It may come as a shock to some students but there exists a wide, wonderful universe of beer outside of college stalwarts such as Natural Light and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Breweries all across the nation and New River Valley produce unique concoctions with ingredients that are sometimes delicious, occasionally bizarre and always a change of pace from supermarket brands.
The third annual Blacksburg Brew Do is the perfect introduction for 21-year-olds ready to take the plunge into the world of craft beers. The Do is a day-long celebration of all things Blacksburg, featuring food from local restaurants, live entertainment, home brewing demonstrations and, of course, enough kinds of beer to make a persons head spin — both literally and figuratively.
This year’s Do, presented by Blacksburg Partnership, the non-profit economic development group, will be held Saturday at the First and Main Shopping Center on South Main Street.
Event organizer Diane Akers and her crew of mostly volunteers have been hard at work preparing the site for the festival, which she views as an opportunity to excite both residents and visitors about what’s going on around town.
“We want to provide a quality festival to area residents. This is something that’s one of a kind,” Akers said. “We also wanted to bring people in from other areas from out of town so we can showcase what Blacksburg has to offer, not only at the festival, but also throughout town.”
Dave Hrdlicka, the Brew Do brewery supervisor, echoes these sentiments, saying the festival provides exposure for local breweries.
“It’s pretty much showing off, touting their brews,” Hrdlicka said. “For the people who have maybe not wanted to go into Bull and Bones, have not made it to River Company, this will (show) anybody that comes that this what some of our local brewers are doing.”
In addition to boosting awareness for local businesses, Hrdlicka thinks the event will help people expand their taste horizons beyond the mainstream brands.
“I think, in a way, what we’re trying to do — at least for the brewers or the brewing community — is give folks that don’t normally try a craft beer the chance to try one on a small level,” Hrdlicka said.
A version of this article appeared in the Sep 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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