Last year, the Rotary Club of Elmhurst and Elmhurst Heritage Foundation teamed up to throw a festival to promote the Beer Chicago exhibit at the Elmhurst History Museum. While the exhibit closed in February, the city’s love of brewing isn’t going anywhere so the partners are staging the second annual Elmhurst Craft Beer Fest at the museum on Sept. 17.
“Last year was wildly successful,” said Elmhurst History Museum director Brian Bergheger.
Last year’s event had about 25 brewers and this year they’re expecting more than 30 who will be pouring 50 varieties of beer and cider beneath a beer tent with an emphasis on seasonal and limited release brews. Participating breweries include Blue Moon, Exit Strategy, Marz, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Half Acre, Goose Island and Krombacher. Visitors can tour the museum’s exhibits and enjoy the grounds, where Scotty Long and Brent Brown will again be providing live music and Barbeque Jim’s Catering will sell food. The event’s sponsors include the city’s craft beer bar Pints and two new businesses that are opening this fall to tap into the trend: Elmhurst Brewing Co. and Red Arrow Tap Room.
“It’s a new phenomena,” Bergheger said. “It’s also reflective of a shift in demographics. The typical audience or target market for craft brewers is the Millennial and younger age group, who are relatively well educated. That market has really engaged the craft beer phenomenon. The buy local, eat local movement has really flourished in urban areas and it’s gaining strength in suburban areas as well as rural areas. I think there’s an interest in being closer to the production of all kinds of things in our lives.”
Last year the event drew 450 people, but Bergherger said he expects between 600 and 800 people to come this year.
“I think the fest is the type of event where people who came last year are telling their friends, ‘Come, make a day of it,'” he said. “The beer fests are entertainment for a lot of people. They’ll travel for a number of miles to experience a beer fest, particularly something like ours where it’s outdoors and a great setting.”
Located just half a block from the Elmhurst Metra Station, the festival is convenient for visitors who don’t want to worry about driving. The Explore Elmhurst trolley will be operating the day of the fest to take visitors to and from the event and points throughout the city.
“”Ideally people who are visiting Elmhurst for the first time will leave the fest and check out the bars and restaurants and shopping district and then come back again,” Bergheger said.
Proceeds benefit the Elmhurst History Museum and community service projects organized by both the Elmhurst Heritage Foundation and the Rotary Club of Elmhurst. Tickets include a commemorative sampling cup and the chance to win door prizes. VIP tickets get you in an hour earlier for a tasting of special brews and the chance to chat with brewers in a quieter setting.
“The science of brewing is an incredible story,” Bergheger said. “As brewers will tell you, you can bring a lot of imagination and creativity to it..”
Information: www.elmhurstcraftbeerfest.com
Elmhurst Craft Beer Fest
When: 1-5 p.m. Sept. 17; VIP ticketholders get in at noon
Where: outdoors on the grounds of the Elmhurst History Museum, 120 E. Park Ave.
Tickets: $40-$65; $20 for designated drivers. 21 and older only.
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