Adding to the experience
Southland breweries turning taprooms into event spaces
Homewood’s Rabid Brewing has a big summer ahead.
Its Feast of the Goat Queen is slated to return July 23 for the first time since 2019. And July 28 will see the expansion of a fundraiser started last year for the Homewood Science Center.
“It’s going to be a really great time,” said Raiye Rosado, co-owner of Rabid.
The events mark something of a comeback for the brewery from pandemic reductions. While the science center fundraiser got something of a “trial run” last year, it was limited in scope because people were not yet comfortable with large gatherings, Rosado said. There was also an at-home version of the party with a curated four-pack of beer.
By all accounts the event was “fantastic,” Rosado said, and people are ready to be together again outside. So the take-home “Chill Packs” are giving way to a full-fledged summer fest with beer and a silent auction in 2022.
Feast of the Goat Queen is slated to feature a performance artist Goat Queen, in costume and interacting with customers. And people will — as they could in both 2018 and 2019 — drink beer alongside baby goats again this year, Rosado said.
“This event has morphed and changed over the past few years, but that is one thing that has always been solid,” she said. “This party was about drinking beer with baby goats.”
This year’s event will be adding an artisan market where 20 artists will offer works celebrating natural, mystical and magical things, according to Rosado. Tarot card readers, dancers and hula-hoopers are expected to join the party as well.
“There will be a lot of things we hope are really unique to our clientele,” Rosado said. “We have a whole group of people who have been building their costumes for this event ever since I told them we were going to bring it back. … This is the return of a beloved event for us.”
Rosado said when they dreamed up the fest, it unwittingly lined up with the ancient Floralia festival, which focused on fertility, agriculture and produce. It was traditionally done right before the popular Dark Lord Day event at 3 Floyds brewery in Munster, Indiana. The Homewood event often featured the release of the triple IPA Horus as an “alternate view — dark versus light” to the Munster brewery’s big stout. This year’s Horus already was released, so Rosado said people will have to wait to see what’s in store for the Feast.
With its recently reopened outdoor “Beer Field” abutting a large white wall, the brewery is hoping to show a series of cult classic movies this summer to add to its slate.
Themed gatherings have been a part of Rabid ever since the brewery opened, Rosado said, a trend that’s growing wider throughout the area as more breweries turn their tap rooms into event spaces.
“I’m pretty open to anything,” Rosado said of events. “One of the things we’re really trying to focus on this summer is providing things people can do outside and leaning into what’s really special about our location. … Every brewery should have a well-developed brand and a sense of who they are.”
Rosado said she thinks breweries have become event hubs for many communities because they tend to be family-friendly and become one of the first places people ask for help. Rabid regularly gets requests to donate products or sponsor events, for instance.
That is how many events get their start at Horse Thief Hollow in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, according to owner Neil Byers. A recent event called Brewing for a Cause: Mental Health for Police Officers and Firefighters started with a donation request. It turned into a contest between brews, in which customers voted for their favorites.
Horse Thief Hollow has been hosting events almost all the way back to when the brewery first opened its doors. Byers said he sees the events as an extension of what they serve.
“I think it probably has something to do with the creative developments of our brains,” Byers said. “What can we brew that’s going to make an impact to the marketplace? So you have this creative tendency. At least for me, personally, that creativity provides an opportunity to think outside the box and say: What can we do that would be different for a charitable event and an event in general?”
Those events have also helped Horse Thief Hollow form numerous partnerships in the community, including one that involves cattle.
Byers has a buddy who raises cows in Indiana for the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Chicago. The students there raise them for roughly a year until they are full market size, and then the cattle are processed, Byers said. In late May, the brewery featured very local steaks during “Angus Week,” and Horse Thief Hollow sponsored a college scholarship for the student who demonstrated the best care of the animals.
Next up, Horse Thief Hollow is to take part in the Beverly/Morgan Park Wizarding Weekend July 21-24. The neighborhood event is to feature collaborations between the community’s businesses, restaurants and institutions on events, classes, entertainment and more. The neighborhood camaraderie is a big part of what drives Byers, who was born and raised there.
“We’re very motivated for the community to stay strong and work together on things,” Byers said. “You look at breweries all over the place, they kind of became hubs of the community.”
Tinley Park’s Soundgrowler Brewing Co., which has played into its theme with doom yoga in the past, also has a slate of events planned for the season. A Vintage Market was held in May. A Vegan Market is slated for June, with a Latin Market coming in July.
Blue Island Brewing Co. also has a matinee show and Robbie Fulks meet and greet coming up in July to raise money for the Frankfort Bluegrass Festival. And more events are likely to come this summer.