Photo courtesy Erica Hammett.
August is Craft Beer Month, and Williamsburg’s craft beer festival, Whistle Belly, kicked off its fifth year to a beautiful sunny sky in the “rock star” parking lot of Merchants Square.
“People should expect to see this kind of event in Williamsburg, with our growth in beer, wine and spirits. This is a drink destination between Richmond and Virginia Beach,” A.J. Stauber, 33, said.
Stauber currently works at the Virginia Beer Company and used to work for the Hair of the Dog Bottle Shop, so he knows beer.
“This is what beer nerds want, they are passionate about beer and trying different styles.”
But Williamsburg native Seth Ferrell, 57, disavows his beer nerd status.
“I usually go to 7-11 and buy whatever is cheapest. But I’m here expanding my beer horizons. So far, I love Starr Hill’s Hefeweizen.”
The Junior Women’s Club of Williamsburg is the host of the event, and many of their members volunteered at the beer tents, the raffle tables and the front gate. Kasey Pittman, a member, 34, said that the funds raised go to the club’s charities, including art scholarships awarded at their signature Art on the Square event. She’s seen grow over the years.
“One of the reasons this festival is so popular is that you can get limited brews that you may not be able to get otherwise,” she said.
Jeff Phillips from Alewerks, one of the sponsors, said that people love the opportunity to try exclusive brews.
“We had a Jubilee Rare that was only available for one day last year, and people absolutely loved it. It’s back again today as a VIP beer. The selection here is amazing. Some people drove for a certain beer, and there’s a lot of pressure for breweries to impress at the festival,” Phillips said.
Each attendee gets a Mason jar glass for refills and a map of the booths – with a rating sheet for each of the beers so that guests can keep track of their favorites. The VIP ticket includes not just early admission, but some select batches. The VIP list included 12 selections, in addition to the festival’s 62 choices.
Phillips added, “This festival is remarkable for pleasing beer nerds as well as the general public.”
Alewerks was the first local brewery in Williamsburg (it opened in 2006), and the drinks scene has grown exponentially since then, with the Chamber’s Tasting Trail list now including a meadery, a winery, two distilleries and three breweries.
“This is actually the 5th year; it started as the Craft Beer Festival, then the Dog Street Pub Beer Festival. Then Michael Claar came up with Whistle Belly as the name.
Claar said that he’d read an article in the CW Journal (here it is!) about colonial drinks, and Whistle Belly was one of them. (Along with Syllabub, Bogus, Rattle-skull and Blackstrap.)
“It was time for it to have its own name – and this worked for our colonial location,” Claar said.
It’s Lauren Moore’s job as the manager of the DoG Street Pub to assemble the collection of beers and people for the event.
“I love this, mixing local breweries with bigger national craft breweries. We’ve got some cutting edge folks like Benchtop from Norfolk, that’s less than a year old. And we’ve got Deschutes, one of the top 10 in the United States.”
Variety is important to Moore. “We have to balance the beer menu – we can’t just be comparing pale ales all day. So sometimes the breweries set aside something special to bring,” she said. There are only 30 beer spots available.
Indeed, some of the most popular taps were “kicked” (out of beer) by 2:30, like Blue Mountain’s Peach Gose (goes-ah) and the Old Bust Head Margarita Gose. Apparently summery beers like goses are popular on a hot August day!
Serious festival goers bring their accessories, like Tom Bynes from Chesapeake, who wore a necklace of pretzels.
“They are a great palate cleanser. I go to about ten beer festivals a year, and what I like about Whistle Belly is the food pairings and the selection of different breweries. It’s a small enough event to try everything. I also like to talk to the brewery reps and ask them about the process.”
One of the vendors that traveled the furthest, Deschutes, brought their beer from their Oregon brewery. But they had an important purpose in attending the Williamsburg festival – they are in the process of building an East Coast brewery and distribution center in Roanoke, Virginia. Alex Leach, a sales rep for Deschutes, said that “community involvement is a big part of who we are. We love the outdoor recreation and nature conservancy in Virginia.”
Although the brewery and beer campus won’t be operational until 2021, Deschutes is reaching out to the Commonwealth. They are also opening a tasting room later this month in downtown Roanoke.
“We’re not technically local yet, but we’re working on it. It’s incredibly cool to see a family-friendly event like Whistle Belly,” Leach said.
Expectant mom Caroline Campbell, 35, from James City County, was there with her son Colin, age 2. “I’m not here for the beer, but the food was great. Corn dogs, chicken and waffles, delicious. There are some games, too – like big Jenga and cornhole.”
Food as part of the entrance ticket is part of what stands out about Whistle Belly, a number of people commented. Moore said that they select a theme and the chefs of the David Everett group create a matching menu. This year’s theme was State Fair, and the buffet had fried candy bars (Milky Way, Snickers and Twix) as well as corn dogs, hot dogs, funnel cake fries, chicken and waffles, corn on the cob and more.
First timer Kristin Kelly, 35 from Williamsburg said that she loved the food, including fried pickles, and was impressed with the festival overall.
“I’m not really a beer person, but I really like some of these fruitier beers,” she said.
Trevor Moore, 50, from Richmond, enjoyed the festival from behind the taps at the Evolution Brewing tent.
“I’m a serial festival volunteer. It’s a great way to meet people, see what’s new and it’s like the ultimate back stage pass.”
Whistle Belly appears to be a Williamsburg tradition for all ages. We’ll look forward to seeing what they mix up for next year!
