AUGUST 25, 2011 ISSUE
Hoppin’ for a Good Time
50+ Breweries and 2,000 People Expected at High Country Beer Fest September 3
Nearly 2,000 people and more than 50 breweries will attend the fourth annual High Country Beer Fest at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Saturday, September 3.
Brett Taubman, organizer of the High Country Beer Fest, called the event’s setting on the back lawn of the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center “beautiful.”“
What really stood out for me is the large number of local breweries being represented at the festival.
” —Gerard Walen, editor of Road Trips for BeerAfter Asheville was named Beer City USA in a national online poll for the past three years, another North Carolina town is making a brewing statement of its own—Boone. Not only is ASU’s Ivory Tower Brewery the first craft brewery on a state-owned college campus since prohibition, but recently, Road Trips for Beer, an online blog, named the High Country Beer Festival (HCBF) among the top summer beer festivals in the country.
Brett Taubman, festival organizer and ASU faculty, expects 2,000 people and more than 50 breweries to attend the fourth annual HCBF on Saturday, September 3, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center’s back lawn. Tickets cost $30 to drink and $10 for designated drivers.
In the past, the event has sold out, and all tickets for this year’s event, which features food and live music, will be sold in advance. Taubman said tickets are still available, but he encourages people to buy them at least one day before the event.
With the number of attendees and breweries expected to attend, this year’s HCBF will be about the same size as last year’s festival, which Taubman said was “pretty crowded.” Taubman doesn’t foresee, nor does he want, the festival moving to accommodate more growth.
“We definitely want to keep it kind of a nice boutique size. We have it the size we want…because it is big enough to satisfy the brewers who are there…but it is not too [big] that everybody is standing in line, and it’s kind of a drunk fest, where people…can’t even talk to any of the brewers,” Taubman said. “This year we are rearranging the space, which should open up [the festival] a little bit more.”
Gerard Walen, editor of Road Trips for Beer and attendant of nearly 40 beer festivals, said he looked at several factors before naming the HCBF in his top 10 summer beer festivals for 2011, including the festival’s history, positive reviews and the “beautiful” summertime weather.
“What really stood out for me is the large number of local breweries being represented at the festival,” Walen said. “Another factor that went into it—they have seminars with brews and food and beer pairings. The festivals that are more than just drinking beer are put above the pack.”
As of press time, the HCBF had 17 North Carolina breweries registered on its website, as well as more breweries from the Southeast, and it features three beer and food seminars—Cheese and Curd Meat Pairing, Pizza and Beer Pairing and Beer and Desert Pairing—held twice at 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. Also, nonfood homebrew seminars on topics such as growing hops, beer styles and recipes and their times will be announced.
“It’s going to be great. Like our motto says ‘education never tasted so good’,” Taubman said. “Education is really the theme of this, but it’s the fun part of education.”
The beer festival is partnering with Tipsy Taxi and Bill’s Garage to prevent folks from drinking and driving. Tipsy Taxi will take people home free of charge, while Bill’s Garage will tow their vehicle home for free as well.
“We definitely encourage people to carpool and not drive,” he said.
Three bands will perform live during the festivities. The Switch featuring Laura England will perform from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. Swift Science will play from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m., and The Henhouse Thieves will perform from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Stick Boy Bread Co., Casa Rustica, Cajun Fajitas, Earth Fare and Mini Donuts will vend
for the first time this year, Taubman said. Appalachian Women’s Fund, High Country Mommies, local hop growers and alternative fuel and sustainability organizations will have booths as well.
Tickets are available at Peabody’s Wine and Beer Merchants on N.C. 105 and Bulldog Beer and Wine on King Street, as well as online at www.hcbeerfest.com.
For more information, contact Taubman at 828-262-7847 or click to www.hcbeerfest.com.
Breweries To Showcase Craft Beers
Listed below are breweries that will represent their craft beers at the fourth annual High Country Beer Festival at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Saturday, September 3, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. The list is incomplete since many more breweries are expected to register as the festival nears. For an updated list, click to www.hcbeerfest.com.
Boone Brewing Co., Blowing Rock
Big Boss Brewing, Raleigh
Buchi Kombucha, Asheville
Carolina Beer Company, Statesville,
Catawba Valley Brewing Company, Morganton
Craggie Brewing Company, Asheville
Cottonwood Beer, Boone
Duck Rabbit Brewery, Farmville
Foothills Brewing, Winston-Salem
French Broad Brewing Co., Asheville
Highland Brewing Company, Asheville
Ivory Tower Brewery, ASU, Boone
Kind Beers, Charlotte
Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery, High Point
Mother Earth Brewing, Kinston
Natty Greene’s Brewing Company, Greensboro
Olde Hickory Brewery, Hickory
RJ Rockers Brewing Company, Spartanburg, S.C.
Thomas Creek Brewing, Greeneville, S.C.
Skull Coast Brewing Company, Fort Mill, S.C.
Terrapin Beer Company, Athens, Ga.
Blue Moon Brewing Company, Golden, Colo.
Harpoon Brewery, Boston, Mass.
The Lion Brewery, Wilkesbarre, Penn.
New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colo.
Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo.
Shmaltz Brewing Company, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Cal.
Victory Brewing Company, Downington, Penn.
Spaten-Franziskaner Brau, Munich, Germany
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