Naperville Winter Ale Fest

Had a great time! We’ve been going every year for the last few years and have never been disappointed! Great selections of beer, awesome food and clean bathrooms!

The Naperville Winter Ale Fest just keeps getting better and better (in my own opinion, at least).
2016 was our third straight year of attending this event. The folks at Lou Dog Events have done a great job of learning from their experiences during the first two years and working out all of the kinks that inevitably happen with large events like this. There were plenty of port-​a-​johns; fast-​moving lines; clearly marked signage on all of the tents; a good variety of food trucks; and of course a great selection of craft beers. We particularly liked the Samuel Adams-​sponsored Homebrew Pavilion and the Trump’s Musk we drank there (a bourbon-​fortified porter brewed by the Spent Grain Society). There was also a great crowd of friendly people to drink with.
The best one yet!

Reading reviews from last year, it seems that while the Naperville Winter Ale Fest of 2016 wasn’t as much of a cluster-​you-​know-​what as 2015 was, but I still feel like there’s loads of room for improvement. The weather was absolutely beautiful this year, so I assume that’s a big part of why the event was so insane.
First off, parking was crazy. We ended up parking at Neuqua and it wasn’t super clear whether or not we were supposed to be parking there. We saw one sign that said something about parking at a church, but I’ve got no idea where that was. My fault for not looking into this further before we left, but we definitely weren’t alone judging by the people racing through the Neuqua lots looking for any spots.
The line to get in was nuts, we got there a little after 12:00, and I didn’t have my first Untapped checkin until a little after 1:00. Since this seemed like such a major issue last year, I’m sort of at a loss as to why the line to get in wasn’t handled a bit more intelligently. I guess we should have gotten there earlier, but I totally didn’t expect it to take so long to get in.
Once we got inside, it was unbelievable how many people were there. Lines to everything were super long, and the tents were absolutely jam packed with people spilling beer all over as they were getting bumped by people trying to get to the actual beer tables. I can’t imagine what this would have been like if it were actually cold out, as everyone jammed into the tents would have been totally crazy. This fest definitely could have used a few more big tents for people to hang out in, to make actually getting beer samples a little less obnoxious.
I love food trucks, but when you’re waiting well over 30 minutes for a grilled cheese, you either need fewer people at your event or more food trucks. You could tell the guys working the trucks were totally stressed out too, as they got our order wrong and basically didn’t care, even going as far as suggesting we go wait another half hour in line if we wanted something else.
$ 20 for a DD ticket feels expensive, particularly when all you get for your $ 20 is the ability to get beer spilled on you and to ask for individual baby-​sized 8oz water bottles. Considering you actively want to encourage people using DD’s, it seems like you could sweeten the deal a little bit. If you got other things for your DD ticket, absolutely no one we asked knew about them. I paid $ 40 for my regular ticket, and I feel like we should have just thrown out another $ 20 for a second normal ticket instead of buying an 8oz water bottle for $ 20.
A lot of the kegs were starting to be kicked around 2:00, I think Solemn Oath totally ran out by around 2:30 which sucks when you consider it took so long to get in. I guess this kind of thing is sort of inevitable, but, whatever.
Would I come back next year? I mean, I guess. There’s not a ton of these beer festivals in the ‘burbs, so it’s not like you can really be like «Eh I’m not going to the Naperville one because it’s such a mess, I’m going to the Plainfield fest that same weekend.» …As it’s go to the Naperville fest or stay home and drink your own beer. This is likely a big reason why the event sees the same problem year over year, with no competition there’s no reason to improve anything.

Had a ton of fun on a 19 degree day last year. Lots of beer, great vendors, unlimited samples (they stop keeping track of tickets after an hour or two). Only complaint was tents need to be bigger to hold more people, especially since it’s winter so people want to be able to drink in the warmth. They should get some more food trucks as well. Also, what was up with the hour wait to get in? There wasn’t enough parking in the area, no one knew where to go. The line for the fest was a few hundred people long because they opened doors late and couldn’t handle all the people. We got in over an hour late. Oh well. Beer was awesome and we still had a great time.

It was very cold but we had a awesome time. All the different variety of beers were off the chain. I have to say that I was quite tipsy from all the samples tasting. We will most definitely be here for the next event. I recommend anyone to experience this event and never mine the cold just make sure to bundle up.

