Two-time attendee, both summer and winter. I can honestly attest that this is a great festival to visit if you're a beer enthusiast. I've long been the type to continually try new crafts so the idea of having 60 (winter) and 120+ (summer) breweries at my disposal is a welcome thought. For the numbers, that's roughly 120 crafts in the winter and close to 250 in the summer. No..you won't (*you shouldn't) try to drink them all, even if you buy the early entry pass, but you can knock down a significant number of them in the four hours they're open. Regarding the different seasons: Summer is held in downtown Naperville at the Settlement. I prefer this one over the winter because it's larger, there are more vendors (both beer and other alcohols), they employ music acts on stage, there are more games and places to sit..and hey..it's summer. Even when it was 100 degree's last year it was fun. Winter was excellent as well. You can't judge the fest by the weather, you have to accept what mother nature gives you. In our case this year, that was near 40 degree temps in late February. Can't ask for much better than that in Chicagoland. The setup was an easy flow but the tents, which are necessary given the possible weather conditions, make for cramped quarters. The lines were never long, but getting to them usually meant maneuvering around idle drinkers. The winter doesn't provide a music act and the food/games/non-beer vendors are far less. Still..60 brewers in the dead of winter is a pretty awesome selection. Can't wait for the next one. Cheers! read more

Naperville Ale Fest - Festivals Near Me - Naperville, Illinois

Summer session was terrible. A lot of the booths were having trouble with their taps and kegs. Not worth the money.

This was our 3rd year attending, 2nd year as VIP ticket holders. I am not saying this to be mean, I am just hoping they get it right for next time. This year was such a disappointment!! You were given a juice glass, again! Has anyone every tried to pour a draft into a juice glass??? FOAMY!! Where was the pint glass from 2 years ago?? Where were the directory books? They were hidden at the "apparel sales" tent instead of when you entered. There was no way to tell where breweries were. The nice thing about being a VIP is the 1 hour entry without the long lines to talk with the breweries, the secluded area and the "special" brews that were available. It was so disappointing that a lot of breweries were not in attendance, only their beer was. We would ask a question and the answer was always " I don't work for the brewery". Well then, Why are you here?? At the very least, they should be able to answer simple questions like "Where can I purchase This? As a VIP, what did your double ticket price give you?? A disappointing VIP area, with no extra shade or seating and the "special" taps, you were stuck waiting for. At least a t-shirt?? Nope, not this year.... Go buy it! So, I am not really sure what I actually got for my double ticket price. An extra hour of drinking?? Well, we were there for the experience, and this year was a fail!! Overall, I feel taken advantage of. If I decide to give them my money next year, it will not be for the "VIP" experience. There is no real benefit. read more

The Naperville Ale Fest turned out to be a good time and was impressively well run for a first time event of this sort. The time of day, location, and layout were good. I spoke with a friend who purchased the upgrade to VIP and he paid $30 to get in earlier and for somewhat shorter lines-not necessary. I didn't try any of the food options, but Tom and Eddie's burgers smelled and looked good and I'm now determined to finally try Crosstown's wings, which every person who has ever mentioned the place raves about. Vendors were for the most part friendly and enjoying themselves. The Sam Adams booth was very good-friendly workers, swag, and good cold options (Rebel IPA was solid). Greenbush and Revolution were also good in terms of the service, options, and beer temperature and quality. Founders on the other hand-their reps seemed annoyed to be there and would grab your pint glass, fill near the 3 oz. line, mark your sample card, and move on without eye contact (not just my observation). A good time for a Saturday afternoon and brilliant on the timing and location-1-5 on a Saturday afternoon in Naper Settlement. The nearby downtown dining and drinking establishments probably had a good day and evening take thanks to this event. I look forward to next year and the Lisle event advertised in the map book. read more

