State Fair, Rotary partnership creates attractive craft beer festival

The upcoming West Virginia Craft Brew Festival announced its expected brewery line-up and it’s a good one. This partnership effort between The State Fair of West Virginia and Lewisburg Rotary brings fourteen West Virginia breweries to the State Fairgrounds in Lewisburg on Saturday, April 29. 

Many of the participating breweries will be selling in Lewisburg for the first time. That will give folks from southeastern WV and parts of Virginia an opportunity to sample the great variety of craft brews being produced in West Virginia today. It would also be a pretty attractive road trip from the Charleston and Beckley areas.

Here’s the line-up.

• Bad Shepherd Beer Company, Charleston
• Berkeley Springs Brewing Company, Berkeley Springs
• Big Timber Brewing Company, Elkins
• Blackwater Brewing Company, Davis
• Bridge Brew Works, Fayetteville
• Chestnut Brew Works, Morgantown
• Dobra Zupas, Beckley
• Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company, Maxwelton
• Morgantown Brewing Company, Morgantown
• Mountain State Brewing Company, Thomas
• Parkersburg Brewing Company, Parkersburg
• Sophisticated Hound Brewing Company, Princeton
• Weathered Ground Brewery, Cool Ridge
• Wheeling Brewing Company, Wheeling

What you get

A $30 General Admission ticket includes eight 4-oz. beer samples and a commemorative brew fest mug. Additional beer will be available for purchase. An on-site food truck rodeo will offer food for sale.

A $50 VIP ticket ups the included beer samples from 8 to 10, gets you special parking, and one-hour early admission to the fest.

An eclectic group of musicians and bands are performing. They include Larry Keel, Tyler Childers, The Holy Ghost Tent Revival, The Jon Stickley Trio, and Black King Coal. Live music plays all festival long from the performance stage.

The festival takes place outdoors, rain or shine. Gates open at 2:00 P.M. and the festival closes at 10:00 P.M.

Advance tickets may be purchased at this link.

Festival supports education scholarships

Festival organizers state that their goal is to raise funds for the State Fair of WV and Lewisburg Rotary Endowment Funds to support scholarships in the Greenbrier Valley area and across the state. All profits will be split between to the two foundations. We’re certain to see many Rotarians out volunteering on festival day. If you go,  don’t forget to say hello to the Rotary members and tell them how much you appreciate their volunteer work.

The folks at Greenbrier Valley Brewing have been talking up this festival since it was in the early planning stages. Wil Laska and other GVBC people have been an asset to The State Fair crew in helping them take the concept to a reality.

It’s great to see a new festival in this part of the state that promotes West Virginia breweries and higher education.