The good: Tons of beer variety, interesting food trucks, friendly vendors all around. A mustache ride? It was an actual mustache teeter totter, not a Tom Selleck roller coaster.
The bad: Port-​o-​potties with lines about 10 – 15 people deep. Food truck lines were very long, tents were crowded and cold.
The ugly: We arrived about 45 minutes after the gates were supposed to open at 12:00. We were in line about 50 minutes before we actually got in. Yes, the line to get in was awful. I wouldn’t wait that long to ride the Tom Selleck roller coaster!

Had a really great time even though it was freezing outside! While it was a lot of fun, and I thought the beer selection was good, I’m not sure Naperville is the right town to have this event.
There were lots and lots and LOTS of toilets, so we never had to wait. I did see several douchebag men walking out of the «women only» potties. Apparently, they couldn’t walk one or two toilets over to the regular ones.
Parking was horrible, as was the line to get in. We did see people jumping the line, and the «security» didn’t give a crap.
I know it was cold, but people were just loitering in the tents which made it hard to actually get to the beer.
I did enjoy the many food carts as well. Lot’s of great choices.

After attending the mass chaos that this event was, I am still able to rate it three stars because I will go back. Granted with more socks because the feet were getting cold.
The positives from the event, there were plenty of bathrooms, the line was no worse then the Sox, Cubs, or any other event that you may goto.
The food was excellent, I had the buffalo chicken sliders and they were well worth it. I also suggest the mini donuts.
Beer was plenty and I didn’t see a problem with them running out, but they were also having trouble keeping the lines thawed.
There were only three negatives. The tents were overcrowded with people socializing, which isn’t a problem but it kept me from beer.
The line getting in was ridiculous, perhaps getting there earlier would correct this.
The third complaint is they did overbook the event, granted its there to make money, but you have to remember safety and when you have 5k plus drunkards in a small area, problems can arise.
On a side note, I want to salute the, for lack of a better word, douche in the Harley hat and fur coat, Ya gave my friends and I someone to laugh at. Granted there were many douches there, but you’re number 1

We had a fantastic time!
It seems the only major issue everyone had was the line to get in. We didn’t have that problem by arriving two hours after it started. And I’m so glad we did! I’m not sure I would have been able to stay a full 4 hours!
The tents were warm and packed full of people. Everyone having a great time. The food trucks were amazing as always. And the beer was fantastic. What a great way to sample beers brewed locally and from all over! I especially loved the band walking around playing music for tips.
Overall it was a great time to get out over the winter and do something different! We’ll be back next year!

I went to this with my neighbor friend. This was our first time attending so we didn’t know what to expect. I kind of figured it would be like the Plainfield one that’s in the summer due to the same pricing and similar breweries attending.
Upon arrival, we pulled up to a half mile long line of people waiting to get in at 1 pm. Luckily we had a dd and were dropped off because there was no parking to be had. So… confused and cold, we walked up to the line wondering what we were waiting for since the event opened at noon. No one in line seemed to know either. We finally made it up to the gates at 1:45 and realized how unorganized everything was was the direct reason why the line was so huge. We finally got our tasting glasses and our sticker for tastings that only had 18 spots for samples. Again, another dumbfounded look at each other and we continued on into the tent area without any direction because they were out of programs from over selling the event.
The tents were so overcrowded with people just trying to stay warm and talking and not even drinking… You couldn’t tell who was in line or where a line started. Most of the brewers were out of at least one of their beers by the time we made it to their booths. One positive is that most of the brewers didn’t care by that point and didn’t mark your tag after having a sample. Some people were complaining about this… Why, I have no idea.
Another positive were the food trucks… Great selection and plenty to choose from, but again, very long lines. We wanted Toasty Cheese, but even they ran out of bacon by 2:30. You know it’s an over sold event when they run out of bacon. So we opted for the Pasty instead. It was quite delicious.
Overall the people at the event were respectful and we met some nice people there. But as an overall experience, I would probably never attend this tasting again. The money value and organized chaos that was the event planning was a major turn off for us.

