More than 500 DeKalb County residents attend inaugural Barb City Brewfest

Alessandro Vazquez had a feeling that a beer festival would be a big hit with DeKalb County residents.

And his intuition was spot on, as more than 500 people visited Northern Illinois University’s Convocation Center on Saturday to sample more than 80 beers from local, regional and national breweries and cideries at the inaugural Barb City Brewfest.

Vazquez’s company, Brew Avenue Events, sponsored the event, which featured unique beer styles and flavors from breweries as far away as Hawaii and as close as Sycamore, Genoa and Malta.

Vazquez said attendees were enjoying the wide variety of beverages.

"People like the selection here.
There are a lot of new styles that they probably haven't had access to before," he said. "Craft beer sampling allows people to try beers they might not buy in a store. They can be adventurous while enjoying a fun time with friends or family."

Cademon Brewing Co. of Genoa was serving raspberry red ale, which proved to be popular. Owner Andrew Nordman said he received many compliments about the beer, which he brews himself.

“I brew with interesting and eccentric ingredients. Beer can taste however you want it to,” he said. “I love doing beer fests to bring my beer to the community, because a lot of people don’t know about us. I enjoy talking to people about what I’m making.”

The raspberry ale was NIU graduate student Dave Ribordy’s favorite. He said he had never heard of Cademon Brewing before the event.

“I like craft beer and trying new kinds,” he said. “I like that all the local breweries are here. They’re all very good, and there’s a nice representation of beer styles.”

Amanda Smith, a bartender at The Forge Brewhouse in Sycamore, was excited to spread the word of the business’s upcoming move to downtown Sycamore as she poured the brewery’s Imperial Black IPA and Hefeweizen beers.

“A lot of people are asking about our move, and we’re excited, so we love to talk to people about it and network,” Smith said. “People love our beer, especially the Imperial Black ale, because not a lot of places carry this type of IPA, and they’re coming back for more.”

Saturday was the first time Malta’s Jonamac Apple Orchard has participated in a beer festival.

Owner Jenna Spychal was having fun pouring hard apple cider and letting people know that the orchard now makes cider, in addition to apple wine.

“This has been awesome, meeting people from the community who didn’t know that we make this,” Spychal said. “Our barrel-aged stout hard cider has been the most popular. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, and this is great exposure for us.”

Sycamore resident Jana Hays said she was surprised about how much she liked the hard ciders. She and her husband, Rob, were trying many new styles of beer.

“I really like the variety here, and I’m enjoying the ciders more than I thought I would,” Hays said. “The servers here are fantastic. They’re nice, and they ask questions about what you like and give good recommendations. They also give a good pour.”

For NIU student Dan Brodersen, the brewfest was a good opportunity to try new beers while spending time with his father, who was visiting DeKalb from Carpentersville.

“This was my birthday gift to him because he really likes drinking beer,” Brodersen said. “It’s something we can do together, and it’s fun to hang out. We enjoy sampling different beers.”

Rebecca Doxtater, an NIU alum and Rockford resident, said the event gave her a good excuse to come back to DeKalb.

“I loved going to school here, and I’m a fan of beer, so I was excited to come,” she said. “This is great because the vendors are so friendly. They’re helpful, and they make you feel comfortable asking questions if you don’t know about a beer. They’re knowledgeable, and they want to answer all your questions.”

Stephanie Richter of Cortland said she was excited to see an event like Barb City Brewfest in DeKalb, and she was happy to see so many local breweries.

“I’m glad to see these types of establishments in our area. It’s nice to see what they have to offer,” Richter said. “This is great because it’s so accessible. It’s the kind of event you’d see in the city or suburbs, and I’m glad there’s one here.”