The Legendary Boonville Beerfest has come and gone. I am getting a flurry of google alerts regarding the event in my inbox, so perhaps it is my turn to put something up into the blogosphere.
This year was the 14th Annual and for me it was my 3rd. Having been a part of event production for over 2 decades, it amazes me how well this event comes off. Not just because 7000 people and 85 breweries descend onto the little town of Boonville, but that they are all here tasting beer for 4 hours.
The event is not flawless, but given that it is basically put on by the community of Anderson Valley and is about 95% volunteer, the fact that it even happens is miraculous.
Even with my 13 years working with the High Sierra Music Festival, numerous years with the Santa Cruz Blues Festival and my myriad of underground parties in the San Francisco Bay Area, I pretty much just try and stay out of the way of the locals who have been doing this year after year. The various non-profit, community organizations such as the AV Elderhome, the AV PTA, and Land Trust, help take tickets, cook meals, and clean up the aftermath of an event that increases the town's population ten-fold.
In reality Erin M., Debi P, and Rebekah T. from AVBC, are the dynamic trio that brings this chaos into some sort of concert and make it happen. Under their guidance, the festival gets better every year.
What brings the people to the valley are the brewers. Dr. Ken Allen, the founder of Anderson Valley Brewing Company and founder of the Bahl Hornin' Foundation -the non-profit which puts on the BeerFest, believes in creating a festival the brewers want to go to. Most of the time brewers have to schlep their beer into an event and then stay sober enough to schlep their gear out again.At the BBF, brewers get to camp out on the Anderson Valley Brewing Company's 27 acres, under oak trees nestled in one of the prettiest valleys on the planet. They get to have campfires and play disc golf. There is a big dinner on Saturday night and a bonfire. True country hospitality. This is where Sierra Nevada brings out so many people, they operate on a skeleton crew.
The actual festival occurs on the second Saturday of May, but brewers start arriving on the previous Thursday. The real party is Friday night. This is where brewers bring out their personal stash. Experimental brews- not only beer, but cider and mead makes a showing. This is where brewers can relax around a fire and show off their personal kung fu. The fun part is making the round to all the camps and cajoling a taste.
Some are so hung over that they barely make it to pour for the people who paid for their tickets for Saturday's event. Friday night is the brewer's festival and the main event is how we pay for it.
After the official festival is over, the brewers stream back to their campsites and civilian festival goers who are in the know hoof it down to the brewery hoping to hang out. Bottom line is that the party going on at AVBC before and after the official festival is the best ticket you can't get a hold of. To camp at the brewery you have to be a brewery, with a brewer, or know someone. What amazes me is that this year we had so many members of the 'press.' It seems like blogging and beer have finally made connection or at least beer aficionados who love beer realize that they could blog and score a free pass.
This year's event was a record in terms of number of people and number of participating breweries. As long as people can behave themselves and the brewers have a good time, the event will continue to help out the community of Anderson Valley. I look forward to the 4 sleep depraved days next May. I hope y'all can make it!
