Craft Beer Week: 11 Breweries To Visit Near Crystal Lake, Cary

CRYSTAL LAKE AND CARY, IL — Eighty-five percent of adults age 21 or older, as the Brewers Association puts it, live within 10 miles of a brewery, including the residents of Crystal Lake and Cary.

With eight breweries in or near Crystal Lake and Cary, the Brewers Association is urging craft beer drinkers to support local breweries as American Craft Beer Week approaches. The 15th annual weeklong observance will run from May 10-16 this year.

At Crystal Lake Brewing, 150 N. Main St., the local brewery is making it simple to find your favorite beer. This week, the brewery is offering sampler flights, four different four-ounce pours for $5. The tap room is closed Wednesday for improvements.

Ahead of Craft Beer Week, Cary Ale House, 208 W. Main St., released its Maibock, which is described as a spring time Germanlager that has "solid malt sweetness and finishes clean and dry," according to the brewery's Facebook page.

Many other breweries have had special releases for the week in years past. Those included on the South Side of Chicago in 2018, when two breweries — Open Outcry Brewing and Horse Thief Hollow — teamed to create a flight of beers as a tribute to the four flavors offered by the “Rainbow Cone” ice cream shop.

Newer releases, discounts and other creative ideas will be offered at craft breweries across America this year as well, the Brewers Association said in a statement.

American Craft Beer Week in 2021, which takes place 14 months after the coronavirus pandemic began its significant financial impact on local businesses nationwide, presents a prime opportunity to support local brewers, association officials said.

“America’s small and independent craft breweries have faced many hardships over the past year,” Brewers Association marketing director Ann Obenchain said in a statement.

In recent decades, craft beer has become the more popular choice for Americans. Craft breweries in the United States date back to the late 1970s, the first opening shortly after President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that made home-brewing legal in 1978.

Now, craft breweries are opening in communities across America. Small and independent brewing companies accounted for 40 of the top 50 top producing craft brewing companies in 2020 based on beer sales volume, according to the Brewers Association. Even as in-person craft beer consumption and unique local events were shut down for months following the pandemic’s start, craft breweries in the country provided more than 138,000 full- and part-time jobs in 2020, according to the association.

Now, with COVID-19 restrictions eased in many areas, 2021’s American Craft Beer Week “is about more than just delicious craft beer,” Obenchain said.

“It’s about community and showing support for hometown taprooms, brewpubs and breweries,” she added.

Here is a look at breweries that are open within driving distance of Crystal Lake and Cary:

Scorched Earth Brewery, 203 Berg St. in Algonquin

Flesk Brewing, 200 Applebee St. Suite E, Barrington

Wild Onion Brewing Company, 22221 N. Pepper Road, Port Barrington

Side Lot Brewery, 110 Slocum Lake Road, Wauconda

ShadowView Brewing, 2400 Lakeshore Drive, Woodstock

Holzlager Brewing Company, 150 S. Eastwood Drive, Suite F, Woodstock

Kishwaukee Brewing Company, 1900 Dillard Court, Woodstock

Sew Hop'd Brewery LLC, 1 Union Special Plaza, Huntley

MORE Brewing, 13980 Automall Drive, Huntley

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