«NO ALEFEST PARKING»
Naperville’s Alefest sounds awesome on paper, but it was executed with neolithic incompetence.
Lots to address, but where to start? How about the parking shenanigans: Alefest was held on the grounds of Nequa Valley’s sprawling freshman campus in several outdoor tents. Parking was a total mess which began with a long line of cars weaving through the faculty lots, desperately searching for a spot. It didn’t help that there were signs plastered all over (in the few lots that weren’t already full) clearly saying ‘no Alefest parking’. A couple even went so far as to say ‘absolutely –NO– Alefest parking’. They knew we were coming, and they were prepared. The surrounding area businesses seemed savvy of the expected crowd size, but the event planners seemed not to be. Because…
The line to get in was indefinitely long. Holy christ on a cracker, I’ve never in my life seen a single, unbroken queue line of people like this. I should’ve taken a picture. Even my dad, who braved the wintery weather with me, agreed that «this line is [expletive] huge». Coming from two veterans of waiting in line for roller coasters at an amusement park, we were stunned. It took 45 minutes of standing outside in the bitter cold to get our Alefest wristbands, which bordered on intolerable. I came very, VERY close to just saying ‘f*ck it, the tickets were free, this line is ridiculous, I’m cold, forget this let’s go to a bar’. What made things even more maddening was that the line we stood in was one of TWO queues of shivering people that merged at the entrance. Not a single Alefest usher, organizer, cop, or other event member told us where to go or how to proceed. A logistical nightmare… and we hadn’t even gotten inside!
$ 45 got you a small, 3oz souvenir sample glass and a ‘punchcard’ for keeping track of beer samples. I (incorrectly) assumed that small food samples were included as well… they were not. Sure, there were food trucks, but their items weren’t cheap. From a value standpoint, I wasn’t feeling it. Checking all the other reviews for this year, the general consensus seems to be that admission wasn’t even close to being worth the $ 45. «If I paid that, I’d be pissed» — practically every Unilocaler that attended, and I’m inclined to agree.
The guest accommodations were horrendous. Sufficient bathrooms for the crowd size, I suppose, but that was where the good news ended. They had portable patio-​style heaters, but they were a total tease, since most were either shutoff or had run out of fuel one hour into the event. When I surmised that ‘there’s no place to sit!’ a woman behind me said ‘they have hay bales you can sit on…’ Yeah. Because having cold, brittle straw poking my ass is SO much better than standing.
Other SMH moments included when the visitor info booth ran out of programs by 1:30pm, and the gross inconsistencies of vendors monitoring the sample punchcard. Several booths were just giving out samples willy nilly, not marking anyone’s ticket. Now I’m not complaining about the free ‘free’ samples, but there was no method to the madness. Some vendors played by the rules, others were just doing whatever they felt like, and it left both my dad and I scratching our heads.
The snack necklaces were a hilarious and pricey gimmick. For $ 3, you could buy a string necklace with typical Rold Gold pretzels and a few soft ones to munch on with your beer samples. For an extra $ 2 (so, $ 5) you could upgrade to a ‘premium’ meat-​and-​cheese (actually just slim jim’s and pull-​apart cheese sticks) necklace. The markup on those things was gigantic, no doubt. Naturally, like everything else, they ran out of them early on into the event.
On the standard 1 – 10 scale, the comfort level at Alefest hovered somewhere around 0, which, coincidentally, was also where the temperature hovered. Even though neither of us wanted to admit it (something about beggars being choosers), my dad and I couldn’t wait to leave the massive, poorly-​planned outdoor event. Had it been held indoors, my rating would be DRASTICALLY different. Unfortunately, the sole highlight of this excursion was a spectacular steak-&-swiss pasty from a food truck. I sampled some good beers, that much is true, but there’s no way I could justify paying $ 45/​pp for an afternoon of cold and confusion.
I want to reiterate that I am indeed grateful to have won a pair of tickets through Unilocal,but it pains me to report that nearly everything about Alefest 2015 was a chilly disaster.
Unless they make some major improvements in the coming years, as it stands now, I would not return nor recommend.

Three stars because luckily, I didn’t have to pay for the tickets, but if I had paid the $ 45 dollars per ticket, I’d be pretty pissed.
First off, even with having tickets in your hand and not having to pay for them at the gate, my boyfriend and I still had to wait 45 minutes in line to get in. We arrived at 12:11pm (gates opened at 12:00). If we had arrived 10 minutes later, it probably would have been an hour plus. The line was obnoxious. What was worse, is there were two large lines running opposite directions. There were no staff around the lines, so most of us had no idea what we were standing in line for and we were hoping that we were in the right place. Luckily we were, others were not as lucky. They would wait in the line to buy tickets when they already had them and the staff would send them all the way to the end of the other line. Craziness.
Once we got in, things were okay, but the tents were so packed that you couldn’t even get to the beer stands in them. The only beer stands I went to were the smaller tents that weren’t enclosed. Even those were super crowded because there wasn’t too much space to stand around and sip on the beer. The place was just jam packed with people.
A plus? Toasty Cheese of course! I was just excited about that because I’d heard so many awesome things about that food truck and my expectations were definitely met. So delicious.
Almost all of the heaters ran out of gas by 1:00, so as my boyfriend and I were freezing to death, we only got about 4 samples and decided to leave to avoid frostbite. Believe me, we were both dressed for the weather with Under Armor and long underwear, but it was still so cold. The fires they had going were packed with people, so it was just impossible to even warm up.
So, would I pay $ 45 to return next year? Not a chance. If I got free tickets, would I go again? Eh, maybe if they made some changes. I’d be willing to give them one more chance to get more organized and maybe limit the ticket sales or move to a bigger location.

