Finally, a new kind of beer festival! This is no ordinary festival, in a giant venue, drunk fest. No way. This is a unique celebration of Mother Earth and the spoils she so lovingly provides to us... so we can make BEER! Enter the first inaugural (hopefully) Tree Beer Fest, which will take place at the one and only Ale Apothecary! If you aren't excited, then you just don't know any better. Let me help you with that by first explaining to you what a tree beer is.
Paul Arney, owner/brewer of Ale Apothecary, said it best. A tree beer is, "foraged and foresty," meaning it comes from the tree itself. Don't think fruit beers. We've already got plenty of festivals celebrating those. Think pine needles, or the bark of a lodge pole pine, for instance.
A great example is Ale Apothecary's Ralph. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Arney and share a tasting of Ralph as I gleaned information for this article. Ralph is a beer brewed utilizing a fir tree, or a "fir beer." Its aroma and initial flavor took me back to my teenage years stomping through the Olympic Mountains in Washington state with my boyfriend, now husband, searching for small hidden lakes. Bright, earthy. As it warmed, Arney noted, "I'm picking up cherry as it warms." Yep! I got that, too. A lovely tart cherry to counter the subtle foresty goodness. THAT is a tree beer.
Now for some details on the festival. The Tree Beer Festival will take place in two sessions, on Saturday, April 29. The first session is from noon-3pm and the second is from 4-7pm. It will take place in the cellar area of the Ale Apothecary tasting room on SW Century Drive. Some great breweries will be participating, including Jester King, Wolf Tree and Alesong (to name JUST a few). Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door. Tickets include the first three pours and a branch coaster. Additional tasting packages can be purchased at $10 for four additional tastes. Those interested in touring where the magic happens and sampling some vintage ales can snag the very limited $50 VITree package. It's well worth it! Ticket sales are limited, only 200 general admission tickets are left and about 20 VITree tickets as of this writing, so snag those while you can.
This event is going to be EPIC! Pro tip... if you can't wait until Arbor Day to get your beer fest on, then you're in luck! I would be remiss not to mention that Crux has brought back Saison on the Lawn on Saturday, April 22. For $20 attendees get a glass and five tokens. The lineup looks fantastic, with big names including Alesong, Ale Apothecary (those guys are so busy), and Little Beast, plus many, many more! So excited for Beer fest season! Hope to see you all there! Prost!
