Grayslake's Light the Lamp Brewery wins silver

For Dan Ray, head brewer at Light the Lamp Brewery in Grayslake, watching the Great American Beer Fest awards ceremony in Denver has been a yearly tradition.

But instead of watching from home on a livestream this year, he was in the room watching it happen with brewery co-owner Jeff Sheppard, and Sheppard's wife, Liz.

Ray, who has been running the brewery operation for around six years, had never submitted a beer to the Great American Beer Fest, considered by many to be the country's most illustrious, or any other festival for that matter.

So when the announcer declared the cream ale called "Lite IT!" that Ray had submitted had won a silver medal, in the "session ale" category, Ray and Jeff Sheppard were stunned.

"We kind of just didn't realize it had happened," Ray said. "Liz was like, 'You guys have to go up there.' Most breweries would yell out and cheer, but we just kind of walked up and took the photo."

Light the Lamp was one of 10 Illinois breweries to take home medals at the highly competitive festival, which was held in early October.

Brewery co-owner Bill Hermes said Ray and his team deserve the credit for the award.

"He's very much a perfectionist," Hermes said. "They make our brewery what it is. It's so nice to see them get acknowledged."

Hermes said there will be celebration in honor of the achievement at the brewery, 2 S. Lake St., sometime in November.