Hop on the slopes!
A winter skiing-themed beer festival will slalom into Sunset Park next month. The Juicy Brews Winter Invitational Craft Beer Festival, happening at Five Boroughs Brewing Company on Dec. 8, will feature fake snow, free hot chocolate, a snowboard raffle, neon outfits, and samples of suds from two dozen breweries, turning the Sunset Park brewery into a boozy ski lodge from the 1980s. The wacky theme is a reaction to more prosaic beer festivals that all feel the same, said the event’s founder.
“I’ve attended too many boring beer festivals where I walk around with a plastic cup and sample the same tepid beer I could buy at a local bodega. I was tired of it,” said Kenny Gould. “We wanted to create a wholly unique and incredible experience that gets people excited about beer! The ski theme is part of that.”
Gould is the founder of Hop Culture, the beer-focused news site that organized the festival. The group’s last event, a combination Halloween party and craft beer tasting in Boston, brought about 1,000 costumed drinkers to the event, and Gould hopes that Brooklynites will throw on their best 1980s outfits and come out to enjoy some fantastic brews.
“I’m super excited to see how New York turns up for the event, and thrilled to host some amazing breweries from all across the country,” he said. “If you’re on the fence about beer, come say hi to me at the event and I guarantee I’ll help you find something you like.”
In addition to host Five Boroughs Brewing, the event will feature a handful of local breweries, including Threes Brewing from Gowanus and Mikkeller Brewing from Queens, along with beer makers from across the country. Each visitor will get a souvenir tasting glass for unlimited samples, with “designated driver” visitors getting a consolation tee shirt instead.
Juicy Brews Winter Invitational Craft Beer Festival at Five Boroughs Brewing (215 47th St. between Second and Third avenues in Sunset Park, www.hopcu
