MM_021617

10 | February 16, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger NEWS
mokenamessenger.com
New oyster stout headlines Oyster Fest lineup
Tribes adds beer to
popular event
Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor
Oyster Fest isn’t a new
thing for Tribes Alehouse
and Grill, but its oyster
stout is.
The festival was held at
the Mokena Tribes location
this past Thursday, Friday
and Saturday, Feb. 9-11,
and owner Niall Freyne said
he wanted to try something
new this year, since Tribes
started brewing its own
beers just 18 months ago.
He said and oyser stout
isn’t necessarily a new
thing, but it is uncommon in
the craft brew business, and
certainly in the Midwest.
The brewing process
starts out the same as a
typical dry Irish stout, but
then he said the brewers
add close to 150 pounds of
shelled and shucked oyster
to the boil.
“It’s quite unique,” said
James Galdikas, general
manager of Tribes Alehouse
and Grill in Mokena. “It’s
very good, and I think it
will go really well with the
oysters that we’re serving.”
“It’s not going to taste
like oysters,” said Freyne,
who noted that the addition
gives it a crisp taste.
Although the beer doesn’t
taste exactly like oysters,
Freyne said it’s still best for
vegetarians and people will
shellfish allergies to stay
away.
The brewers kegged the
beer fresh on Thursday for
people to enjoy during Oyster
Fest that evening and
throughout the weekend.
Freyne said since starting
the brewery at their Mokena
location, Tribes has been
very successful, and the
company even sells its beers
to about 100 other places in
the Chicagoland area.
“We hired a great brewer
with a lot of experience,”
Freyne said.“He came out
“We hired a
great brewer
with a lot of
experience. He
came out of the
gates rockin’
with good beer.”
Niall Freyne — Tribes
Alehouse & Beer Company
owner, on why the
company brewing its
own beer, such as the
oyster stout, has been
successful
of the gates rockin’ with
good beer.
“We like beer that tastes
like beer; we want beer that
people want to come back
and drink a second one.”
He said many of their
beers have a “hop forward”
flavor, as opposed to many
other craft beers that are
made with food ingredients.
Now, they have more than
a dozen beers on tap — all
of which are brewed at
Tribes in Mokena.
Freyne has been doing
Oyster Fest for almost 10
years, and he said people
look forward to it every
year. And every year, he
said he sees new faces as
well.
For New Lenox residents
Greg and Nancy Crossett
and their son Chris, who
lives in Frankfort, Oyster
Fest is a yearly event that
they put on their calendars
as soon as they can.
“It’s the freshest oysters,
and they have a big selection,”
Greg Crossett said.
The couple and their son
said they have been eating
oysters for decades, and
they definitely plan to return
Attendees ( left to right) John Molchin, Sean Parsons, Jim Sleeman and Dick Schofield enjoy drinks during Oyster Fest on
Thursday, Feb. 9, at Tribes Alehouse & Beer Company. Photos By Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media
Niall Freyne, owner of Tribes Alehouse & Beer Company, prepares orders of raw oysters
during the annual Oyster Fest.
next time to down some
more oysters.
The Crossetts were joined
by their friends Jim and
Cindy Clarke, for whom it
was their first time trying
oysters.
“With the experts, I’m
learning a lot I didn’t know
before,” Jim Clarke said
jokingly of the Crossetts.
One of the things Galdikas
said makes Oyster
Fest at Tribes different is
that people can buy one of
something, instead of having
to order a dozen or halfdozen
like at many other
places that serve oysters.
“[Oyster Fest] is kind
of unique in that it gives
people the opportunity to
get oysters in an area where
they’re not readily available,”
Galdikas said.
He said it gives people the
opportunity to try different
oysters from the West Coast
and East Coast and find out
what they like.
“The raw bar gives an extended
dining experience,”
Galdikas said.
Freyne said they go
through about 2,500 oysters
every year during the threeday
event. Of the eight to
10 varieties they serve each
year, about half are brought
in fresh from each coast.
For Freyne, Oyster Fest
is an extension of his roots.
He was born in Ireland and
moved to the United States
when he was 5 years old.
Galway, Ireland, is the
home of the world-famous
Galway International Oyster
Festival, which is a huge
affair with live music, dancing,
food, competitions and,
of course, Guinness.
While he said he did attend
the festival once as a
young child, he doesn’t re-
Please see OYSTER, 11