I gave this event three stars last year… I had to drop a star for the 2015 event.
I won two free tickets from Unilocal.Thank you, Unilocal!There is no way I would have paid $ 45 to attend this another year in a row since I experienced it last year. Yes, it’s a fun event for a Midwesterner to attend in the winter but I wouldn’t make it a yearly tradition.
Last year I know we didn’t get there right when the event opened because the people who drove were never on time and I recall walking right in. This year we were running late and I was ok with that since the tickets were free but we walked up to a very long line… A line like the place didn’t open yet only it was already 40 minutes past noon when the event started at noon. Walking up I heard an adult man pretty much throwing a tantrum that he was not going to lose time standing in that line after paying all that money for tickets. I laughed it off and kept going. The people behind us were not very pleased because they too were losing over an hour before heading in. In conversation with them were wondering if they had a ticket limit or just kept selling, or what because that line was unacceptable.
As we got closer to the entry gate a guy told us to make sure we have our sleeves up for our wrist bands to avoid delays … Are you kidding me? Is that is why the line is so long? No one has their sleeves up with their parkas and layers of clothing???
What was really going on was… first you show your ID, then your ticket gets scanned, then you get a wrist band, and finally your tasting glass. There were several people doing all of these but there were two long lines feeding into one and it was mass chaos. Then I was curious why all these people were standing around boxes only to find they were garbage boxes for the paper from the sticker to mark off your tastings.
Ok, so after finally making our way in, we decided to head to the tents and booths at the far end and head back to the beginning. I’m not sure if that was smart or not, but it was alright except for people standing in lines talking and drinking in line when they really weren’t IN line so that was a hold up, some of these crowded tents were people standing around so they all appeared to be crowded and chaotic. I’m just not a fan of crowds, but I can deal and make the most of it.
A plus was that they did have plenty of bathrooms this year, you just had to look for them… so those who said they waited for ten minutes posted some silly talk on here, there were PLENTY in the back with no wait at all.
Lots of food trucks, I didn’t partake in them but they definitely were busy.
The pretzel necklace booth ran out early on, that was a bummer.
We also found several booths didn’t even mark off our beer. My +1 and I got through about half of our 18 tastings and that was plenty, we headed out about an hour before the event was over because I didn’t want to be among the chaos of overserved people leaving.
Thank you, again Unilocal for allowing me to experience this again. I did enjoy myself but I didn’t feel like I needed to get my money’s worth like most of the people there. They really need to re-​think organization for next year — maybe two entrances? Maybe giving out a wristband should someone want to leave and come back and eliminating one step in the entry line? Something.

Overall, my group had a great time, but this event could use some improvements. The layout was great & I feel the bathrooms were fine until around 3:00. Plenty of promos and giveaways. The fire pits and heaters really helped keep people warm. The tents were crowded, but it was still easy to get to the beer tables. However check in was a huge disappointment!
Was it worth $ 45? Probably not.

If waiting in line for an hour in the cold is your idea of a good time go to this fast. Otherwise skip it for a more professionally run one…
So much potential for this fest that was dragged down by the entrance process. Literally thousands of people waited over an hour just to enter the grounds. One entrance line with less than 10 people checking folks in. Huge bottle neck. What a cluster.
People were pissed even before they got in… disgruntled cold drunken people isn’t a way to start a beer festival
Get your act together Lou dog events. This felt like amateur hour! Don’t hire this event planning and execution company!

Excellent variety of beers, good music, and fantastic variety of food trucks (OMango, sliders, pizza). This place was packed until the very end at 4pm. it was a lot if fun. I want to go to the Summer Ale Fest!

The beer selection was great and the food spaces were super convenient. The outdoor fireplaces were a great treat. However, the entry line was a nightmare. I prepaid for tickets hoping it would speed the entry process. Sadly, we were in line for nearly 45 minutes, which was a huge disappointment. I would like to see better entry line logistics, as we spent a quarter of our time just trying to get into the festival.

