Hi-Wire Brewing at Golden Belt hosted the first annual "Sour to the People" beer festival on Saturday, June 22 at their Taproom in Durham, NC. Feature 20 nationwide and local breweries poured some great sour and wild ales. Live music by the CJ Baker Band plus four local Durham Food Trucks were available.
Not quite a legit beer fest here but it was an oasis in a sea of Pabst Blue Ribbon for those attending Bonnaroo 2019 so I wanted to give it some quick coverage: A set of 24 different breweries were ready to pour including some highlights such as Bhramari , Lagunitas, Hi-Wire, New Holland, Brooklyn and others. Asheville, NC was well represented! You could buy tokens at the front or pay by credit card (or wristband).
his was a 6th annual event held on June 8 2019. Tickets were $65 each, but were $55 when tickets first went on sale. The price is well justified when you consider what's being poured are among the most expensive bottles you'll find in your favorite bottle shop and some amazing breweries were on hand to pour including Jester King, Trve, Carolina Bauernhaus, Fonta Flora, Burial, Salud and dozens more (over 30 in total).
The first annual event reportedly drew upwards of 12,000 participants but thanks to the venue size, the football stadium was able to accommodate them all well. Unfortunately, it did mean for much longer lines than you would typically see at a beer festival.
This is an annual craft beer and craft burger event put on by the restaurant of the same name. For this 5th annual event in 2019, there were reportedly 75 brewers serving over 200 beers in total, but they represented the breweries you are accustomed to seeing if you attend beer festivals in this area; lots of standard brews that you are very familiar with and very few that you would not have seen many many times before.
Beer festivals typically focus their marketing on the number of breweries, but in this case it is more about the quality. With 25 brewers, only a few are from the area making this a welcome opportunity for beer fans.
