who knows where Goose Island would have been in those early days without her, all we can know is how important both Anderson and Goose Island became in their respective industries. The truth is out there.
