FIRST EVER HIGHWOOD CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL POURS UP A GOOD TIME

HIGHWOOD, IL (AUGUST 17, 2013) – Over 1,200 people lined up for the North Shore’s first Highwood Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, August 17th at Highwood’s lush Everts Park (130 Highwood Avenue). The growing craft beer connoisseur population came out to taste and appreciate over 60 specialty beers from craft breweries out of Lake Bluff, Highland Park, and Chicago to breweries from across the country!

The event showcased local breweries such as Lake Bluff Brewing Company. “Craft beer festivals are just as good for vendors as the people attending, we get to talk with other members of our industry and get a feel for the direction of progression in the beer world,” said Pato Thornycroft, bar manager at Lake Bluff Brewing Company, who thought the event was a huge success.   

Recognized for its family friendly festivals, Highwood’s Craft Beer Festival brought an eclectic mix of people from all over Cook, Lake and even Kenosha County. “It was amazing to mix and mingle with so many people who came out on a beautiful afternoon to taste some of the craft brew industry’s diverse offerings,” says Bryn Ewing, local mixologist.

Festival organizer, Ted Widen, looks forward to making Highwood Craft Beer Fest an annual event and says, “I want to thank everyone for helping make our inaugural Craft Beer Fest such a success.  There was an incredible outpouring of support from the local community, as well as craft beer fans across the Northern Suburbs, and I look forward to an even bigger and better event in 2014.”

Celebrating the best of local, Midwest and American craft beers, Highwood’s Craft Beer Festival featured many seasonal and year-round brews from small local independent breweries to some of the best-known microbreweries nationwide. Roughly 30 different breweries had at least one beer on tap, including:

LOCAL BREWERIES:

·      Metropolitan Brewing Chicago: Krankshaft Kolsch and Flywheel Lager

·      Two Brothers Brewing Company: Sidekick Xtra Pale Ale and Ebel’s Weiss

·      Finch Beer Company: Threadless IPA, Fascist Pig Ale, Secret Stache Stout, and Cut Throat Pale Ale

·      Goose Island Beer Company: 312, Green Line, Classic and Vintage Ales

·      Lake Bluff Brewing Company: Dog Days Hefeweizen and Inspirational Pale Ale

·      Wild Onion: Hope Slayer Double IPA, Jack Stout, and Phat Chance

NATIONAL BREWERIES:

·      Stone Brewing: Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard, and Ruination Double IPA

·      Oskar Blues Brewing Company: Dales Pale Ale and G’Knight Imperial Red Ale

·      Allagash Brewing Company: Allagash White and Allagash Curieux

·      Lagunitas Brewing Company: Lagunitas IPA, North Coast Pranqster, and Dog Fish Head

Other breweries included Tallgrass Brewing, Central Waters, Floosmoor Station, Ale Syndicate, Dogfish Head, Bell’s, Big Bay, Berghoff, Pyramid, Rogue, Revolution, Ciderboys, Half Acre, Leinenkugel’s, Ska, Magic Hat, Widmer Brothers, Red Hook, Boulevard, and Firestone Walker.

The event also featured live entertainment from local bands, the Pat Smillie Duo and Los Perros Cubanos. A variety of food and non-alcoholic beverages were also available from Highwood’s diverse restaurants, such as Longitud315, Bertucci’s, Tap House Grill, Pat’s Canning, and more.

The Puppy Mill Project was also on-site, raising awareness and funds for the non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and raising awareness about puppy mills and their direct connection to pet stores, internet sites, and newspaper ads that sell dogs.

Founder Cari Meyers says, “We really appreciate the opportunity to have been involved in this event, and are excited to host our 2013 Petwalk in the lovely community.”

To view photos of the event, visit http://www.highwoodcraftbeerfest.com/highwood-craft-beer-festival-aug-17-2013/.

ABOUT TED WIDEN

From Chicago’s North Shore, Ted Widen launched Chicago-Scene.com in 1998 as one of the first social networking, events and entertainment sites in the country. Widen is known for his unparalleled event and production skill set, producing such events as the Chicago Scene New Year’s Eve Party hosted at the Historic Drake Hotel. The event has been attended by over 2,500 people annually since 2000. This success has sparked plans for 2013 to add The Chicago Hilton and Towers New Year’s Eve Party, with over 4,000 attendees to his portfolio. Accolades include: Chicago Scene Magazine Publication started in 2001; reaching Chicago’s A-List young professional 21-39 year old market in downtown area, The River North Craft Beer Pub Crawl this past May with 10 bars, 20 Craft Beers and over 2000 attendees, and this October he is producing the Windy City Craft Beer Festival at the Drake Hotel and many more Craft Beer events in the future.