with the breweries. This is one of the events
that they always put on their schedules.
We do have volunteers like all events, but
definitely 60 to 70 percent of the booths
are staffed by people who actually work at
a brewery. When you have the people who
actually make the beer there that makes a
big difference.”
Antz credits his established relationships
with breweries and distributors, as well as
the solid reputation of the festival, to getting
those established breweries involved. “We’re
known as a very well-run event,” he says. “I
think the breweries realize that we’re there
to promote them as opposed to trying to
promote an über-national brand. It’s not
a Miller Lite festival. It’s not a Bud Light
festival. It all about good craft and import
beer.
“I think also, it’s not a for-profit event.
There are definitely a lot of beer fests held
around the country. Ours is 100 percent for
charity. We pay our bills, and every dime
outside of that has gone to the Crusade
for Children. I think they see that, too. It’s
tough to put your blood, sweat and tears
into an event if you’re a brewery that some
guy is just pocketing the money from. That
makes a big difference. From day one, this
has always been about the charity aspect. …
Whatever you’re donating actually goes to
the charity. It’s a very clean charity. You’re
not paying a huge staff and CEO overhead.”
More than 250 offerings will be available,
with brews hailing from Massachusetts,
California, Missouri, Germany, England
and right here in Kentuckiana.
The festival offers a section just for those
who enjoy a little hop in their brew. The
“House of Hops” area returns this year, as
will an area devoted to limited edition or
hard-to-source wild ales.
Ciders, meads and flavored malt samples
will also be represented. “We’ve focused
a little more in the past couple years on
ciders,” Antz explains. “I want to say we
probably had 15 to 20 different ciders
pouring throughout the event last year. If
someone isn’t an absolute beer geek, there
are plenty of options. I’ve joked around that
our festival tends to hit every end of the
15