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I drink a lot of PBR. It has something to do with being in my twenties, I assume. That, and the fact that one can always find a bar in Chicago with a $2 special on Pabst Blue Ribbon. Avoiding beer snobbery always seemed like a good idea—already a coffee snob and a food snob, I figured I should cut corners somewhere. Then, last week, I tasted Rock Bottom Brewery’s Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine—minutes after shaking hands with the man who’d brewed it, Illinois Craft Brewers Guild President and resident brewmaster Peter Crowley. Never before had I tasted a beer so rich and complex—it reminded me of cognac with its notes of caramel and vanilla from being aged in bourbon casks. (Nor had I ever gotten such a wicked buzz from a glass of beer. The “wine” refers to its 13 percent alcohol content). I implore you: Get your butt over to Rockbottom and get yourself a taste before they sell out, because once they’ve run out, the Bourbon Barrel’s gone. At least until they brew another batch.

After just one glass, I joined the legions of converts to the cult of craft beer. I’m looking forward to learning a lot more about local brews at the second annual AleFest Chicago (July 12), put on by self-described “beer geek” and “hophead” Joe Waizmann. Joe has been producing the craft-beer festival in Dayton, Ohio for a decade already, and has recently brought the event to other Midwestern cities as well. This is AleFest’s second year in Chicago, with a convenient new venue: Soldier Field’s Stadium Green. Festival goers will be grateful to take the CTA home after sampling 20 craft beers (included in the $40 ticket price) from a selection of over 200 sourced from 70 international breweries, including 20 based in Chicago. (Hardcore beer-lovers can purchase additional sampling tickets for a small fee, though I’ll probably be enjoying a nice beer nap on a sunny patch of grass by the 20th sample.)

Those of you with qualms about devoting an entire Saturday to decadent beer-soaked revelry can justify your hangovers with the knowledge that a percentage of ticket sales will be donated the Illinois Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America, and Pete Crowley’s Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, a non-profit organization devoted to developing and promoting the craft beer industry in Illinois. Not only is your cash going to a good cause, you’ll be doing your part to stimulate the local economy by supporting local breweries like Piece, Goose Island and Rock Bottom, as well as 120-year-old Lincolnwood-based craft beer distributor Louis Glunz Inc., who will supply over 70 percent of festival's beers. But do you really need an excuse to indulge in sampling the world’s best beers? Name one better way to spend your weekend.

Stay tuned for my report from the Fest next week. See you there!

AleFest Chicago, 1-6 p.m., Sat., July 12. Soldier Field’s Stadium Green. Tickets are $40, available from bars and breweries across the city. Get more info at alefest.com.

Rock Bottom Brewery, 1 W. Grand Ave., 312-755-9339. Swing by and try one of their seasonal small-batch beers crafted by Illinois Craft Brewers Guild president Peter Crowley.

Louis Glunz Inc.has been  Chicago’s premier distributor of craft beers for 120 years, featuring 665 beers from 172 countries. Learn more online at glunzbeers.com.