Is Downtown Joliet On The Cusp Of Greatness? John Ferak Column

JOLIET, IL - As many of you know, I grew up in Joliet, but I've been away from the area since 2000, working for newspapers in Green Bay, WI, Omaha, NE and Appleton, WI. Now, with six weeks experience as the Joliet Patch Editor, I'm starting to draw a sense of Joliet's strengths and also its challenges as a community. Over at Joliet's City Hall, I sense optimism about Joliet's future, notably the downtown's future. And yet one of the most common complaints I hear from readers is their perception that downtown Joliet is dead once the Will County Courthouse closes and the city won't be able to change that.

On Thursday night I made it a point to show up at the Joliet Area Historical Museum's Craft Beer Tasting Event. The event began at 5:30 p.m. There was a heavy downpour. The rain, however, did not keep Will County's beer enthusiasts away. At least 250 to 275 people - including a lot of Millennials - came to downtown Joliet for what proved to be a well-organized event by museum staff.

Consider this:

• Fifteen brewers participated in the event.

• More than 60 craft beer brands were available for sampling.

• Acoustic guitarist and songwriter Alex Hoffer provided live music.

• Local historian John Bittermann gave a presentation on Joliet's former Fred Sehring Brewery, which made Standard Pale Beer.

• Kozol Brothers Inc. Distributors was the primary sponsor and event coordinator. Other sponsors included Harrah's Joliet, Heineken and Blue Moon Brewing.

"This is a very good turnout with over 60 brews," remarked Mike Brick, development director at the Joliet Area Historical Museum. "People appreciate when you do things like this, if you're not overpriced. It's exceeded all of our expectations, and we've done two-a-year ever since (2009)."

Early next year, around February, Joliet's downtown museum plans to offer a new exhibit showcasing the history of Joliet's breweries from yesteryear.

"Beer tastings have definitely brought us a wonderful new audience," said Heather Bigeck, collections and exhibits manager at the Joliet museum. "They were attracted to the element of the beer tastings and found a wonderful museum when they arrived."

On Thursday night, numerous vendors and distributors stayed busy popping bottle caps and pouring samples of craft beers for their crowd to try. I visited with Micah Kirstein, sales representative for Kozol Brothers.

"There's a lot of variety for people here to choose from," he remarked. "Fellow beer lovers get to have a chance to try things they haven't had, maybe try some beers at their local stores that we distribute to. This is a very good turnout, again."

Kozol Brothers had a large bucket of iced beers available for sampling. I asked Kirstein to be brutally honest. There had to be a particular beer or two in his arsenal that he's hoping will draw more exposure.

Naturally, he did. It turns out that Sierra Nevada's Tropical Torpedo IPA and Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest were two of the beers he's recommending craft beer lovers ought to try.

Eventually, I caught up with one of the featured guests, Joliet beer historian John Bittermann.

"Joliet was founded in 1835 and by 1836 there was a brewery," Bittermann explained. "Literally, within a year of Joliet settling it had a brewery."

For many decades, unfortunately, Joliet has had a not-so-great distinction when it comes to craft beer.

"Currently, we're the most populous city in the United States without a brewer operating in its city limits," Bittermann noted. However, "when MyGrain opens, we're done" with that distinction.

MyGrain Brewing Company is expected to have its downtown Joliet grand opening at the historic Union Station toward the end of August. MyGrain was profiled by Joliet Patch in this story. MyGrain will become the first microbrewery in Joliet, which is the third largest city in Illinois, at nearly 150,000 residents.

Joliet beer historian John Bittermann

Bittermann said he fully expects MyGrain Brewing will be a tremendous asset for downtown Joliet. In turn, the microbrewery will help city leaders create a more robust nightlife and entertainment district.

"Kids turning 21 today have never known a time without craft beer," Bittermann told Patch. "There's no way it can't help but succeed because of that. I think downtown Joliet is exceptionally close to rounding the corner, much like you've seen in the downtowns of Aurora and Elgin. Joliet is right on the cusp."

If you're mad that you missed Thursday's craft beer event, don't fret.

Joliet's historical museum will host another tasting in November.

Images via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak