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WATERBURY

By JERROD FERRARI

Hour Staff Writer


Beer lovers unite, for the best beer festival in the land has returned according to local connoisseurs.

For locals, Waterbury might be a bit of a hike but well worth it according to organizers of the 5th annual Brass City Brew Fest to be held at Library Park on Sept. 11

Since its inception in 2005 festival organizers have seen a rapid rise in attendance and in order to preserve the true objective of the festival - to taste good beer - they have put a cap on tickets this year of 2,000.

"It is just a great event," said Terry Boyd, one of the festival creators and owner of Mountview Plaza Wines & Liquor. "It is the crowd that sets our event apart. They are the type of crowd that the brewers want to reach because this is who drinks their beer."

Along with putting a cap on the number of attendees this year festival organizers have made several other changes. According to Boyd they will add several more tents to the grounds to help spread out brewers and thin the crowds and will offer an expedited check in while people wait to get in to the festival at 1 p.m.

"The lines were a block and a half long at 1 p.m.," said Boyd. "We hope to speed that up a bit for them this year."

Another change will be a new VIP (Very Intimate Preview) that will be offered to attendees for an extra $10 and will allow for 500 people to browse the brewers starting at noon. General admissions attendees will have to wait until 1 p.m. to enter the grounds.

Carl Rosa, CEO of Main Street Waterbury, says his group estimates that the four hour event generates anywhere from $140,000 to $150,000 for the downtown area.

"People from 90 towns and cities across Connecticut came last year and all of the New England states were represented," said Rosa whose group is focused on Waterbury's revitalization of the downtown.

"This is an image enhancement event for the city," said Rosa who uses 50 volunteers to. "It is a quality event. It is a tasting event. This is not a drink until you drop."

Organizers said they again expect to feature 125 or more breweries and brewpubs showcasing 250 to 300 domestic and international beers.

In 2009, four free mini beer and brewing seminars were held throughout the day and a similar series will be presented this year but organizers decided to limit the number to three in order to provide more time for presenters.

As of about 2 p.m. one of the longest lines at the event is for the port-o-potties. At this year's event organizers will add even more to speed up those lines and get people back to the sampling.

For the second year, Wilton resident Gregg Glaser will host a seminar of the day. Glaser will take attendees through a discussion of beer, its origins, and evolution and discuss the various styles of beer. Attendees will learn how to properly taste beer, what to look for in appearance, nose, and on the palate related to the various styles of beer tasted.

A feature, that according to Boyd has been very popular since it's introduction the second year of the festival is the Belgian Beer Tent. The tent features beers made in Belgium. Beers in this tent will include Abbey de Leffe, Chimay, Hoegaarden, Orval (Trappist), Rochefort (Trappist), St. Bernard and Westmalle (Trappist) among dozens of others.

Entry to the "Belgian Beer Tent" will be an additional $10. A limited number of tickets to the Belgian Tent will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the Brew Fest only. Boyd said that approximately a quarter of the crowd pays the extra $10.

Locally, Connecticut breweries will include BruRm@Bar, Cambridge House, Carlson Craft Brewery, Cottrell, Farmington River, John Harvard's, New England, Olde Burnside, SBC (Southport Brewing Co.), Thomas Hooker and Willimantic.

The festival will also feature bands that play as the crowd mingles among the beer and food tents.

Event proceeds benefit Main Street Waterbury, a non-profit organization committed to the continued revitalization of Downtown Waterbury. Brew Fest attendees must be over the age of 21 and pets are not allowed.

For visitors traveling from Fairfield County a Metro North train leaves Bridgeport at 11:32 a.m. and should have you to festival by 12:30. It also makes its return as the festival winds down.


For more information visit http://brasscitybrewfest.com.

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