- Thanks to a number of clubs across Illinois, home brewing devotees can share stories and recipes, tour breweries and pubs, share tips, or even compete for prizesbeer image by YURY MARYUNIN from Fotolia.com
As artists dedicated to the creation of a frothy light ale or the perfect nutty lager, beer brewing enthusiasts are a passionate bunch. Thanks to a number of organizations and clubs across the state of Illinois, many of those devoted home brewers can share stories and recipes, tour breweries and pubs, share tips or even compete for prizes. - As a registered nonprofit homebrewing club in the heart of Chicago, Homebrewers' Pride of the Southside Homebrew Club (known as HOPS! Brew Club Chicago for short) welcomes members from Chicago and the surrounding areas, as well as from additional states and even international locales. The club was originally founded by Jim Kube and Gregg Fischer--who assembled a group of homebrewers and passionate beer aficionados in April 1995--and has continued to meet regularly ever since.
The club's ongoing activities include regular monthly meetings, which take place at different South Side venues, brew pubs and beer bars, as well as special discussions, instructional outings, tastings and more. The club operates under a formal board of directors elected on an annual basis and is dedicated to promoting "the fine points of the art and culture of professional brewing."
Homebrewers' Pride of the Southside Homebrew Club (HOPS! Brew Club Chicago)
3202 S. May Street
Chicago, IL 60608-6412
773-847-8404
chihops.com
info@chihops.com - The Bent River Mug Club holds parties and events throughout the year and offers special discounts to its members, as well as drawings and special prizes for brewers. The Mug Club's notable events include bus trips, patio parties, golf outings and more, with annual membership fees of $40 per member.
The Bent River Brewing Company Mug Club
The Bent River Brewery
1413 5th Ave.
Moline, IL 61265
309-797-2722
bentriverbrewery.com - Meeting on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Duke's Ale House, Midnight Carboys proudly represents the Crystal Lake Home Brewers Club and holds a variety of brewing events for club participants, in addition to regular informal gatherings each month at the Lucky Monk Brew Pub. Club members have routinely won multiple medals at the Schooner Homebrew Championships.
Midnight Carboys
9952 Marvin Drive
Huntley, IL 60142
815-759-1526
midnightcarboys.com
MidnightCarboys@Castleshire.com
webmaster@midnightcarboys.com - Launched in 1977, The Chicago Beer Society (CBS) is a decades-old club that offers its members the opportunity to socialize with friends and beer fans who band together in their appreciation of beer and brewing. The club itself is a nonprofit educational association and is one of the largest beer and homebrew organizations in Illinois. The group's membership welcomes participants 21 and over and routinely offers regular events including the annual Chicagoland Brewpub & Microbrewery Shootout each January (one of the region's top beer and food events), the Day & Night of the Living Ales (March), as well as regular meetings, day trips, picnics and homebrew competitions.
Chicago Beer Society
PO Box 1057
La Grange Park, IL 60526-9157
773-905-2537
info@chibeer.org
Chibeer.org - The Forest City Brewers (FCB) club meets on the third Wednesday of each month and holds monthly homebrew contests that allow members to demonstrate their mastery of homebrewing techniques before judges and attendees alike.The Taster's Guild, meanwhile, meets regularly on the first Wednesday of each month on a much more informal basis for dinner and socialization (no homebrew sampling) alongside club spouses, friends or significant others. Other ongoing events include pub and brewery tours, picnics, festivals and more.
For the Forest City Brewers, new members and fellow brewing enthusiasts are welcomed in a group dedicated to promoting the art of home brewing, with membership fees of just $25 per year. The group also organizes a regular annual trip abroad to Munich, Germany, for members in order to celebrate Oktoberfest in style.
Forest City Brewers
Thunder Bay Grille
7652 Potawatomi Trail
Rockford, IL 61107
forestcitybrewers.org
fc_brewers@yahoo.com - More typically known as HOPs, The Homebrewers Of Peoria is a brewing club that was established in 1998 to promote the art and science of brewing in the Peoria area. The club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Chef John's Wine Bar & Grill in Dunlap, and its meetings are open to the public, with additional events including social dinners on the fourth Monday of every month at varying locations. The group brews beer for the Peoria Jaycees International Beer Festival every year, as well as offering brewing picnics (two per year), holiday parties and a formal trip each year to a new Midwestern brewing city, with bus trips open to the public as well as to club members. Annual dues for HOPs are just $18 per member.
Homebrewers of Peoria
3319 N. Sheridan Road
Peoria, IL 61604-1468
309-682-4166
david@bradley.edu
hop.bradley.edu - Meet Lake County's BABBLE, a local Homebrewing club dedicated to promoting the fine art and craft of brewing not just beer, but also mead and cider. BABBLE is located in north central Lake County, with a membership that includes participants from such nearby communities as Fox Lake, Round Lake, Ingleside, Hainesville, Grayslake, Waukegan, Wauconda and more. The club welcomes brewers of all levels, from beginners to professionals, and everyone in between.
BABBLE
2633 W. Autumn Drive
Round Lake, IL 60073
815-788-9066
drhoades@cleanair.com
officers@babblehomebrewers.com
babblehomebrewers.com - As the largest and oldest homebrew club in DuPage County, The Urban Knaves of Grain doesn't just boast a terrific group name, it's also an organization dedicated to the pursuit of homebrewing superb beer, cider, and mead at home--and it even has its own song to affirm the fact! In addition to regular meetings for members, the group's activities also include contests, workshops, outings, brew-ins and pub crawls. The Urban Knaves also sponsor their very own homebrew competition, the Drunk Monk Challenge, every March, attracting more than 500 entries from across the country.
The Urban Knaves of Grain
3 S. 520 2nd St.
Warrenville, IL 60555
630-393-7303
drunkmonkchallenge@gmail.com.
knaves.org - The Silverado Homebrew Club provides the perfect opportunity for homebrew enthusiasts to meet, socialize, compete, and discuss the fine points of homebrewing.beer in beer-mug image by Witold Krasowski from Fotolia.com
The Silverado Homebrew Club provides the perfect opportunity and environment for homebrew enthusiasts to meet, socialize, compete and discuss the fine points of homebrewing, with ongoing regular events and competitions, as well as a regular newsletter for participants, online discussion board and a homebrewing library for enthusiasts who appreciate the art of homebrewing. The club promotes homebrewing education and cameraderie among beer connoisseurs, as well as responsible alcohol use, and meets on the third Thursday of every month at the Tap House Grill.
The Silverado Homebrew Club
Tap House Grill
3341 W. Main St.
St. Charles, IL 60175
info@silveradohomebrew.com
silveradohomebrew.com
