Evanston Public Library has organized free tours for library patrons at Temperance Beer Co., a local microbrewery, and FEW Spirits, a local distillery.

Ben Remsen, EPL’s adult service librarian and event organizer, spearheaded the two-part event series on local alcohol producers so residents can learn the technical processes of brewing and distilling, as well as extend the community outside the walls of the library, he said.

“It is useful for people to see the library as something beyond just a big building filled with books that they go to but to see it as a sort of hub of community activity,” Remsen said.

The tour of Temperance Beer Co., 2000 Dempster St., on Feb. 15 includes a behind-the-scenes view of the brewery and its equipment as well as information about the company’s brewing techniques and beer-making in general, founder Josh Gilbert said. Temperance, which opened a year and a half ago, is named after the Temperance movement, which gained popularity in Evanston in 1874 and was officially enacted into Illinois legislation in 1919, Gilbert said.

“Some people assume right off the bat that (the name) is sort of thumbing the nose at the (Woman’s Christian Temperance Union), but it really isn’t,” Gilbert said. “One of the most interesting elements of Evanston’s history is its sort of tortured existence with alcohol, and so I wanted this brewery to be … a brewery that belongs here.”

Paul Hletko, founder and distiller at FEW Spirits, 918 Chicago Ave., said the tour on March 15 will include a discussion on the distillery’s place in Evanston history as the city’s first producer of grain spirits since the city started allowing alcohol in the early 1970s.

“When we fired our stills it was the first legal alcohol ever produced in the city of Evanston,” Hletko said.

FEW Spirits, which opened three and a half years ago, distills its alcohol on site rather than buying it from a third party, Hletko said. The tour of FEW Spirits will conclude in the sampling room where attendees 21 years and older can taste its products, he added.

Nothing similar to the tours has ever been done at EPL, Remsen said. About a dozen people have registered for the tour of Temperance Beer Co. and he hopes the tour will lead people to attend other library programs, he said.

Temperance Beer Co. offers regular tours on the second Saturday of each month, while FEW Spirits offers tours at three separate times each Saturday.

Remsen, who will attend both events, discussed with Gilbert bringing library books on microbrew, which would further establish the event “beer through the lens of the library,” Gilbert said.

“If we’re going to learn from anyone about brewing and distilling, we should learn from people who do it locally,” Remsen said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Josh Gilbert’s position at Temperance Beer Co. He is the founder. The Daily regrets the error.

This post was updated for clarity at 5:47 p.m. Feb. 13.

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