Solemn Oath Brewery
Craft beer is all about challenging expectations and creating something new. With their Belgo-American beers, Solemn Oath Brewery in Naperville, IL does just that. Solemn Oath began with a vision, “I really fell in love with the culture of craft beer and this renaissance that’s happening right now,” said John Barley, President of Solemn Oath Brewery and when it came time to open his brewery, Naperville seemed to be the perfect fit. “It’s a huge population and an awesome community. It’s kind of the center of night-life in the Western suburbs”.
Belgo-American Style
John Barley was born and raised in the United States, but when his parents moved to Brussels, Belgium, he gained an appreciation for Belgian beer. This original spark would eventually grow into Solemn Oath’s unique blend of Belgian and American beer traditions. Using traditional Belgian styles and ingredients, and injecting them with a sense of American ingenuity and experimentation. As Barley puts it, “We’re a hybrid brewery. A Belgian influence is at the core of my inspiration for the brewery, so Belgian yeast profiles or hop profiles with a lot of American hop profiles as well.” Not going too extreme on anything has kept a balance of what they do and what they are all about that they can be proud of at Solemn Oath.
Challenging Drinker’s Expectations
The folks at Solemn Oath are all about challenging expectations. In fact, they’re on a quest to help find the right beer for the person across the bar. Whether it be someone who is a wine drinker, or a whiskey drinker, or even someone who might think that they don’t like beer at all, the team is on a mission to find a beer for you. “Everybody likes some beer, they just haven’t had the right beer yet,” said Barley. Anything that they put their name on, they are genuinely confident with.
The ability to ‘challenge the expectations’ of what people may think is your average everyday craft beer and give their drinkers a new experience is something that Solemn Oath Brewery takes into serious consideration when brewing each batch. Barley said, “I think our willingness to challenge the status quo and to challenge drinker’s and maybe learn what they like as opposed to maybe thinking that they know what they like. That’s something we put a lot of effort into. That’s part of our duty as craft brewers in this country as well.” It is this inner optimism and positivity that it takes to continue to grow and create a craft beer experience for each and every person who opens up a bottle of Solemn Oath beer.
The fourth annual Naperville Ale Fest will take place on Saturday, July 16, 2016 and will showcase over 200 unique beers from craft breweries around the country. The fest will also feature live music and food from some of the area’s favorite restaurants and food trucks. Situated on the grounds of the Naper Settlement, with downtown Naperville as a backdrop, it is the ideal setting to experience craft beer. A portion of the proceeds from the Naperville Ale Fest will benefit the Naper Settlement and the Naperville Heritage Society.
Naperville Ale Fest
Saturday, July 16th
Naper Settlement