This is one party that's sure to be hopping. And malting, and occasionally barleying as well.
Turlock's Stanislaus County Fairgrounds will host the first-ever Central Valley Brewfest on Saturday, bringing together dozens of local breweries in a daylong celebration of beer.
“It's going to be a beer festival celebrating some of the local breweries in the Central Valley,” said Central Valley Brewfest organizer Veronica Camp.
Camp describes the brewfest as a beer tasting – similar to the wine tasting events more common to Northern California. Attendees will receive a souvenir tasting mug, then be set loose to taste some of the finest beers in the world.
And for the true completionists there will be a lot of beer to taste – more than 50 styles on tap from 27 breweries.
“We have quite a few local breweries as well as some bigger names,” Camp said. “We have a wide variety of beers to offer to many different people.”
The Valley's finest microbrews will be on offer, from notable names like Fresno's Tioga-Sequoia Brewery, Arnold's Snowshoe Brewing Co., and Turlock's own Dust Bowl Brewing Co.
Larger, just out-of-area breweries like San Francisco's Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Petaluma's Lagunitas Brewing Co., and Chico's Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will make the trek to Turlock for the Brewfest as well.
And even the brewing behemoth MillerCoors will participate, via their Band of Brewers, Batch 19, Blue Moon Brewing Co., and Redd's Brewing Co. labels. Anheuser-Busch InBev will be there too, pouring Stella Artois and Shock Top.
“It didn't take too much convincing to get (breweries) to participate in this,” Camp said. “People are craving something a little bit different than what we've had in the past.”
The Brewfest isn't all about beer – only mostly. A DJ will be spinning top 40 hits all day, and artwork from the Modesto-based nonprofit Peer Recovery Art Project will be available for viewing and purchase.
And for those in search of a bite to eat, food trucks will offer tasty treats for an additional charge.
Camp anticipates about 350 attendees for this weekend's Brewfest, all in search of a beer festival unlike anything the Central Valley has ever seen.
“There's nothing like this here in the Valley,” Camp said. “There's just nothing that can bring all the local breweries here in the Valley together.”
The inaugural Central Valley Brewfest will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds. Tickets are $30 online, $35 at the door, or $20 for designated drivers. Parking is free. All attendees must be of legal drinking age.
Participating breweries include:
• 21st Amendment Brewery
• Alaskan Brewing Co.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev
• Bear Republic Brewing Co.
• Devil's Canyon Brewing Co.
• Dust Bowl Brewing Co.
• Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
• Gordon Biersh Brewing Co.
• High Water Brewing
• Hornsby's
• Knee Deep Brewing Co.
• Lagunitas Brewing Co.
• Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.
• Mendocino Brewing Co.
• MillerCoors
• New Belgium Brewing
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
• Snowshoe Brewing Co.
• Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
• Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co.
• Victoria (Grupo Modelo)
For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.cvbrewfest.com.
