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NEXTnc: Your official guide to Brewfest - BREWFEST GUIDE |
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Written by NEXTnc staff reports
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Thursday, 21 June 2007 |
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Page 1 of 7
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 '89 only 40 kegs tapped. '06 400 kegs tapped
The recipe behind the Brewfest
By Erin Frustaci
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As you stand in the heart of Fort Collins with a cold refreshing Easy Street Wheat, Punjabi Pale Ale, Fat Tire or any other Colorado brew, you may wonder
how such a great event came to be.
What started as a simple idea of two Fort Collins brewers has become one of the most celebrated events in northern Colorado. The Colorado Brewers’ Festival or “Brewfest,” in it’s 18th year, is expected to attract around 40,000 people and have more than 30 Colorado brewers represented.
“It was just a bare bones thing the first year. We didn’t know if it would work,” said Brad Page, co-owner of CooperSmith’s.
During the summer of ’89, Page visited the Oregon Brewer’s Festival in Portland. When he got home, he talked with Doug Odell, who was building up his brewery at the same time. The two men thought this would be a great thing to bring to Colorado, so they approached the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association.
“They thought it would be a great way to showcase the beers from our state,” said Corkie Odell, co-owner of Odell Brewing Company and Doug’s sister.
That fi rst year, 11 breweries set up tables in the north end of Old Town Square and poured their own beer. Their goal was to spread the word about microbreweries. Page remembers all the sweat that went into that fi rst year. He even had about 150 T-shirts printed, on his own. He wishes he still had one as a keepsake.
“We maybe tapped 40 kegs of beer,” he said. “We just had kegs in horse troths with
ice.”
In comparison, the festival now taps close to 400 kegs.
“It’s evolved signifi cantly,” Odell said. “I remember those first few years pouring beer. It was fun.”
 Neither Odell or Page attend the festival anymore, but their breweries are still represented.
“It’s too big and crazy for me now,” Page said. “Five years ago was the last time I went.”
Odell’s children, who live in California, usually fly back for the event. She said it is
a great time for them to meet up with old friends.
David Short, executive director of the Downtown Business Association, said the event generates revenue for other downtown events such as concerts, the Old Town Car Show, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Santa’s workshop.
“All the money raised goes back into downtown,” Short said.
This year, the festival area will be expanded to create more room. Beer will be served out of both sides of the trucks, so not everything is cramped in the middle
of the square.
“There will be more room for orderly lines,” Short said.
Organizers will also bring in more tables and have music behind the trucks, so people can enjoy a more relaxed setting. Over a dozen food vendors will serve everything from pizza to Thai food. More than 400 volunteers will come together to see the event is safe and enjoyable for all attendees.
“It’s good to see that it is a vibrant part of the downtown summer in Fort Collins,”
Page said. “We could have worse problems than it being overly successful.”
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TO GO TO THE EVENT
Brewfest runs from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. June 23 and 24 in Old Town Square Fort Collins. Tickets at $10 for a two-day pass or $6 Sunday. Beer tokens ar $2 each and a 12 ounce beer costs one token.
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I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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