Craft Beer Festival celebrates art of making a brew

Enthusiasts know craft beer is an art and that is what will be the focus of the celebration on tap Aug. 21 at Lake Michigan College.

Participants will be able to soak up the late August summer air in the outdoor beer garden. Grilled foods and cool gelato will be for sale

Live musical entertainment will be provided by Midwest Hype and Deraild.

The Art of Beer festival will feature beer tasting from 22 regional microbreweries including local favorites: Arcadia Brewery, Battle Creek; Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo; The Livery Brewing Company, Benton Harbor; and Old Hat Brewery, Lawton.

Beer workshops will be conducted by Andrew Van Til, the only person to have achieved Master Cicerone status, the highest designation in beer expertise. (The Cicerone Certification Program was founded in 2007 by Ray Daniels, beer expert, beer judge and the author of many books on beer.)

Also planned is a screening of Locally Buzzed, an independent film about the craft beer industry in Michigan. It is the story of eight microbrew enthusiasts who took eight days out of their lives to drive around Michigan interviewing brewers and people in love with Michigan beer, and Michigan.

Admission for The Art of Beer Festival is $25 in advance, and $30 at the door. For those not drinking, designated driver tickets will be available for $10.

Call the Mendel Center Box Office at 269-927-1221 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday to purchase tickets.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Lake Michigan College