Emancipation Brewing Company

Emancipation Brewing Company Farm Brewery & Taproom in our Century-Old Dairy Barn. Open Thursday to Sunday Weekly for Draft Beers, Ciders, Sodas, and Meads plus Food Trucks, to-go Beer.
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Our beers feature many local ingredients and an agricultural flair. A craft Brewery and Taproom in a Century old Dairy Barn in rural Fairbury, IL. Come visit!

The whole family is here!!! It’s Barntoberfest week!🎉🍻To start things off, we thought we’d introduce you to the beers! F...
09/08/2026

The whole family is here!!! It’s Barntoberfest week!🎉🍻

To start things off, we thought we’d introduce you to the beers! From left to right:
1. Barn Dance - Festbier 5.7%
2. Radler - Lager & house-made Lemon-Grapefruit Soda 3%
3. Kölsch - Kölsch style ale 4.9% (updated recipe!)
4. Heritage Lager - Multigrain Lager 5%
5. Weiz Man - Hefeweizen 4.75%
6. Buddies Brigade - Smoked Lager 5.1%
7. Black Mountain Lager - Schwarzbier 4.7%
8. Barn Bier - Märzen Lager 5.51%

This is a lineup that we’re super excited about, and we’ll also have some IPA’s, a fruit beer, and more, so there’s something for everyone!

Check out our Facebook Event for even more details and daily videos about the event and all the fun things happening!

Want to try all of these? Don’t forget to buy tickets to our Oktoberfest Tasting & Tales on Saturday, 9/12, at 1pm where Lincoln will do a guided tasting through all of these beers.

Which beer are you most excited to enjoy with some German Themed food and accordion music? Let us know in the comments below!

Today is a wonderful day, and a perfect day for Brats n’ BBQ, Free Live Music, a Bags Tournament, all to support a great...
09/06/2026

Today is a wonderful day, and a perfect day for Brats n’ BBQ, Free Live Music, a Bags Tournament, all to support a great local cause!

Oh yeah, and don’t forget about the beer! On draft now is Buddies Brigade, plus an awesome draft list all around at both the main bar and the Tapshack Bar!

Open until 7pm, Food 2-6pm, bags tournament begins at 3pm!

It’s the last day to grab draft for the holiday weekend! We’ll be open tomorrow for to-go beer only, no bar service will be available! So stop by between 8am-5pm for to-go beer or merch tomorrow!

We’ve had some questions about Argonaut days, so I figured we’d answer some of the FAQ’s for this time and future visits...
09/05/2026

We’ve had some questions about Argonaut days, so I figured we’d answer some of the FAQ’s for this time and future visits!

Q: Are we open to the public when The Argonaut is there? Can we come if we didn’t pre-order?
A: Yes to both! We’re open just like normal, and you can come just like any normal day! If you didn’t pre-order or make a reservation, no worries. We’ve got plenty of space!

Q: How do the time slots work?
A: That’s simply a way that The Argonaut manages their orders so that nobody has to wait in line, everyone that pre-orders is guaranteed their food at their preferred time, and to spread out business. As a result of orders being spread out, the Taproom always has some extra space for walk-ins!

Q: Does the Argonaut bring any extra food if we forgot to pre-order?
A: Yes, but usually not much! Today, walk-ups are welcome at 3pm and later (while supplies last) - they brought 10 extra lobster rolls and 5 dozen extra oysters. When those are gone, they’re gone!

Q: What if I don’t like seafood? Can I bring other food?
A: Yes! We understand that seafood isn’t for everyone, and you’re always welcome to bring food from another restaurant, from home, or order from our snack menu! If one person in your family likes seafood and the rest don’t, they can always pre-order and the rest of the group can bring something else!

Q: Is the Argonaut doing seafood boils?
A: It depends on the visit! This time, they aren’t, but they sometimes do! You can always order take-n-bake boils to enjoy at home - pro tip is to pre-order a lobster roll and some oysters for here, and take a boil home to enjoy for dinner or the next day!

Q: Is the seafood really *that* good?!
A: Yes! It’s as good or better than anything we’ve had on the east coast. It’s overnighted fresh, and today they even got a late start because they were waiting on their shipment to arrive, as it was a bit delayed! They work directly with the fisherman to ensure they’re getting the absolute best and most fresh seafood possible! By cutting out the middle man, they’re able to keep it affordable! (Especially given shipping costs these days!)

So, we’re open until 10pm and Argonaut is here from 1-7pm!

We bottled up fresh Buddies Brigade, now with custom labels! Now available in the To-Go fridge, on tap Sunday for the Pr...
09/05/2026

We bottled up fresh Buddies Brigade, now with custom labels! Now available in the To-Go fridge, on tap Sunday for the Project Fire Buddies event!

Open until 10pm tonight, open Noon-10pm tomorrow with Argonaut 1-7pm, then Sunday 1-7pm with the big event in the Lean-To and on the Patio!

Buddies Brigade is a “Firehouse Lager”, which is something we totally made up! It’s a classic American Lager recipe, but then with a little bit of German Smoked Malt added, for just a touch of beechwood smoke! Not as smoky as a Rauchbier or a Smoked Helles Lager, but just a nice touch. It goes perfectly with smoked or grilled meats, which means that it’ll be ideal for Greeny’s Brats n’ Que on Sunday!

