Fun will flow freely this Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Depot Plaza in Tryon as the Tryon Downtown Development Association hosts its second annual Tryon Beer Fest and invites craft beer lovers to fall for the town and all it has to offer.
The festival will start at noon and run until 8 p.m. to allow people to attend early, later or all day.
“This year we’re bringing in about 30 craft beers from right here in the foothills and the region, plus we’ll have all sorts of food and entertainment,” said event organizer Shelley Block.
This year the event has expanded with several hundred tickets already sold as of Thursday, Nov. 7.
The food menu is diverse and delicious with juicy bratwurst, German potato salad and sauerkraut. There will be all-you-can eat oysters, Bretzels from Underground Baking Co. in Hendersonville and Buck’s Pizza. Attendees with a sweet tooth too can grab desserts such as BottleTree Red Ale cupcakes with maple syrup icing and topped with bacon, plus German chocolate brownies and pumpkin bars.
A premium package (a limited number available) gets attendees entrance into the oyster roast, an event T-shirt and a wristband for beer sampling.
Those wristbands, included in both the premium package and standard ticket, allows an individual to come and go throughout the day if they wish.
So if you want to hear the Polka band in the morning, go sightseeing around town and return in the evening to dance to the tunes of The Trophy Husbands, you can do that with more beers to sample.
YEAST, a local craft brewing interest club, has its fair share of both those vaguely interested in craft beer as well as those hardcore home brewers. The intensely interested brewers will be on site brewing and discussing the craft with anyone interested.
YEAST members will be onsite to recruit new members and talk about their love for home brewing. Terry Schager is a key member of YEAST.
Schager said he thinks it’s to Tryon’s benefit that TDDA is celebrating the increased national interest in craft brewing.
“Tryon has had a long history of wine making – vineyards were all over the place – and Asheville to the north has about 14 breweries. Why shouldn’t Tryon ride that wave and take advantage of that to bring interest to here?” Schager asked. “There’s no reason why Tryon shouldn’t promote this brewing heritage and the interest that’s building here as well.”
For TDDA the event offers another way of drawing people to town, and generates revenue to make improvements such as streetscaping, sidewalks and more.
In conjunction with the beer festival there will also be the Tryon Rolling Art Car, Motorcycle and Truck Show in downtown Tryon. The show will include rare Jaguars, Indian motorcycles and more interesting vehicles that truly are rolling pieces of art. The show will take place along Palmer Street at Stott’s Ford and Thompson’s Outdoor Gallery.
Tickets are available at Kathleen’s in Saluda, La Bouteille in Tryon and Ken’s Meats in Landrum. You also can purchase them at www.tryonbeerfest.com via Paypal.
The event will take place rain or shine, as a tent will be available. What makes the tent particularly special is the addition of several outdoor heaters to keep attendees warm even in the evening hours if temperatures drop lower in the evening on Saturday.
To find out more about the festival, visit Tryonbeerfest.com.