Thank you to all our our sponsors, vendors, volunteers and attendees for a great 2026 Craft Beer Festival!
~See You In 2027!~

Our 2026 Sponsors

Brewmaster ($1,500)

Head Brewer ($1,000)

Brewer ($500)

2026 Food Vendors

2026 Participating Breweries

We’re continuously adding more—check back often for updates.
Become A Sponsor

The first Mundelein Craft Beer Festival was held in June 2012 in the parking lot of Tighthead Brewery, Mundelein’s first craft brewery. Tighthead opened by local residents, Bruce and Molly Dir at 161 Archer Street, next to the Mundelein Metra Station in 2011. Bruce describes the brewpub as “neighborhood institution where friends and families can meet up and enjoy great music, wonderful company, and the best beer in town”.
After a year in business, Bruce approached the MCC Board of Directors about organizing a Craft Beer Festival as a fundraiser for MCC, promote the Brewery, and add a new event to Mundelein’s growing calendar of summer recreation options. Tighthead would be responsible for lining up the craft brewers, promoting the event in the brewing community, and be a participant. MCC would be responsible for the organizational details and permitting. A successful partnership was born!

From the beginning, the Mundelein Craft Beer Festival has been a hit with Brewers and the public, attracting 40 diverse brewers from throughout the Chicagoland area and between 1,200 to 1,000 visitors annually. Because of Tighthead’s great reputation and its organizational involvement, not to mention its award winning beers, the Mundelein BeerFest is generally considered to be a “brewer’s beer festival” and one of the best small beer festivals around.

After two years of growing success, the event was moved from the brewery parking lot to the Village Hall plaza, a more comfortable setting for visitors. Brewery participation is limited to 40 vendors and maximum visitor occupancy to 2,000. Two bands are featured each year, local restaurants and food trucks are on-hand, covered outdoor seating is provided, bags games are available. The new location of Courtland Commons offers all the same fun and excitement.

MCC is proud to work with Bruce and the Staff of Tighthead and for the support we receive from the Village of Mundelein. The Mundelein craft beer festival is an example of business, local government, and a non-profit, volunteer-based organization working together to add value to our community.