State College Microbrewer's Expo
State College, PA
July 28,2001

One of the premiere events on the East Coast made its 4th successful appearance at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center on July 28th.
The brainchild of Michael Goldfine and Greg Somers, this festival began after the duo returned from the Penn Festival in Pittsburgh in 1995. Sitting in the living room Greg asked Michael,"Do you think we can do this?" And obviously, they could! It took a couple of years of planning and their dream came to fruition in 1997 to a surprising crowd of 850 people! More than either had expected. They knew then that this was going to be a hit. With their focus on quality beers and imports, the crowd grew to 1600 in the second year and now are up to 2000 strong for the 2 sessions.
 Greg and Michael work perfectly together; Greg, the math teacher, is the organizer and Michael, the English teacher, is a beer geek extraordinaire. Their enthusiasm for this "labor of love" certainly shows in the finished product. With the dedicated team of volunteers and family members, the festival seems to go off without a hitch, and this year I saw first hand what goes into the production of this event. Who else but someone who loves beer would hold a festival like this and not be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor?
Being teachers, they look to provide an education for the masses who come to enjoy the festival. Michael says that education is an integral part of the experience of beer tasting and augments the appreciation of the brewers' art. Every year, they bring in learned beer notables who conduct seminars on a multitude of aspects. This year, they went for the Gold! The Beerhunter, Michael Jackson, came to conduct three of his famous tutored tastings. MJ does not ordinarily attend festivals of this sort, but decided to make an exception here and it seemed that all parties were satisfied with the results. I know the faithful were more than happy to listen to him give his expert opinions on the 10 beers picked by MJ himself to be presented and all the anecdotal commentary and digressions that went along with it. His final seminar lasted 2 hours! Other very interesting classes were held by Bryan Pearson of Church Brew Works on "Off Flavors in Beer", Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing on "Import Quality, Local Freshness" and Scott Bickham, Master Judge, on the "Challenge of Beer Evaluation".

"Drink less, drink the best" is the motto that they have chosen for this festival and they stick to that promoting responsible consumption, designated driver programs, taxi rides, etc. in order to keep excessive drinking to a minimum. To help with this end, they provide an International Buffet included in the ticket price....German Wursts, Thai Stir Fry, potatoes, desserts and beverages all help to absorb the alcohol and allow you to taste a wider selection of offerings.
Why hold this event in the summer, you may ask? When Penn State is in session, they could certainly draw more people! This was done by the principals so as to keep it from becoming a Penn State "frat party". Attendance would certainly increase, but so would other problems. They are looking for the "beer connoisseur" who will appreciate the fine selections and not the binge drinker who comes to get drunk 1 ounce at a time.
Getting the brewers and distributors to attend and pour their wares was not an easy feat. Many are small and have limited budgets with which to work and look to get the "most bang for their buck". As this venue has grown, more vendors look to attend. Pete Giannopoulos of Sly Fox returned to the event this year partly because a local can be "noticeably absent". Tom Baker of Heavyweight Brewing trucked his gear from Ocean Twp., NJ looking to expand his market and his name recognition. His Baltic Porter, Perkuno's Hammer, was a pick by MJ for his tasting which made it a very popular taste at the festival. (It also won the Bronze for the People's Choice Award).

For those brewers who wish to submit their creations for judging, there is the Nittany Valley Brewers' Cup competition. A panel of certified judges samples the brews by style and awards medals appropriately. Check out the website for this year's winners.  Also,each attendee is given the chance to vote for their favorite libation in the People's Choice Awards. To some professionals, this is a better gauge of their art than having a judge certify them as the best. There are many whose creations are difficult to slot, but if people don't like it, then it won't sell anyway. This year, the winners were Gold- Dogfish Head's Raison d'être, Silver-Lancaster Milk Stout and Bronze-Heavyweight's Perkuno's Hammer. The Best of Show was the ever-popular Victory Hop Devil!
This was our third year in attendance and we decided to do something quite different. First, we volunteered to help setup the night before and we got a chance to hang out with Greg and Michael and families. We arrived a little late to setup, but I brought some special beers for everyone to sample and we had our own private tasting.....Cantillon Gueuze, Heavyweights Two Druids Gruit Ale and Perkuno's Hammer(both original recipes), Flying Fish Grand Cru, Belzebuth Golden Ale(15%abv!), and Dogfish Head's Midas Touch were the main attractions. A good time was had by all! Second, we volunteered to help setup in the morning for which we arrived on time. We got to see first hand the inner workings of the hectic day of the festival. They've got to love what they're doing! So much preparation...so little time. But it all falls together somehow and the doors open to a throng of thirsty beer lovers right on time! ID's to check, tickets to sell, banding to do, glasses and programs to be handed out.....but all that people see is a good time and that's what it's all about! Don't think that the opening of the doors ends the headaches for the principals....it's only the beginning! There are two sessions 12PM-4PM and 6PM-10PM, so they may get a short respite at the break, but still there are things to do throughout the day and then must move everything out after it is all over! A long day to say the least!



Thirdly, we volunteered to pour beer for our friends from Heavyweight Brewing, Tom Baker and his wife Peggy Zwerver. We had never experienced it from the other side of the counter before and it was quite an eye-opener. You get a whole new appreciation for the festival from this perspective! The people were great and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks to Tom & Peggy for the chance to help out!
Mary Lu and I got a chance to pump my New Jersey Beer Writers Assoc. collaborative brew, Stickenjab, a German Alt with a little extra! It was the first chance I had to taste it since the our first "out of the fermenter" brew tasting several weeks previous.
Breweries come from far and wide to increase the enjoyment of the attendees. Weeping Radish finds their way every year from North Carolina, Great Lakes Brewing from Michigan, Wild Goose and Brewer's Art from Maryland, & Dogfish Head from Delaware. Of course, the best of Pennsylvania are there: Appalachian, Bullfrog, Church Brew Works, Erie, John Harvard's (Pittsburgh), Lancaster, Penn, Red Star, Selin's Grove, Sly Fox, Stoudts, Victory, Weyerbacher, and Yard's to name a few. Representing the imports are some of the greatest names in beer distribution: Merchant du Vin, Chimay, Corsendonk, Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Spaten, Unibroue, Youngs, etc. For a complete list of vendors, click here.
I must tell you, of all the festivals we go to, this one has to be the best. It is small enough to enjoy, yet big enough to get a wide selection of the best beers around the area. Michael, Greg and their crew should be applauded for the attention they give to this event every year! Next year's event will be held on July 27. Put that on your calendars now and be sure to get there. It is worth the trip from anywhere! Special rates are available at nearby hotels- more info on the website. Don't miss it! See you there!

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