09/03/2026

Introducing Barntoberfest Tasting & Tales, a fun way to try all 7 of our Barntoberfest Beers in a guided tasting while learning about some Oktoberfest History, info about each beer, and stories from our Oktoberfest visit! Plus, some delicious themed dessert by Susan! Grab your tickets on our web store, and don’t forget that our site is the absolute best place to find all the information for all our events!

Fairbury representing in downtown Chicago! We were delivering a keg of Emancipation Beer with local ingredients to The P...
09/03/2026

Fairbury representing in downtown Chicago! We were delivering a keg of Emancipation Beer with local ingredients to The Publican and we ran into Slagel Farms delivering meat to them! So neat to see such a great restaurant supporting local agriculture the way they do!

Speaking of local, we’ve wanted to mention this Sunday’s special event with Project Fire Buddies, who do great work in our local communities with sick children. We’ll be open to the public all day (1-7pm) and you’re welcome to join in the Fire Buddies fun with their Bags tournament, the food truck (Greeny’s Brats n’ Que), the free live music, and the silent auction! Or, just enjoy a few beers and some food in the taproom! Check out our story for more details! We’ll@also be doing a special bottle and draft release of Buddies Brigade, our “Firehouse Lager, a very lightly smoked American Lager.

Then, on the opposite end of local in the best way, we’ve got The Argonaut Co. here on Saturday featuring fresh flown-in seafood! Pre-Order - check out our story for that!

One more time this year, it’s the Argonaut! Fresh Oysters, Lobster Rolls, Crab Rolls, Shrimp Rolls, Seafood Salad, and a...
09/01/2026

One more time this year, it’s the Argonaut! Fresh Oysters, Lobster Rolls, Crab Rolls, Shrimp Rolls, Seafood Salad, and a special on Take n’ Bake Boils!

If you haven’t had The Argonaut’s Seafood, you need to! They’ve been able to keep their prices consistent since the first time they came years ago, even though they continue to use the most fresh, flown-in seafood you’ll find literally anywhere! Taste the difference, you’ll see for yourself!

They’ll be here on Saturday, and the pre-order link is in our Bio! Definitely suggest pre-ordering, as they usually sell out, but even if not, leftovers aren’t a thing in fresh seafood, so they can’t bring much extra! 1-7pm Saturday.

Sunday is the Bags & Brews event hosted by Project Fire Buddies! A bags tournament with big payouts, prizes, a silent auction, and don’t forget, our collaboration beer, now in bottles with custom labels! It all happens on Sunday - see our stories for more details!

Tonight is looking wonderful. Live Music (no cover and bring your lawn chairs if you want! BBQ and fresh Brews in the Ta...
08/29/2026

Tonight is looking wonderful. Live Music (no cover and bring your lawn chairs if you want! BBQ and fresh Brews in the Taproom and the Tapshack Bar. Plus, great weather. It’s rare for this many stars to align!

Tapshack Bar includes: Huey, Snacks Before Dawn, Topsoil, and Center Cut, plus cider and mead cans!

Taproom Bar menu can be found on our site!

Taproom Open until 10pm, Food 5-8pm, Music 6:30-9pm.

We’re so excited to say that JJI Rye Amber Lager received a score of 90, defined as “Exceptional Distinguished beers wit...
08/28/2026

We’re so excited to say that JJI Rye Amber Lager received a score of 90, defined as “Exceptional Distinguished beers with special character, style, and flavor” from Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, our industry’s most well-respected publication, and their blind tasting panel.

We’re especially excited because this beer is brewed with Rye from right here in Fairbury. A special thank-you to our relatives Jim, Julie, and Josh Ifft of Fairbury for supplying the Rye for this beer. This also serves as a great reminder that Beer is an agricultural product made from grains and hops grown by real life farmers. As always, farming tends to be a thankless job… Not around here!

To celebrate, we’ve put one of our last kegs of this same batch on tap, and we have a limited amount of cans of it remaining! Pair it with some food from Comfort Cookin’ food truck tonight, or tomorrow with live music in the evening and Woody & Bubba’s BBQ!

Cheers to this beautiful Amber Beer!

We’ll be saying “Prost!” Before you know it, and Kim has been working hard on our website, which has ALL the Barntoberfe...
08/28/2026

We’ll be saying “Prost!” Before you know it, and Kim has been working hard on our website, which has ALL the Barntoberfest details, including tickets to our Oktoberfest Tasting and Tales, a ticketed tasting with a talk about Beer, Oktoberfest, and more! It’ll be a chance to try all seven of the beers and learn some beer & Oktoberfest history for just $15! Saturday 9/12 at 1pm. Ticketed only!

We won’t include all the details here since it’s much easier to find everything on our website, but let’s just say that it’ll be a weekend filled with delicious beers, tasty themed food, accordion music, and lots of fun games!

We’ll see you there! 🍻

Don’t forget about the fun this weekend, which includes food by Comfort Cookin’ on Friday, then Woody & Bubba’s BBQ + Live Music on Saturday!

Address

13113 N. 2500 East Road
Fairbury, IL
61739

Opening Hours

Thursday 4pm - 9pm
Friday 3pm - 10pm
Saturday 12pm - 10pm
Sunday 1pm - 7pm

Telephone

+18154195278

Website

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