In photos: Beer City Fest 2016 goes down smooth

FUN IN THE SUN: A large but well-behaved crowd sampled beers from the more than 30 area breweries that participated in the seventh annual Beer City Festival in downtown Asheville Saturday, May 28. Photo by Scott Dougals

A throng of craft beer lovers braved the sun and heat at Pack Square’s Roger McGuire Green on Saturday, May 28, to celebrate Asheville’s seventh annual Beer City Festival. The event, which sold out several days in advance, hosted more than 30 breweries from Asheville and neighboring cities showcasing a broad gamut of draft beer offerings.

Beer City Festival veterans such as Oscar Wong of Highland Brewing Co., Mike Rangel of Asheville Brewing Co. and Tim Schaller of Wedge Brewing Co. were all on hand to serve beers and discuss the latest developments in Asheville’s ever-changing beer landscape. Oyster House Brewing Co. assistant brewer Philip Shepard dutifully manned the brewery’s mobile beer engine, and Hi-Wire Brewing co-owner Chris Frosaker dispensed lagers with a duck head mask perched among his merch. Notable beers on tap included, but were far from limited to, Pisgah’s new Mountain County Stout — recently released in bottles at the brewery — and Asheville Brewing’s three new small-batch, barrel-aged draft offerings.

Alongside Asheville’s national breweries, Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, were more recent additions to the region’s growing roster of beer producers, including Hendersonville’s Sanctuary Brewing Co., Waynesville’s Boojum Brewing Co., Sylva’s Innovation Brewing and Franklin’s Lazy Hiker Brewing Co. Beer City Fest also saw the return of Pisgah Brewing co-founder Jason Caughman with his new Charleston-based brewery, Lo-Fi Brewing.

Though lines were initially lengthy, they moved quickly and guests comported themselves with restraint. Line-cutting was practically nonexistent, and surprisingly few attendees appeared to be intoxicated in spite of five hours worth of drinking in the glaring sun. All pouring stations were respectful of ALE guidelines, carefully observing the fill levels on commemorative tasting glasses, and no volunteers or brewery staff were noticed to have consumed alcohol before or during their stints behind the jockey box.

With robust attendance, enthusiastic participation from most Asheville Brewers Alliance member breweries, and a number of supportive vendors supplying products and information — as well as a much-appreciated shade-covered couch courtesy of Asheville Ale Trail — 2016’s Beer City Festival was a well-organized and efficiently executed event. As the number of new beer festivals in Asheville and surrounding areas continues to increase, many would be well served to take a page from the Asheville Brewers Alliance playbook.

Here’s to one more Beer City Fest in the beerview, and the start of another great AVL Beer Week.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “In photos: Beer City Fest 2016 goes down smooth

    • Emily Glasgow

      Designated Driver tickets were the only tickets sold at the front gate.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.