By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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CHERRY VALLEY — For Jon Lambert, 815 Ale Fest is a chance to connect with other brewers, introduce potential customers to new flavors and build relationships in the industry.
But even with those friendships, “there’s still an edge of competition,” said Lambert, the head brewer and a partner at Hairy Cow Brewing Co. in Byron.
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Amidst the music from Dead Man’s Hand, craft beer samples and a social atmosphere is the chance for Lambert and others to prove themselves among 25 breweries from around the region.
Hairy Cow did just that on Saturday, taking home the People’s Choice Award at 815 Ale Fest at Tebala Event Center.
“We work hard on making a really clean beer and providing a great environment,” Lambert said. “All that hard work is paid for. This is the Super Bowl for me.
“I love talking to people and getting feedback on beer, what they like and what they don’t like, and we take that back to the brewery and try to make changes for the following year.”
815 Ale Fest, which is now in its fifth year, sold out for the third straight year with 500 people in attendance. The event is put on by the Mid-West Family Broadcasting radio stations — B103, 95.3 The Bull, 100FM and 104.9 The X — in partnership with Anderson Toyota.
The Judge’s Choice Award this year went to Lena Brewing Co. while Urban Forest Craft Brewing of Rockford took home its third straight title for Best Brew.
“It feels like a family of sorts,” Alex Cando, brewmaster and co-owner of Urban Forest, said of the event. “It’s a good vibe, good camaraderie, just a really good energy.”
Last year Urban Forest won for its special edition lemon pie cream ale with flavors of vanilla, lemon and graham cracker. They decided to stick with the dessert theme again this year and created a peach cobbler cream ale.
“With any kind of beer you have to settle on a good base. Once you have the foundation then you can take tweak it and shift it and take it in different directions,” Cando said. “As long as you have a good footing, your imagination can take it wherever.”
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For Jason Reynolds, a Rockford resident who was the first VIP in line for the event, 815 Ale Fest is an opportunity to discover something new. Reynolds said he keeps track of different brews he’s found with the Untappd smartphone app, and decided he’d see what he could find at 815 Ale Fest after hearing about it on The X.
“I like to find unique flavors. Sours are always interesting to try,” Reynolds said. “The porters and stouts if they have a really rich coffee or chocolate taste to them I always really enjoy those. Anything blueberry is always nice, too. Just finding something that’s different than your regular everyday IPAs.”
Brad Hentz traveled about 75 miles from Warrenville to be a VIP at 815 Ale Fest. Hentz often travels on weekends to try out breweries, and he said this event gave him a chance revisit old ones and experience something new.
But beer is only part of the reason he enjoys events like Ale Fest.
“Of course it starts out with the beer, but as I’ve been to so many breweries it really becomes an interaction with the people,” he said. “If you’re willing to chat people up, you hear some really great stories and some really great life stories.”
“It becomes a social opportunity and the beer is actually just a plus.”
Attendees wear lanyards with pretzels around their necks to munch on while they sample drinks, and the Sizz N Fizz food truck was parked out front for hungrier festival-goers.
Joe Fioretto of Poplar Grove said he came to hang out with family members and discover some new flavors.
“I like to find the different flavors that are in there, just to see what my palate will prefer,” he said. “Definitely, I’d like to find something that I did not know about.”
Hentz said that search for something unique is part of what makes events like 815 Ale Fest worth attending.
“Every once in a while you stumble across something that just kind of rocks your world,” he said.
Katy Chadwick, who coordinates the event for Mid-West Family Broadcasting, said Ale Fest gives brewers a chance to highlight new drinks before they roll them out to customers.
The consistent sell-out crowds show that customers have appreciated what the breweries bring.
“We’re going to continue to do it, so put it on your calendar,” Chadwick said. “We’ll be back here next year.”
815 Ale Fest | 2024 Winners
Best Brew: Urban Forest Craft Brewing, 6551 E. Riverside Blvd., suite 112, Rockford
Judge’s Choice: Lena Brewing Co., 9416 W. Wagner Road, Lena
People’s Choice: Hairy Cow Brewing Co., 450 E. Blackhawk Drive, Byron
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas