A journey through Don Hardy’s colorful Westmont basement is a journey like no other through Chicago — a place where history and beer collide to tell an American story of advertising and alcohol.

Hardy, along with former Westmont Police Chief Richard Johnson and his son Rich Jr., founded the Westmont Stroh’s Club. The group, which at one time boasted the largest membership of any chapter in the Beer Can Collectors Association of America, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Members are a rare brew with even rarer collections, which will be on display and for sale at the club’s annual exhibition this Sunday, Oct. 5.

“At one time, there were over 50 breweries in Chicago,” Hardy said, gesturing to his homemade wooden bar top, adorned with labels, coasters and flattened cans from those breweries beneath a protective plastic surface.

If the myriad of neon beer signs lining the walls triggers some sense of vague familiarity, it could be because you’ve seen them before.

His collection — which includes thousands of pieces of Meister Brau memorabilia from cans and bottles, pre-prohibition advertisements and neon signs — was used as the backdrop for a scene in “A League of Their Own,” one of six movies in which Hardy’s breweriana has played a role.

His collection of artifacts from Meister Brau — a brand of the now defunct Peter Hand Brewery started in Chicago in 1891 — might be the largest in the country, but Hardy is not the only local collector with an awe-inspiring collection.

Meet Downers Grove resident Willy Novak, also a Stroh’s club member.

There is one room in Novak’s house that is a little warmer than the rest, where the temperature increase is a direct result of the 246 Old Style beer signs lighting the walls.

But no need to turn up the air conditioning or crack a window. Just pull up a stool at Novak’s bar, where the Old Style is on tap.

In 1986, Novak built an addition onto his home to house the hundreds of glowing signs and thousands of other Old Style collectibles, including beer cans, toy cars, throw blankets, tap handles and vintage pins worn by Old Style beer sellers at Wrigley Field.

Since that time, Novak said his custom-made bar has served more than 250 kegs of Old Style beer.

So what drives a collector?

“I just like beer and I can’t stop now,” said Westmont resident Larry Sopcak, who has collected since sixth-grade and now specializes in Budweiser. “I like the old stuff, the articles, the pictures. None of that is around anymore.”

Westmont Stroh’s president Ray Capek said breweriana — the collection of items related to breweries — is more than just a beer lover’s can collection.

“A lot of the items are from Chicago and the breweries don’t even exist anymore — Meister Brau, Edelweiss, Fox Deluxe, Canadian Ace,” he said, naming off a few. ”If you look way back, Al Capone was involved in some of their breweries. ...You wouldn’t really see a lot of this stuff anywhere else but here.”

In addition to the historical heritage and advertising insights preserved in their collections, many of the club’s members have some rare pieces worth a pretty penny.

One of Sopcak’s favorite cans, that of a Budweiser Bock made for one year in the 1930s, is probably worth at least a couple grand by his estimate, and a Meister Brau can Hardy sold several years ago for $200 recently went for $8,000 at an auction.

“Things can run up to tens of thousands of dollars,” Capek said. “It’s just amazing how many ways they have to advertise beer.”

The Old Style fascination began for Novak, who goes by the nickname “Old Style Willy,” when a friend took him to his first beer collectibles show. Novak said hunting for beer collectibles at both the local and national shows is exciting because he never knows what he’ll find.

“I took on an interest to this stuff,” Novak said. “I’ve always been a garage-saler and it got to be so much so I reduced to one (beer) brand.”

Novak, who is the president of the Old Style at Large Chapter and the Prison City Chapter in Joliet, said each collector has their own preferences. Novak said he focuses on finding Old Style signs, but each with its own variances. He looks for details and minute differences that make one sign unlike another.

Novak said if a piece of Old Style memorabilia is too big for him to buy and fit in the bar room, he takes a picture of it. His “Old Style Album” contains images of beer trucks and visits to the now closed brewery in LaCrosse, Wis.

There’s only wish he has for his Old Style room — “I wish I made it bigger,” Novak said.