URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - A farm and brewing family in Champaign County has created a can of beer specifically for the Farm Progress Show, which is coming to Decatur next week.
"We've partnered with a company that allows us to make custom cans for our beers that we think pairs well with what the organization is trying to do," said Darin Riggs, the co-owner and brewer of Riggs Beer Company. "That really applied in this case with the Farm Progress Show because of our ties as a brewery to local agriculture and the grain we grow on our farm that goes into the beer."
Riggs also grows and farms some of the grain used in his beer.
The Farm Progress Show is something Riggs grew up going to with his dad, so it holds a special place in his heart.
"Of a fifth-generation farm, I think I'm probably the fourth generation that's been going to the Farm Progress Show," Riggs said. "It's been around since the 50s. I can remember as a kid in junior high and high school going with my dad and visiting the show."
The beer inside the slick new can is Riggs' "American Lager," made for and in Central Illinois.
"The thing about 'American Lager' is that it's made with corn," Riggs said. "We use a specialty variety of corn that was developed here at the University of Illinois. It's been really neat growing it here locally, brewing it here local, taking that corn from grain to glass, and now putting it in the hands of people going to the Farm Progress Show."
The lager takes about six weeks to make before it is ready to be put in a can or on tap.
It will be on tap at the show's hospitality tent.
It is also available now at a list of retailers: County Market in Pana, Friar Truck in Forsyth, Hy-Vee in Peoria, Harvest Market in Champaign and Springfield and Schnucks in Champaign and Savoy.
Local bars and restaurants serving it up include 48 Inn in Decatur, Sliderz in Decatur, Jenn's Beer Den in Decatur, Woody's in Decatur, Bevo's in Mt. Zion and The FourNine in Mt. Zion.
You can also stop by Riggs Beer Company at 1901 S High Cross Rd in Urbana.
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