This was our 3rd year attending Naperville Ale Fest, unfortunately, it was also our worst year. We have always purchased the VIP package because we enjoy talking with the brewers. This year, the "VIP" tent area was extremely limited on shade and seating. Previous years the VIP area was filled with umbrella tables so that you could be out of the sun. I was extremely disappointed that this was changed - especially when you factor in that the price was raised this year. Previous years, cigar and cigarette smokers were given a designated area. This year, cigar smokers were walking around the fest with no one stopping them from blowing smoke into everyone's faces. I was disgusted. I don't mind if you want to smoke, but I do mind that in a crowded area you are being inconsiderate of others. What's worse is that the Fest did nothing to stop this. Finally, though weather can never be predicted, planning needed to be improved in anticipation of a hot July day. The volunteers were getting drunk instead of maintaining a safe atmosphere for the fest. A cooling area was not widely advertised to attendees - in fact I didn't find out about it until the next day. They did offer free water, but for a festival as large as this one they needed to provide more relief. Large fans would have been an easy solution to the very crowded and uncomfortable environment that everyone was standing in. I can say that they have a wide variety of brewers with great brews, multiple food trucks, and a beautiful setting. However, we don't feel that the fest itself was run as well as previous years. Very disappointing. read more

I hope this becomes an annual event moving forward. It was very well organized. The line to get in moved fast and the location was terrific with a mix of well shaded spots to get out of the sun. The brewery selection was very impressive. By late afternoon I don't think many of the vendors were punching tickets or even minding the 3 oz. mark on our glasses. Everyone was just enjoying the event and it became one big party. Given the crowd size this will probably only get more popular, bigger and expensive. The $45 general admission was well worth it. read more

They cancelled the 2020 Summer fest because of Covid. They would not refund my money then. In 2021, they had another summer fest and said they would refund the 2020 ticket then. It has been over a month since the last email, with no response or refund. Do not trust the city of Naperville. I will never support anything in Naperville again!!! read more

I've been to several of Lou Dog's Events - most notably, the 2013 Naperville and Lisle Ale fests, as well as the 2014 Winter and Summer Naperville Ale fests. Clearly, I dislike the events. Ha! But seriously though, other than the lack of port-o-potties at the other events (Summer events have been great, that's a reference to the others), I can't complain much (okay one more. Stop advertising that we're getting a collector's pint glass, when you give us a piddly little tasting glass that we can't use after the event for any reason). The food selection is great, the service is fantastic...and the beer! I'll let you in on a secret: don't buy extra tickets. You'll be plenty full at the end, and that's if you even get marked off for all the drinks. I use every "taste" every time, and typically leave with less than 10 marks off my card. Every time, I say I'm going to study the book and know ahead of time where I want to go...but I don't take beer that seriously, and it's small enough that there's enough time to hit all the spots. Have fun, and make friends. This is the best of the Lou Dog Events! read more

Bought Tickets in advance and it took 35 minutes to get into the event. There were thousands of people there but only two entry lines. I did not care about it cutting into drinking time. It was being outside standing in the rain. As a result i am sick. Everything is perceived value and for $50 per ticket it is grossly over what it is worth. The vendors are not in all 1 location. There are 5 tents set up and some of the vendors are outside. Bottom line is when u subject patrons to stand outside for 35 in freezing rain not much u can do to recover from that. I cant imagine how they get 4 stars. Especially since this is not the first event and have growing pains. read more

My husband and I loved this festival. It was busy, but we didn't have to wait in any long lines. The beer selection was great and there was a variety for every type of beer lover. The location for this festival is great because there a tons of trees and it was actually comfortable in the shade. The food selection was small but there was variety. The hand washing stations were nice, except for the fact that they ran out of water. Overall, a great festival. Do your research before you go so you can have a plan of attack. read more

Went to the Naperville Ale Fest with a couple of friends. Didn't know what to expect, but found it similar to the Naperville Wine Fest. You're given a punch card and a glass. The promoters did well, as they had the brewers and a beer listing on the website. A little research and I had a list of which tents I wanted to hit first. Some of the breweries had reps and some didn't, which was a little disappointing, but fellow fest goers were able to provide info which more than made up for it. Food was good too. I had a hot sausage from the Wurst Kitchen which was excellent. Lines moved fast, plenty of shade and plenty of beer (and some ciders too). Overall we had a great time and will be back next year. read more

