Spring Brewer's Fest showcases local ales

It came and went quickly this year, but was probably the most successful Spring Brewer's Fest held so far by the Illinois Craft Brewers' Guild and the Founder's Hill Brewing Co. in Downers Grove. I've been so busy with going back to school that I didn't have time to announce the coming of this annual beer festival and once it arrived I could only spend a couple of hours sampling the fine selection of ales and lagers.

With only two hours to sample beers in what seemed like 14 oz. servings, I made tracks with my friend Ryan for the breweries with beers that seemed to have the unusual beers and to those breweries I always look to for good beer. These beers ended up being the odd Matilda from Goose Island (Chicago), the Spiced Ale from Blue Cat Brewpub in Davenport, IA, and a Hefe-Weizen from Govnors Public House in Lake in the Hills, IL.. I also tried the Kolsch from Three Floyd's Brewery (Indiana), although I've had the beer before, I just thought it suited the warm evening. After Kolsch I tried the Hefe-Weizen from Govnors, which was quite good, with the typical Bavarian clove and banana flavors imparted by the yeast. I know I said I wanted to try unusual beers at this year's fest and Hefe-Weiss isn't really that unusual. What got me tasting this beer was that it came from a new brewpub in Lake in the Hills, IL. While waiting for my beer to be poured, I had the opportunity to talk to Terry Richardson, the brewer at the former Fox Bay Brewing Co., in St. Charles (now Rio Zorro.) Apparently Terry helped out with making some of the brews at Govnors Public House, and reported that business is quite good with the brewery and restaurant selling an average of 25 barrels a week!

The spiced ale was light with lots coriander and lemon zest. It was qauffable, but a bit too light in body with a bit too much carbonation for my taste. However, it was still a decent beer, and wouldn've been even better had it been a bit warmer outside. A much better beer was the Old English Ale from Blue Cat Brewpub that Ryan tried. This is a beer I've had before when visiting the Blue Cat Brewpub last year. (See a review on the brewpubs section of the site.) The third beer that Ryan and I both tried was the Matilda from Goose Island. This is a beer identified as being Belgian in style. It had a bit of strength to it, and an unusual malty flavor, backed up by some softly spicy hops. A trip to the Goose Island Brewery in Lincoln Park (Chicago) the next day confirmed the use of softer low alpha acid hops and unique Belgian Malts. What was surprising was the use of a Kolsch yeast instead of a Belgian strain. The most notable aspect of the this beer is its mutant origins (German yeast and hops, Belgian malts.) The strength also was memorable for the rest of the evening, but didn't really affect me the next day, which was good.

Of course, many other beers and breweries were present, including: America's Brewpub, (Aurora, IL), Emmet's Brewery & Restaurant (W. Dundee, IL), Glen Ellyn Brewing Co., (Glen Ellyn, IL), Firehouse Restaurant and Brewing Co. (Morris, IL), Founder's Hill Brewing Co, (Downers Grove, IL), Two Brothers Brewing Co, (Warrenville, IL), Rock Bottom Brewery (Warrenville and Chicago, IL) and Three Floyd's Brewing Co, (Munster, IN.) I wish I could have tasted more of the beers. A listing with reviews of some of these breweries can be found in the brewpubs and breweries listings elsewhere on this site. Apologies to any breweries I haven't mentioned.

Founder's Hill did a good job this year with this fest. The layout was a bit different with the adjacent park behind the brewpub closed off and the crowd concentrated in the brewery's parking lot and the street. This seemd to work out rather well, and allowed people to watch the Desi Bros., the band set up on a stage at the end of the street, as opposed to having to leave beer serving (and drinking) area to see the music in the park.

Send comments and suggestions to: marc@marcobrau.com