Spring is on the way and that means Clovis’ annual Old Town Craft Beer Crawl is just around the corner, on Sunday, March 8.
Business Organization of Old Town (BOOT) Executive Director Carole Lester said this year’s beer crawl would be the biggest yet, with 16 breweries confirmed as of Feb. 3.
BOOT organizes the event, which usually draws between 850 and 1,000 thirsty patrons.
Fans can expect returning local favorites such as 559 Beer, Zone 9 Brewing Company and Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company, among others.
“We always go with our locals – Zone 9 and Tactical Ops, South Gate. Mad Duck has been participating. Of course Tioga-Sequoia, Full Circle and 559 have been a part of it for years now,” Lester said.
Up-and-coming brew masters ISH Brewing Co. and downtown Fresno-based Incinarti Brewing Co. will make their Old Town Craft Beer debuts.
“We have new ones to feature, like ISH, which is just up the street on Clovis Avenue. They are new, only been open for a month. We have Incinarati, which is also a new brewery. There’s also Machinehead, I’m hoping they can join us as well,” Lester said.
There is also more to do than sip your favorite IPA.
Lester said this year would feature a different variety of food as opposed to past years. Instead of food trucks, stands serving American comfort food will be stationed around Old Town.
“This year we are going to do something a little bit different, we are going to do more foods on the go. So we are going to have kettle corn, corn dogs, tornado potatoes, pretzels and roasted corn on the cob,” she said.
She added that implementing food stands instead of food trucks makes it easier for patrons to quickly access food, as opposed to waiting in long lines.
“This is so people can grab something quick and easy rather than waiting in line for a food truck to put together a burger or tacos or anything like that. It’s going to be a little more casual,” Lester said. “People are there to drink beer and try as many beers as possible, so while they need something sustainable for food, they don’t want to be stuck in a line and sitting down on a picnic table, we feel like they need to have something that they can grab and go.”
Similar to past events, breweries will be stationed inside Old Town stores to avoid having alcohol out on the streets. Breweries will serve alcohol themselves, that way attendees get to engage with discussions about their favorite brews from the people who actually make it.
Lester said encouraging friendly conversations about the art of craft beer was always the main inspiration behind the event.
“We’ve done the same thing every year, we place the breweries inside our merchant locations, so there is no beer on the street, and people walk from location to location. There’s no volunteers serving beer, there is no donated beer, it is all provided by the actual brewery,” she said.
Lester continued, “People love to talk about beer, we are amazed at the conversations that take place and the nuance. I think that is the most important part of our event, its smaller it is not a big huge brew fest, but people get an opportunity to really delve into the beer and talk to the people who make it and are most familiar with it so we feel like that is an added benefit.”
Tickets for the event are on sale now on OldTownClovis.org and on Eventbrite for $40. Paper tickets are available at Fifth Street Antiques and Hearts Delight in Old Town.