Beer Study, Steel String to host Beerfest in Carrboro

Chapel Hill’s Beer Study and Carrboro’s Steel String Craft Brewery will host Cardinal Directions Beerfest, the first event of its size for the two breweries, on March 29.

The festival, presented by Chapel Hill’s Beer Study and Carrboro’s Steel String Craft Brewery, will take place at Steel String, 106 S. Greensboro St. in Carrboro, on March 29 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will celebrate North Carolina craft brews — it will be called “Cardinal Directions” to honor the state bird — and offer around 50 different beers from 12 breweries across the state.

John Schlick, general manager at Beer Study, said he and Steel String have collaborated on events in the past, but the beer festival will be the first event of its kind in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.

“It’s easier and there are more opportunities when you have two people involved in a project like this,” said John Schlick, the general manager. “We were able to bring some of our contacts in and Steel String brought in the others. The weather’s supposed to be nice and it should be a good afternoon."

Schlick said he expects a turnout of anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people.

The $12 ticket to the event includes a 5 oz. tasting glass and samples from five of the breweries. For every ticket sold, $2 will go to Farmer Foodshare, a hunger relief organization that seeks to connect the hungry with fresh and locally produced food.

The beerfest is centered on a theme of saisons, a style of Belgian pale ale. Eric Knight, an owner of Steel String, said Steel String and Beer Study chose this beer style because it offers room for interpretation and experimentation amongst the different breweries. He said this type of beer also enables breweries to take advantage of the state’s agricultural productions.

Mystery Brewing Company in Hillsborough decided to participate in the beer festival because its theme is saisons, a style of beer that is brewed in the winter months to be consumed in the summer months. Brittany Judy, the brewery's office manager, said Mystery Brewing Company produces a saison for each season every year, and plans to offer its winter and spring saisons at the event.

“This is a chance for us to show that we make really great saisons,” Judy said. “We try to use all original and local ingredients, and although we donate a lot of our spare grain stores this is a chance for us to continue supporting local farmers.”

Knight said he and Schlick got the idea for the festival after going to other brewfests hosted by their friends at breweries.

“From our experience these fests go smoothly and people have a lot of fun,” Knight said. “We wanted to host an event that would be laidback and brewery-focused, where anyone could come and enjoy themselves.”

Knight said the brewfest will highlight the rise of new breweries across the state and present Carrboro as a place for beer. Beer Study and Steel String are paying for all of the beer offered at the event and the hotel accommodations for the visiting breweries, as most young breweries are not in a position to offer free beer.

“We wanted to take care of everything and make sure that the breweries have a good time because that translates into everyone else having a good time,” Knight said.

The emphasis will be on beer, but the event will also feature food trucks such as Belgian Waffology, live music and a Carrboro Coffee Roasters tasting.

“Breweries want the focus to be on tasting the beer, not on getting a large, drunk crowd — that is a really good way of pissing people off,” Knight said. “People will have a good time and get a good taste, but then be able to move on with their Sunday.”