The 11th Annual Ohio Brew Week begins this Friday in Athens, Ohio, but this is executive director Brandon Thompson’s first year at the helm of the craft beer-centric festivities.
“It’s been a pretty steep learning curve,” said Thompson of organizing nine days of events featuring 43 breweries. “It’s been fun, but pretty crazy.”
Thompson, an Athens native and DJ, had participated in Brew Week before as a DJ at Last Call, the week’s signature event at which all participating breweries take over Court Street providing over 200 different beer samples. Thompson has also helped organize big events before such as Athens’ Halloween block party, also on Court Street.
Thompson said Brew Week board members he had worked with before approached him about taking over when the previous director stepped down to tend to other projects.
“I had only been a participant, so it’s been a big jump for me,” Thompson said.
The charm of Brew Week, compared to other Athens festivals, Thompson said, is that it’s very “townie” and embraced by the locals, as many Ohio University students are away for the summer.
According to the Brew Week website, the migration of students was an integral factor in starting the festival in order to bring some of the lost business back to uptown.
Brew Week kicks off this Friday, July 15 with Rock N’ Roast, a barbecue at the Ohio University Inn featuring beers from Columbus’ own Elevator Brewing Company.
A homebrew competition takes place all day Saturday. The homebrew winner will get to brew their batch at Little Fish Brewing Co in Athens.
A beer and cider trail kicks off Saturday afternoon with stops at Jackie O’s, Little Fish, West End Cider House and Devil’s Kettle. Thompson encourages people to walk it, bike it, drive it, whatever they desire.
On Wednesday, Seventh Son Brewing Co. and Little Fish release their collaboration beer Smokin’ Banana Peels, a German-style hefeweizen.
Other participating Columbus breweries include Buckeye Lake Brewery, Four String Brewing Co., Granville Brewing, Homestead Beer Co., Kindred Artisan Ales, Land-Grant Brewing Co. and North High Brewing.
Last Call takes place July 23 from 2 to 10 p.m. with all participating breweries on Court Street, along with music, art and food vendors.
Ohio Brew Week 2016 will take place July 15 through July 23. A full list of events is available at ohiobrewweek.com.
