Family Brewery May Have the MOST Illinois Beer

The beer has been flowing in and through the state of Illinois for a long time. MolsonCoors headquarters are in Chicago. The Windy City is also home to Goose Island. Most every city in the state has had its own local historical brewery, and these days most of those cities have local brewpubs that make local beers. But other than being located in the state, how “Illinois” are these beers?

Is your palate refined enough to taste where the beer ingredients are from?

The question comes up because a family brewing outfit out of Urbana, Illinois has made perhaps the most Illinois beer. The upcoming Farm Progress show in Decatur this month (Aug 26-28) will have an official beer.

Riggs Beer - FarmProgressShow

The Riggs Beer Co. gets its barley from the family farm, and features ingredients from Central Illinois farms. The Riggs brothers (Matt and Darin) learned brewing in California and southern Germany. One worked at Anheuser-Busch the other at Faust in Germany. They then applied their knowledge by opening their own brewery in 2016.

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The Riggs family American Lager is what the Farm Progress Show will feature as the official beer with the Farm Progress logo and label. Using exclusively Illinois ingredients (and from their own farm), and being embraced by the Illinois Farm Progress show, the Riggs American lager may very well be the most Illinois beer. Also, if you are a beer can collector, getting an official Farm Progress beer can would be a unique addition.