Glens Falls Brewfest offers tasty options
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. » Glens Falls Brewfest 2018 is taking over the Queensbury Hotel this weekend for its ninth annual celebration of craft beverages.
The festival - featuring beer, cider and wine and food sampling, along with live music by Celtic Rock band Forthlin Road - will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the newly renovated hotel, located at 88 Ridge St. in Glens Falls.
Each attendee will receive a souvenir tasting glass from which they can sip samples provided by more than 60 companies, including several local producers and many others from around the region, country and globe.
These include Adirondack, Adirondack Wine Merchants, Allagash, Argyle, Artisanal Ballast Point, Battle Hill, Bear Republic, Bell’s Big Tupper, Black Tog, Bronx, Brooklyn, Brown’s Cisco Brewers, Common Roots, Cooper’s Cave Ale, Cooperstown, Destination Unknown, Doc’s , Dogfish Head, Druthers, Elf’s Farm/ Adirondack Cider, Embark, Empire, Firestone Walker, Founders, Goose Island, Great Adirondack, Green Flash, Ithaca, Kona, Lagunitas, Left Hand, Maui, Mean Max, Newburgh, Northway, Oskar Blues, Owl’s Brew, Paradox, Peaked Organic, Sea Dog, Shipyard, Shmaltz, Sixpoint, Smuttynose, Southern Tier, Spiked Seltzer, Sone, Stony Creek, Switchback, Troeg’s Uinta, Wolf Hollow, Wyndridge Farm and 1911 Hard Cider. New addition to the festival this year are Burial, Collective Arts, Half Acre, Lost Nation, and Von Trapp.
Representing the local craft beverage community is Troybased Brown’s Brewing Company
“Supporting our local brewing community and craft drinkers is what we are all about,” said Brown’s Brewing Company coowner Kelly Brown. “We work extremely hard to brew awesome beers and we are proud to share them with Glens Falls Brewfest attendees. We encourage all to raise a pint to the amazing breweries in our region on Saturday.”
Additionally, local restaurants Cooper’s Cave Ale Company & Restaurant, Raul’s Mexican Grill andthe SUNY Adirondack Culinary Arts Program will serve samples of pub-style foods while supplies last.
Several vendors selling items such as chocolates, cigars and apparel will be on site as well.
A large and ever-growing event, the Glens Falls Brewfest all started nine years ago when three ordinary beer-loving guys principal Chris Reed, optometrist John Cordes and resort manager Bill Mason - decided their town needed a first class beer festival.
As dedicated community members, however, they wanted to see this Brewfest do much more than simply satisfy a desire for handcrafted brews. They wanted it to have a positive impact on the community. Their commitment was to donate 100 percent of the net proceeds to charity, and over the last nine years they have done just that.
Since its inception the event has contributed more than $150,000 back into the community over the years.
This commitment to charity sets the Glens Falls Brewfest apart from other similar festivals, as those events are typically private ventures designed for personal profit.
Proceeds from this year’s Glens Falls Brewfest will benefit two lo-
cal nonprofit organizations that make the region a special place artistically and recreationally: the Adirondack Theatre Festival and The Feeder Canal Alliance.
“The Glens Falls Brewfest is a dynamic craft beer event - growing each year,” said Jeanne Williams, executive director of the Feeder Canal Alliance. “The proceeds from this great event have made a significant impact on our not-for-profit over the years that has allowed us to increase our programming and historic preservation.”
Founded in 1987, The Feeder Canal Alliance preserves, promotes and protects the Glens Falls Feeder Canal and Towpath Trail through responsible recreation, environmental education and preservation.
“It’s a great event and we are very grateful to be involved and to have something like this exist in the community,” said Adirondack Theatre Festival managing director Jessica Reed, noting that along with being a fun event, the fundraiser is a good source of support for their summertime theater festival and film festival in the fall.
Tickets to Glens Falls Brewfest are $45 advance purchase or $55 at the door, available at Cooper’s Cave Ale Company in Glens Falls and online at www.glensfallsbrewfest.org. Tickets are also available for designated drivers at $10.
Before the main event on Saturday, Glens Falls Brewfest is kicking off on Friday with anew unique night-before-Brewfest Taps N Apps event, a craft beer and appetizer food pairing. This event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday at the Queensbury Hotel. Local brewer Common Roots, along with guest brewer Destination Unknown, will pour craft beer while attendees enjoy generous appetizers specially created by the SUNY Adirondack Culinary Arts Program. Taps N Apps attendees will also receive a souvenir glass. A limited number of Taps N Apps tickets are available for $60 each and can only be purchased online at www.glensfallsbrewfest. org. More information about Glens Falls Brewfest 2018 can be found online at www.glensfallsbrewfest.org.