BREWED FOR SUCCESS
Annual Beer Summit takes place in Saratoga Springs
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.>> Beer-lovers gathered in the Spa City on Saturday for the sixth annual Saratoga Beer Summit, a final hoorah of the popular Saratoga Beer Week.
Thousands of attendees filled the Saratoga Springs City Center with sample glasses in hand during Saturday’s America On Tap Beer Festival event, which included three separate tasting sessions throughout the day.
Each of the three tastings were sold out by the date of the event, totaling at about 3,500 attendees throughout the day.
Event-goers had the opportunity to try more than 160 craft beer samples from about 80 breweries from the Saratoga Springs area, Capi-
tal District, Upstate New York and beyond.
In addition to drinking, the summit included live musical entertainment by an Albany-based band called The Schmooze and shopping with local vendors.
Third-time attendee Nik DiMambro of Saratoga Springs said he appreciated that the event was more spaced out this year so that the lines were minimal. On the tasting, DiMambro said, “There are a lot of new beers that I will be buying in the future.” His favorite was from Lagunitas Brewing Company in California.
There were also plenty of local breweries at Saturday’s summit.
“It’s really cool to be able to drink all these upstate beers,” said Jarrett Sehesse of Boston, who attended with a group of high school friends from Albany and Syracuse. The bunch were part of the VIP early tasting session, which started Saturday morning.
Saratoga Beer Week is an important occasion for local brewers like Max Oswald, general manager of Saratoga Brewing Co., located on 131 Excelsior Ave. in Saratoga Springs.
“For us beer week is a time for us to celebrate the art of craft brewing,” he said, “From the kick off event here at the brewery where we bring together more than 20 of New York state best producers along with 10 local restaurants, to the 15 different promotions we will do this week then culminating with the big beer summit on Saturday.”
Each year, Saratoga Brewing Co. does a special limited release beer for Saratoga Beer Week. This year, the company did two. One was a brand new, New England style juicy IPA called Hop Rider. The other beer was a partnership with Round Lakebased business Death Wish Coffee Company, which sourced a special single origin bean from east Africa for the product. The coffee beans are added to Hop Rider to create a new brew called Juicifer.
“The light fruity coffee blends with the tropical hops in a magical way,” Oswald said.
“This is a beer worth seeking out.”
Saratoga Brewing Co. poured these two new beers along with about eight others at the summit on Saturday, sharing their concoctions with both familiar fans and a wide audience of new potential customers.
Since the first Saratoga Beer Summit six years ago, America On Tap Beer Festivals has grown to now host 35 similar events throughout the year, but the Spa City summit is always special.
“This town is so wonderful,” said America On Tap Beer Festivals marketing manager Brittany Gilman. “People get so excited for this event. It’s just a great day to come out, support your local businesses, support your local breweries and just have a good time.”