This review is for the 2014 Fest. My wife and I just left and really loved the experience we had. Great brewers, great beers, terrific live music, excellent setting, superb food truck selection, manageable lines, lots of tables for eating and plentiful water. Some great ideas too: lanyards with cards on which brewers checked boxes (no sheet of tickets to awkwardly use), cigar tent with local cigar vendor, cider alley, lots of porta-potties (don't underestimate this one). One of the best beer fests I've attended. read more

We didn't do the VIP experience but we had a great time hanging out with our friends and trying beers we normally wouldn't be able too! We'll Def. be back next time! read more

I attended this Ale Fest in 2013 and in 2014. What a great event! It's set in a beautiful location and was run very well. Lanyard for your beer ticket card, lots of porta-potties, lots of food options in 1 central location, lots of seating, obviously - lots of great beer. I had a VIP ticket and it was fun having a separate space for drinking/resting/trying select beers. Really enjoyed my time there and cant' wait for 2015 read more

Had a great time at Naperville Ale Fest! So many great beers in one place! Can't wait for the summer fest!!

Soooooo many great beers to choose from!!!! Everyone in our party of 6 enjoyed the beer, music and food. Even though there were many people there it was not overly crowded and there were not long lines for beer. It was a very nice time. Our only complaint was we spent the extra money for the VIP admission which doubled the ticket price. The VIP area was a roped off open area near the food trucks. There was 1 beer vendor, a guy playing a guitar(who played very well) seperate port-a-pities and a few standing tables. No tent and no seating. The doubled ticket price also got you a free sandwich from the food trucks and admission to the event 1 hour early. I look forward to attending next year but will not waste the money for the VIP admission. read more

Last year the Wheaton Ale Fest was the first beer festival I had been to and I was planning on going to that one again, until I found out it was cancelled. I can only compare Naperville Ale Fest to Wheaton, because those are the only 2 that I have been to. Including the service fee and everything, the tickets for this were about $50 for general admission. That price included a pint glass (yes real glass), a 15 punch card and access to about 50 different breweries, each with 2-3 beers available. It was nice that they held it at Naper Settlement, it made a nice backdrop to the drinking. I think next year they might want to spread out the tents a little more, just to give people more room to maneuver. For being the first ale fest in Naperville it was way more organized than I thought it would be. I'll definitely be going again next year, it was a lot of fun and there was so much beer to try. A lot of the tents were staffed with people associated with the breweries and not just volunteers, which was great for asking questions. My beer of the day award goes to Mendocino White Ale, which was great. read more

I am only giving two stars based upon the vast range of brews which were available at the event. As far as the money we spent for the "VIP EXPERIENCE " we could not have been more disappointed . I see reviews of the 2015 fest casting a positive review and I could not disagree more. You had more volunteers than actual brewery reps, nothing against the volunteers at all but, even I couldn't pour a proper beer into a SHOT GLASS ! We came expecting so much more and received nothing more than a cigar/cigarette infested carnival... I'm only writing this because 2013 and 2014 were so well put together that I only want 2016 to be better... read more

Went to the 2017 Naperville Ale Fest held at the Naper Settlement. Was a great time and great venue for it. Lots of trees, so it was easy to find shade. Great selection of breweries to sample from. The vendor tent rows were spaced nicely, so it never felt over crowded, nor too far apart Never really waited longer than 30 seconds to get a beer, which was real nice. Only 2 things that prevented me from giving it 5 stars: many of the breweries were already packing up a little bit before 5:00, so no last minute beers. Also, while the food trucks were nice with good food, they were mostly higher end cuisine. It would have been nice to be able to just grab a quick hot dog. So just really 2 minor dings :) read more