The tiny Scratch Brewing Company, in the forest of Ava, Illinois – just five miles from the Shawnee National Forest – forages and grows their own ingredients for the award-winning beer they brew. The grow-your-own philosophy has also made Scratch one of the best places to eat pizza in the US.

In recent years, hops have sprouted on farms across the U.S. There were high hopes that the hops would feed a booming craft beer market that’s now leveled out.

Central Illinois may seem like an unusual place for a growing craft beer industry, but the Champaign-Urbana area has just the right ingredients.