Brew fest organizers: Sample up to 120 beers, but don't drive home afterwards
AC: Beer Lovers' Mecca
Brew fest organizers: Sample up to 120 beers, but don't drive home afterwards --> THIS WEEKEND BRINGS A BIT OF A CHANGE of pace for the Atlantic City Convention Center. Very often the center is filled with conventioneers wearing suits and shaking hands as they try to network and build business. This weekend, the typical attendee will be a little less, shall we say, stodgy. The Celebration of the Suds "trade show" is open to the public and gives beer fans an opportunity to sample 120 different beers, brewed by the smallest craft breweries and some of the larger beer makers as well. See Ray Schweibert's full story "House of Brews" on page 10 for details.
According to Jon Henderson, the beer festival's organizer (and also one of this year's Top 40 Under 40 - see party pictures on pages 78 and 79), this is the state's very first beer festival. Back before I had kids, my brother and I used to brew our own beer (we called it Dos Epis). In those days, we were fanatical about drinking only the most expertly crafted brews and loved to attend regional beer festivals to sample different ales, lagers and pilsners. In 1995, we got really excited because there was supposed to be a Craft Brew Festival at the Atlantic City Racecourse. But, alas, it didn't happen due to the strict sampling laws in the state of New Jersey. Henderson explains that the NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) relented after a year of negotiations to allow the Celebration of the Suds to go on. "It's a big coup for the city," he says. "The ABC embraced this because of the location. We have more hotels and access to public transportation than anywhere in the state."
In fact, keeping festival-goers who might get inebriated off the streets was a major concern for Henderson as well. So much so that he sought out (and received) the support of the Hero Campaign for Designated Drivers. Congratulations to Henderson for getting the Hero Campaign on board.
The Hero Campaign was organized by Bill and Muriel Elliot to honor the memory of their son, Ensign John Elliot, who was killed by a drunk driver. That drunk driver had been arrested in July 2000 by NJ State Police for DWI, then released two hours later only to crash his car into Elliot's, killing the young man and injuring his girlfriend, Kristen Hohenwarter. The Hero Campaign will be exhibiting at the beer festival and designated drivers will be admitted to the event at a reduced fee ($5) and will be allowed to drink all the soda they want. Henderson is expecting 4,000 to 7,000 attendees. Hopefully a sizable portion of those attending will be designated drivers.
Speaking of the Hero Campaign, I bought a Hero Campaign wristband at ShopRite the other night for $1. They're blue, but based on the yellow rubber Lance Armstrong "Livestrong" bracelets that were all the rage a couple of years ago. If you can't find them in an area shop or supermarket, visit www.herocampaign.org and click on the "Hero Wristbands" banner. You can buy them in blocks of 10, 25, 50 or 100 through the site.
So enjoy the beer festival, but be a hero and plan to get home by cab, train, bus or by having a designated sober driver take the wheel.
Over 90 breweries, many bringing varied samplings of their libations, have made A.C.’s “Celebration of the Suds” one of the largest beer festivals in the country.
Horner created a 40-bottle craft beer menu while GM at Mia, schooling the staff on the different beers and how they might be paired with meals. Since taking on a broader role at the property, he extended that to include the entire service staff as advocates or “beer ambassadors” for all the craft brews, bottled and draft, on the entire property.
The festivities include beer tastings and pairings, live music, beer-related specials at multiple venues throughout the property, and educational elements hosted by beer experts Gary Monterosso and Tara Nurin.
Golden Nugget partners with Paulaner, an ancient European brewery and originator of Germany’s Oktoberfest, for this year’s Craft Beer Festival.
“This is an aggressive beer,” he says. “You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate an American strong ale of this quality and depth.”
In celebration of this weekend's Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival — which is promoting craft beers and the brewers who create them, we’re going to hop back in our hot tub time machine and explore the start of micro brewing. From the 1920s Prohibition era to 1970s England, there’s a sudsy story that’s led up to this weekend’s Beer Festival.
The seventh annual Celebration of the Suds will have an expanded lineup of Garden State-based craft brewers and bands .
One of southern New Jersey’s ... heck, one of the East Coast’s foremost authorities on all things beer, Gary Monterosso, was joined by a packed house of local and national brewing and culinary personalities Tuesday night, Nov. 29, at House of Blues’ Foundation Room.
"We’ll have over 40 breweries from around the United States — from Maine to Florida to Texas, California, Washington, and of course the great states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be represented."
“It’s steers and beers in the city this weekend,” laughs Henderson. “You know you hear so many negative things about the city, but really, look at what we have here and these attractions. This is an amazing April Fool’s weekend that’s scheduled and we’re really happy to be part of it.”
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