Dozens of craft beer vendors and 15 food trucks gathered for a Saturday afternoon festival make for a pretty good 40th birthday party.
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That was the scene at Naperville’s Frontier Park last weekend as a group of neighborhood friends joined to toast four decades of life for one of those neighbors. And if toasts were what you were looking for, the 4th annual Naperville Winter Ale Fest was a great place to find them. With 150 beers on hand and 18 3-ounce beers allowed per admission ticket, there was no shortage of ample opportunities.
When our friend said the Ale Fest was where he wanted to go to celebrate his birthday, we were all in. Not having been to the event before, a 40th birthday shindig offered the perfect reason to break that streak. So we joined the estimated 5,000 beer lovers in attendance who braved what turned out to be a brief return to seasonal weather much more appropriate to February.
In a winter that has had about one week of frigid temps and virtually no snow the last two months, it seemed reasonable to expect we’d get good weather for the outdoor event. After all, it was just last week the mercury nearly touched 70 degrees here. What reason did we have to believe the weather would be anything less than beautiful for Ale Fest?
None, other than our constant monitoring of the long-range forecast. Every day we checked, projections for Feb. 25 grew colder and more blustery than the last time we looked. At some point, it became apparent the day would not only be the coldest in the two weeks proceeding it, but likely also of the two weeks that came after.
In other words – and the current long-range forecast supports this – this past Saturday’s temps in the mid-20s, with wind chills making it feel even colder, may well end up making it the last really cold day of this otherwise largely mild winter.
No matter. It is Winter Ale Fest after all. It’s not supposed to be 70 degrees in February, though few of us complain when it is.
So out came the winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Where shorts had tempted just days before, long johns and fleece-lined jeans were the new order of the day. And of course the occasional hand warmers.
When we arrived at Frontier Park, we were heartened not only to see large tents housing many of the beer vendors, but also hundreds of people packing each one at any given time, the collective warmth combining with the wind block to shelter us from the otherwise unpleasant elements. We also took a few close passes by the outdoor fire pits strategically placed to help you warm up on your way from one tent to the next.
From booth to booth, attendees ask which beers each vendor has and what the description is of each. Some ask the smaller brewers where they are located, and what the story is of their brewery. Others are so large and already so widely known that such questions aren’t necessary. Immediately one must decide whether to budget their allotted tickets for the beers they know they will like, or to venture a little further out of their comfort zone.
Though I vowed to try other styles beyond my own preferred IPAs and red ales, I invariably reverted back, though we were decidedly in search of brewers whose wares we’d not had before. It’s a lot easier to admit you don’t like something after sampling just 3 ounces than to find that out in larger quantities.
All in all, the experience was a lot of fun, especially for our guest of honor. There was plenty of good beer, good food and good times, just what you’d come to expect from an event that is basically the equivalent of your combined favorite bars and street food lumped together and on steroids.
Hats off to event organizers, security, the vendors and attendees who together ensured a safe and responsible time was had by all – by all appearances anyway. Two members of our group purchased the $20 designated driver tickets rather than the $50 tickets that come with those 18 mini beers. Quite a few others in the crowd had clearly done the same.
It was such a good time that I could even see us attending again.
But maybe a little warmer next time.
Rob Manker is a freelance writer who lives and parents in Naperville.
Twitter: @RobManker