Discover new beers and sip on favorite brews during this year’s Charleston Beer Fest at Riverfront Park from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 9.
Formerly known as the Charleston Beer Garden, the festival promises great beers, bites, an eclectic vendor village, locally designed merchandise, games and tons of fun.
“We’re excited to be back at Riverfront Park for consecutive years just to make what was great even better,” said Richard Reams, Palmetto Community Care’s (PCC) director of marketing and development.
The event raises money for PCC, a local nonprofit helping those with HIV and AIDS.
“This year, we’ve expanded the number of breweries. We have over 60 breweries this year,” Reams said. “Last year, we were just over 50. So we have more breweries coming, bigger music acts and an all-around better festival experience.”
In addition to live music and craft vendors, Beer Fest will have an array of food trucks and beer games for guests to play.
“Beer games have been a part of Beer Fest and Beer Garden for a long time,” Reams said. “I think the one everybody knows is Pony Hop — it’s like an adult sack race. We also have some Beer Stein Holds for who can hold it the longest without spilling.”
Many other games, like badminton, Kan Jam and giant Jenga, are available during the festival.
Both local and out-of-state brewers said they look forward to the event each year as they get to introduce new beers and offer guests’ favorite brews.
“Every year, it changes,” said Kim Arnold, head brewer at Frothy Beard Brewing in West Ashley. “We like to bring one of our flagships, then one of our new, fun beers with us.”
Arnold said she’s thrilled about some of Frothy Beard’s new sours and melon flavors, which use local honeydew, watermelons and other fruits.
Operations manager at Two Blokes Brewing in Mount Pleasant Michelle Lapp is excited for the community to try the latest creation from Two Blokes’ brewer James Bridwell — an IPA called The Bare Maximum.
“It’s kind of a perfect balance between something that’s hoppy — you get all the IPA characters — but it’s also really crisp,” Lapp said.
Charleston Beer Fest will host local breweries and ones from the nearby regions such as Charlotte and as far away as Michigan, providing attendees with plenty of opportunities to discover new brews.
“We are excited to be part of the Charleston Beer Festival in such an amazing location,” said Suzie Ford, president and co-founder of Charlotte’s NoDa Brewing Company. “Even though we sell our beer in South Carolina, many people haven’t heard of us, so it’s a great way to tell our story and bring our award-winning craft beer to a new audience.”
A brand new brew
Another new offering at this year’s festival, Ain’t No Lager Back Girl, was a collaborative effort between members of the South Carolina Pink Boots Society, a local chapter of an international nonprofit. The group pushes for advancement of women and non-binary individuals in the fermentation industry through education.
Brewlab hosted a Pink Boots’ Brew Day in July to create the collaborative beer which was unveiled Aug. 26 during Brewlab’s three year anniversary party. Ain’t No Lager Back Girl is available at the event, and Beer Fest guests can get a taste of the beer at the Pink Boots tent.
Collaborative brews are not a new venture for the South Carolina chapter of Pink Boots.
“Every year in March on Women’s International Day, Pink Boots does a global collaborative brew, and it’s up to brewers themselves [to decide] who sets up and who wants to collab,” said Daisy Crater, taproom manager at Frothy Beard Brewing Company in Charlotte.
Crater initially designed Ain’t No Lager Back Girl as an India Pale Lager, or IPL, but it underwent some changes during the collaborative effort.
“I’m expecting some of those softer floral notes on the nose and the palette,” Crater said of the beer. “You’re going to have that nice crisp, refreshing bubbly mouthfeel, something that’s super approachable in heat because, obviously, Charleston Beer Fest is in that Lowcountry heat…”
With such a strong community, so many new breweries coming, and a great cause behind it, Charleston Beer Fest is an excellent way to wrap up summer in the Lowcountry.
“People love being outside on the river,” Reams said. “They love a great time and good music, so there’s really nothing to not like about this festival.”
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