It was beer heaven, or maybe the closest we’ll get to that exalted state.

Along the walls of the spanking new Dolphin Lake Clubhouse, 10 craft brewers were handing out their product – hoppy ales, crisp lagers and porters that could make a grown man cry.

Holding their pint glasses, 150 happy souls went from station to station. All they had to do was point at a tap and they’d get three or four ounces of freshly-brewed, extremely tasty beverage. Then they’d move on, and try something equally wonderful.

Patty and I had gone to the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District’s “Explore the Pour” event last month, strictly as members of the working press. She was there to write the story and I was taking pictures. Once there, though, we thought it best to sample the wares; that’s what investigative journalism is all about.

And it made us happy, too.

My friend Don Thomas was at the clubhouse, and it was clear that he approved of the beer tasting as a sanc-tioned park district event. Don – he is married to my Chronicle colleague Marilyn Thomas – pointed toward the table for Pollyanna Brewing, of Lemont, and suggested that I sample the porter. I did so and was once again glad to be alive.

Patty talked to some folks for her story and I took a few pictures, including

one of Don and his brother, Kevin. We talked to Amanda Bates, the head brewer for Vice District Brewing of Chicago, which is planning to open a production facility and taproom in Homewood this year. She’s from Crete and was very e-cited about coming to the H-F area.

Flossmoor Station, our area’s most well-known brewpub, was at the park district event. But so were craft brewers from Blue Island, Bourbonnais, Tinley Park, Lombard, Lansing, Lemont and Chicago.

I find this all amazing. Somehow, when no one was looking, we entered an era of great beer. Suddenly, we are sur-rounded by locally owned craft breweries that are producing astonishingly good beers and ales. I have been legally drinking beer for more than 40 years and spent a lot of time drinking watery suds made by giant brewing companies. But that’s changed. We are now getting consistently exceptional craft beer, not just inside brewpubs but also on grocery store shelves.

How did all this happen? Dean Armstrong, who owns Flossmoor Station with his wife, Carolyn, told me that he first became aware of craft brewing in the early 1990s. Armstrong is a trial lawyer who travels a great deal; his cases often take him out-side the Chicago area.

“Whenever I’d come to a new town, I’d ask a cab driver or person at the hotel to recommend a good place to go for a burger and beer,” he said. “I became aware of these places called brewpubs. And I dis-covered that their beer was a quantum leap better than what you’d normally get.”

Once, on the way to an antique fair in Allegan, Mich., Carolyn and Dean stopped at a brewpub named Duster’s, in nearby Lawton.

“That’s where we got the name of the brewery equipment manufacturer, Specific Mechanical, who then put us in contact with Mickey Finn’s Brewpub in Libertyville,” he said.

They called Mickey Finn’s, one of the first brewpubs in the Chicago area. That establishment’s brewmaster advised the Armstrongs on how to get their project – Flossmoor Station – off the ground.

“We knew that it was a good idea, that (brewpubs) are the total package,” Armstrong said. “We liked every aspect of doing this.”

Before long, the Armstrongs were buying brewing equipment. They purchased the Flossmoor train station, built around 1908, which Armstrong calls “a magnificent building” and a perfect venue for their brewpub.

Flossmoor Station made its debut in 1996. Since then, it’s set the standard for small batch, locally brewed beer. It’s won more awards for excellence than any other brewery in Illinois. Last month ratebeer.com named it one of the 100 best breweries in the world. Let me repeat: the world. According to the website, more than 22,500 brewers were rated and rankings were based on available reviews.

Armstrong said he recently visited Brickstone Brewery in Bourbonnais, where one of the owners told him that Flossmoor Station is the role model for today’s generation of craft brewers.

“I think we are seen as the grandfather of the craft beer movement,” he said.

Again, I’m just glad that all this happened. Good beer is one of life’s pleasures and that was clearly evident at the H-F Park District event.

I’m also glad that I live within walk-ing distance of Flossmoor Station and have been able to go there a couple dozen times in the last few years.

I am not sure what the future holds but I am extremely hopeful that craft beers are here to stay. Just thinking about that puts a smile on my face.

Life is good. And so is the beer.