Elgin Craft Beer Festival featured about 30 breweries
The first Elgin Craft Beer Festival on Saturday featured about 30 breweries, including some not typically found at area festivals, plus VIP ticket packages with extra perks, said organizer Alan Kirk.
The Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club organized the event and is donating the proceeds to four Elgin nonprofits: Taylor Family Branch YMCA, Ecker Center for Mental Health, Food for Greater Elgin and PADS of Elgin, Kirk said.
Consultant Chris Jacobsen, of Hardcore Craft Beer, said craft beers such as Ballast Point, Boulder Beer, Almanac Beer, Toppling Goliath Brewing and Alarming Brewing usually aren't part of the local fest lineup.
The idea came from the success of the Tri-City Craft Brew Festival, which for the last two years has been organized by the St. Charles Breakfast Rotary Club, said Kirk, past president of the Elgin club.