Ok, we just got back home after attending the Fest. We won tickets this year, thank you Unilocal!With that being said I wasn’t planning to go if we had to pay this year. Last year we were really annoyed because Lou Dog who runs this event didn’t have enough toilets. They must’ve listened because it was a lot better this year. I waited in line 10 mins tops this year, last year it was at least ½ hour. Also, last year they ran out of beer early. I didn’t experience that as much this year. They had some really good Brewers and some good food trucks this year. Loved the local Brewers and found some new favorites. Also appreciated the heat lamps and fire pits. With all that being said, it was too crowded!!! There should’ve been a lot less people. I know it’s all about the almighty dollar but come on. It was fun but I don’t know if it’s worth $ 45 each.

So, I was lucky enough to win tickets to this fest which was a good thing, because I don’t know that I would have paid for it otherwise. There are a lot of improvements that need to be made.
First of all, this fest is in the middle of nowhere and not accessible via public transportation. That’s a big no-​no for me. I don’t care what your Naperville drink limit is. I saw some pretty wasted people at the fest, and it scared me knowing they would be driving. The nearest Metra station is about 5 miles away. I was hoping to take the Metra to the fest but quickly saw that wasn’t an option. The parking lot at the high school filled up pretty quickly, so we were redirected to the Jewel parking lot.
Once parked, you gotta walk it. Which would be no problem, except that I’m an idiot and hurt my leg the day before and could barely walk, so I was walking with a cane (yes, if you saw a 25 year old with a wooden cane, that was me). Let me tell you, that is a long ass walk when you’re hurtin’ and have a cane. I was tired by the time I got there. I was secretly hoping one of the cops guarding the entrance would offer to give me a ride back, but alas, they did not. Only a «good luck» as I hobbled back the mile or so to to the car.
Second, the beer, or lack thereof. We had 15 spots on our card for 3 oz pours. At our second stop, they were already out of the IPA. It was 12:30. Not a good sign. The woman had marked my card before she gave me the beer, so she had to get me a beer from a neighboring brewery. Also, a lot of the breweries ran out of beer by 2pm. We left around 2:30, having only had about 7 samples because everywhere we went was out. Not the breweries fault; they’ve been to bigger, longer fests and have had plenty of beer. I think the event was oversold, and were probably not told, so they didn’t bring enough.
Third, it was congested as hell. The main problem was that there were four «big» tents set up with at least 8 breweries in each. So the lines inside the tent were cramped and you couldn’t tell who was in which line. Also, once you were in the tent, you really didn’t want to go back out because there were other breweries you’d want to try in that tent. That makes for a lot of people standing around running into the people waiting in line. And then me, annoying everyone with my damn cane or getting run into because there wasn’t enough room. That didn’t help my leg situation any.
Fourth, lack of bathrooms. The line was outrageous. How were there not enough port-​a-​potties? Luckily, my bladder was feeling strong, so I was able to hold it until we left and walked to a cigar shop down the road.
They seemed to have a good amount of food options, so that’s a plus. I think it’s pretty cool to have food trucks at a fest like this. Also, there were plenty of heating spots around so I never felt too cold. They also had some cool entertainment activities, like life-​size beer pong (so trying that at my next party). Also, the beers and breweries they had were excellent. (It would have been nice to talk to some of them, but you got the sense that the line definitely needed to keep moving). However, there is a lot they need to work on. Really glad I didn’t have to pay for this because I’m not sure it would have been worth the trip out to the edge of Naperville.

The hubby and I enjoyed our time at the Winter Ale Fest! We got there at 12:01 and based on the other reviews, so glad we came right when it opened! We stayed for a couple hours, and we did notice that some of the breweries were running out of beer! This is the first year for it, so I don’t know how they judge how much beer to bring???
It was a perfect amount of people when we came, but when we were getting ready to leave, it started to get a bit crowded for our comfort. They had a variety of breweries, some big names and some of the small guys. It was definitely fun chatting with the different companies… some friendlier then others…
They had quite a few food trucks… we ate at Toasty Cheese (based out of Schaumburg) DELICIOUS! OMG and pretty good pricing too! My cheese sandwich was $ 5 and my husbands which had meat on it and HUGE was $ 8.
It was a bit too cold outside for my comfort, but I would definitely come back next year. and we are definitely going to the summer one! I felt it was very well run as well!