Over 100 Brew Samples and Region’s Best Appetizers at the Fourth Annual Winter Homebrew Festival

The Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Hopridge Farms will present the fourth annual Southern Vermont Winter Homebrew Festival on Saturday, March 7th in downtown Bennington, Vermont at the former Brush Building.

The Saturday festival will open its doors at noon to exclusive VIP ticket holders for a private tasting of both regional apps and brews. The general tickets will open the gates to those ticket holders from 1-4pm and can be purchased either online or at the door.  Each ticket holder receives a commemorative glass, the chance to try the brews and appetizers, and the ability to vote for the winners of each.

The festival invites Northeast’s top home brewers asking them to bring their very best home brewed beer, cider, mead, braggot and wine for a chance to be crowned "Best Home Brewery." In addition, the festival has also invited regional restaurants to submit their best appetizers, new this year, for the chance to be crowned "Best Apps In The Region."

Why so popular?
“The chamber and Hopridge Farms began the Winter Homebrew Festival 4 years ago in downtown Bennington at the former Masonic Lodge.  That year we maxed out the space at about 350 people. The next year we moved it to the Brush building and the year after (2019) to the former LaFlamme's building.  Each year it has grown. Each year we've tried to keep it in downtown Bennington and at locations that are former used buildings that would be great to see some life in them,” stated Matt Harrington, one of the creators of the festival and executive director of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

Asked why he thought the festival has become so popular, Harrington added, “What this festival does is mix a couple of great things together.  Brew, food and community. Because it does require us to stuff 300-500 people in one large space, because its winter, it creates this cozy festival feel.  Layer into that amazing, yet-to-be-known brewers from around the Northeast and our food competition. I also think that by March, everyone is ready to get out of their house and are perhaps surprised that there is a festival (that provides that festival feel in the summer), but closer to winter.  It definitely has a cabin fever, early spring feel to it.”

Homebrewers
Homebrewers this year include: Brennan Somers of Ridge Roc Brewery; Josh Gregoire of Shady Brewing; Spencer Lanning of Texermont Brewer; Kiev Rattee of Invisible Mountain Brewing; Rich Peters, Brenden Cetnar, Phillip Parillo of Three Teachers; Donald Groff of Groff’s Garage Brewery; Kiel Jeffery of Battenkill Brewhouse; John Geurds of Teddy K’s Brewing; Steven Riker of Varney Road Artisan Ales; Lee Deets of BarLee Legal Brewing; Mike Bolduc of Over the River Brewing; Jonathan Belk of Smooth Liquidation Brewing; Mike Marshall of Marshall Mash Brewing; Raymond McCarthy of All Nighter Brewing; Michael Clark Pywar of MCP Brewing; Frederick Conlin of Bear Hole Brewing; Jack Lamson of Lamson Brewing; Nate Bourgault of Down To Earth Brews; Dan Caldwell; Stephen Mayo; Daniel Lemieux of Necessary Evil Brewing; Rikk Desgres of Cat’s Eye Soup Brewing; Christopher Moran of Moran Brothers Brewing; Aaron Longtin of Harmon Hill Brewing; Todd Lajoie of R Holes Brewing; and Bryan Kutzner of Wicked Ways Brewing.

Vendors
Vendors will also be on hand selling everything from hops, books on brewing, chocolates, hot sauces, and more.  Vendors this year include: Outdoor Secrets Hot Sauce, Rockin Hops, Crazy Mike’s Beef Jerky, Highland Ledge Farms, Saltbox Seasonings, Hoppy Valley, Couch + Cork, That’s Different Chocolates, I Want Pig Candy, Humble Pie Bakery and Kitchen and Phoenix Inspiration Henna.

Will Gardner, the other creator of the festival and co-owner of Hopridge Farms says, “Each year we try to encourage many of these local brewers to come out and let us sample their brew.  They are some of the best in the Northeast! Tickets are still available online, and you can go to Bennington.com/winterhomebrew to grab some.  As of this past week we had 375 already sold and we're still two weeks away! This event has sold out every year.  We hope that being in the larger section of the Brush building we'll be able to have more patrons, but tickets are selling fast!”

New, Old Location
This year’s festival will return to its second year location at what is known as the “Brush Building” but in a different section of the large lot.  The property that includes the former Bennington Brush Co. building on North Street was purchased late last year by Dionysus, LLC, owned by Paul Carroccio, chief executive officer of TPW Real Estate, and California-based WKT Holdings, LLC. The North Street parcel features multiple historic structures, including the former Taylor's Garage building that has a yellow-brick facade; a small, detached white office; and the red-brick Brush building. The Brush building was built in the mid-1800s for the Eagle Iron Works.

Sponsors
Sponsors for this year’s festival include Presenting Sponsor Greater Heights, VIP Sponsor The Bank of Bennington, Brewer Sponsor Shires Young Professionals, Media Sponsor The Bennington Banner and CAT-TV, Volunteer Sponsor The Bennington Pizza House on Main Street, and Appetizer Sponsor Hannaford Supermarkets.

For more information visit: www.Bennington.com/winterhomebrew