Representatives from more than 120 breweries will gather at the New York State Fairgrounds on Saturday to celebrate the art of beer at Central New York Brewfest.

This is the 22nd consecutive year that the festival will be held. Jason Purdy, owner of the Tipperary Hill bar Now & Later, is organizing Brewfest for the second year.

Last year, the event brought in about 120 breweries and 2,000 visitors. He said the way ticket sales have gone so far, he anticipates a larger crowd this time around. Purdy has been planning the event since October and is hoping to bring in more than 2,500 beer lovers this year.

Purdy also said this year’s brewery lineup is different.

“We’ve done away with the big names and are doing the places that appeal to the beer connoisseur or beer geek, if you will,” he explained. “The people who aren’t here to get drunk but are really here to learn more about beer.”

Kevin Williams, co-owner of Syracuse’s Willow Rock Brewing Company, also plans to attend. Williams grew up in Syracuse and has been going to the event for eight or nine years. This is his second year attending as owner of the brewing company. To Williams, the best part is interacting with the people.

“The best stories are usually when you get a chance to actually talk to the brewers and interact with the people that work for the company,” Williams said. “They can tell you so much about beer.”

Brewers come from Syracuse and nearby cities, but many are based as far west as Colorado and California. In such cases when the owner is not available, they’ll send volunteers to pour beer for patrons.

Purdy said he’s made an effort to get more involvement from direct brewery representatives.

“In the past, it’s kind of just been, like, whatever breweries they can get there,” Purdy said. “It was typically just pay-one-price-and-get-drunk kind of thing. It was attended by a lot of people but not necessarily a lot of people knowledgeable about the craft beer industry.”

Purdy said it was hard to make the decision to do away with big-name breweries, but it was important to him to have the right atmosphere and reputation.

David Marchant, co-owner of Syracuse’s Full Boar Craft Brewery, worked in banking for years before making the decision to craft his own beer. He said for him, beer is an art and form of culture.

“It’s about bringing people together and creating something that makes people happy,” Marchant said.

Beer festivals have grown in popularity across the country, but Purdy said other festivals run into obstacles when it comes to gaining a solid following. He said patrons of Brewfest have been coming to the event consistently for 22 years because they know they can rely on it. In two decades, the event has never run out of beer.

This year, Purdy said he urges patrons to go outside of their comfort zone.

“Interact with people pouring because a lot of times they’re owners of the breweries,” Purdy said. “Go outside of your comfort zone because these are going to be the beers that you haven’t seen at your local bar.”

An afternoon and evening session will be held on Saturday. Purdy has partnered with Lyft to offer $10 off rides to and from the festival to encourage safety at the event.

Published on February 5, 2018 at 9:57 pm

Contact Neha: ntandon@syr.edu