Brewery passport taps area beer enthusiasts
New program encourages sipping suds from Southland
A new program is rewarding south suburban beer enthusiasts for doing more of what they already love — stopping by local breweries.
Visit Chicago Southland, also known as the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau, is tapping into the region’s love of beer — and its abundance of breweries — for its latest mobile passport program, Suds Buds. Launched last month, the program incentivizes visiting multiple Southland businesses with prize packages.
“Locals or visitors, it doesn’t matter,” said Kim Kislowski, vice president of marketing for Visit Chicago Southland. “Anyone can do this. I always say local people are tourism ambassadors. … It’s nice to have everybody know what’s going on in the area.”
Fourteen area breweries are included on the list of eligible
spots that qualify for a passport check-in on their mobile devices. Each visit earns points that can be redeemed for Visit Chicago Southland-branded merchandise such as a coaster, tote bag, sticker and sweatshirt. Some breweries are also offering coupons within the passport.
“This is exciting,” Kislowski said. “It’s a new program.”
The new Suds Buds passport program comes on the heels of news that another popular south suburban beer passport program is ending. The organizers of the Dixie Highway Brewery Trail posted March 7 that it would be
coming to an end, though partially completed passports could be finished and redeemed for any prizes that were left over.
“We hope you’ve had fun on the trail,” the announcement stated. “We appreciate all of the