AITKIN - Minnesota home brewers are joining together to share their distinctive craft brews with fellow Minnesotans at the upcoming Harvest Moon Brew Fest, which will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at Aitkin's historic Butler Building.
The men all belong to the Glacial Lakes Brewers, a group of home brewers and beer enthusiasts, that will host the beer festival.
The group consists of Mark Jacobs, a public land manager and Glacial Lakes Brewers' de facto president from McGregor, offering samplings of his distinct Belgian beers including a Saison, Dubbel and Trippel. Rich Courtemanche, a forester and manager from Aitkin, with his various brown and pale ales and stouts; which includes his American brown ale, "Caribou Slobber"; "Glacial Lakes English Pale Ale"; and his chocolate milk stout, "Run Away Galloway"; and Rich D. Hillard, a realtor from Edina Realty who hails from Garrison, providing tastings of his "American Pale Ale".
The other home brewers from the area will include DJ Thompson, a forester for the Aitkin County Soil and Water Conservation District, with his Pike's Peak Pale Ale; and Terry Neff, an Environmental Services Director for Aitkin County, offering up his Munich and Canadian lagers, German Style Light beer, and Whiskey Barrel Stout.
The festival will give attendees the chance to try myriad samplings from specialty Minnesota and Regional craft beers, including the Jack Pine Brewery, Surly Brewing Company, Third Street Brewhouse, New Belgium Brewing Company, Bell's Brewing, and Finnegans, a nonprofit brewer that gives back 100-percent of its profits to Minnesota charities.
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There will be a number of local food trucks parked at the festival, including Prairie Bay's "Side Dish," which will serve up their popular burgers and sandwiches; and Log Home Wood Fired Pizza, offering up its popular crisp thin crust wood fired pizza creations. In addition, food will also be available from The Beanery, a popular café located inside the Butler Building.
There will also be live entertainment provided by a number of musical artists, including Pickin' Pete and his unique campfire songs and assorted Iowegian banjo music; in addition to handmade crafts for sale from several local Minnesota crafters.
The rain-or-shine, 21-and-over event will be held in the parking lot of the historic Butler Building, located at 301 Minnesota Avenue North in Aitkin. The cost to attend is $15 in advance or $20 on the day of the event. The festival will also offer designated drivers a special reduced fee of $5. Tickets for the Harvest Moon Brew Fest can be purchased by visiting www.tempotickets.com/harvestmoon , going to The Beanery, and the Aitkin Age..
Sponsors of this special event include Bernick's Beverages , the Aitkin Independent Age and Bargain Hunter, Culligan Water, Paulbeck's County Market and Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge..
All net proceeds will be donated to the official beneficiary of the event, Sylvia's Children, a 501(c)3 organization that has been working over the past decade to improve the living conditions for more than 1,000 children in Uganda, Africa.
For more information on the Harvest Moon Brew Fest, contact Sylvia Allen at (218) 678-2441, or visit www.thebutlerbuilding.org .
