Fresh Fest Beer Festival Full Schedule 8/9/2019 – 8/11/2019

For Immediate Release: July 2, 2019

FRESH FEST 2019 SCHEDULE

(PITTSBURGH) – Fresh Fest Beer Fest announces its official full schedule of events for this year’s expanded three-day festival.

Fresh Fest, founded by Black Brew Culture’s Mike Potter and The Drinking Partners Podcast’s Day Bracey, is the nation’s first beer festival to highlight Black-owned breweries. The inaugural event in Pittsburgh in 2018 attracted brewers and festival-goers from throughout the United States. This year’s festival will once again be held at Nova Place on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019 in Pittsburgh. Below is the festival’s full schedule of events.

Friday, August 9 – Ace Hotel, Pittsburgh (Included with VIP ticket) ($25 a la carte)

 11:30-12:30p –Fresh Fest Symposium The State of The Culture Address Pt. I – Diversity & Inclusion Beyond Browner Taprooms.
National beer writer Ale Sharpton hosts an insightful panel on the craft beer industry’s efforts at diversifying. His guests include:

Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter
Crowns and Hops, Inglewood, CA

Elle Rhodes and Nasreen Sajady
Brewing Change Collaborative, Minneapolis, MN

Justin Cross
New Belgium Brewing

Ashtin Barry
Radical Xchange, New Orleans, LA

Each panelist will be asked a series of comprehensive questions regarding their models for diversity and inclusion and give expert opinions on the industry’s current status and what can be expected in the future.

12:30-1p – Panelist Q&A

1-1:45p – Lunch Break. Food truck on site.

2-3p –Fresh Fest SymposiumThe State of The Culture Address Pt. II – Beer, Brand and Buildout – Creating an Empire out of Hops.

Ale Sharpton returns to host another round of panelists for an enlightening conversation about the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur in the craft beer industry. His guests include:

Michael Ferguson
Taprite: Aalberts Dispense Technologies

Kevin Blodger
Union Craft Brewing, Baltimore, MD

Celeste Beatty
Harlem Brewing Company, Harlem, NY

Ray Berry, Jr.
White Lion Brewing, Springfield, MA

The panelists will discuss their entries into the beer industry and give valuable tips and insight to aspiring brewers looking to break into the business.

3-3:30p – Panelist Q&A

4-7p – Equilibrium Brewery presents A Will Rivera Bottle Share

Across the industry and beyond, Equilibrium Brewery’s Will Rivera is known for collecting some of most rare and most flavorful “whales” in the country, and Equilibrium itself has developed its own reputation for making great craft beer. Together, along with several other enthusiasts and collectors, they will host our exclusive bottle share to round out Fresh Fest’s first day of activities. Tickets for the full day of events are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, or receive an all-inclusive, three-day admission with the VIP ticket package at www.freshfestbeerfest.com.

Saturday, August 10 – Nova Place, Pittsburgh 12-9p – The Drinking Partners x Black Brew Culture present Fresh Fest 2019

One year after the game-changing 2018 festival, Fresh Fest returns with another

amazing line-up of Black-owned breweries as well as breweries collaborating with Black artists and entrepreneurs from Pennsylvania and beyond. VIP, Early Admission, and General Admission festival tickets are on sale now.

We’re kicking off the Aug. 10 festivities with a VIP “Meet the Brewers” podcast event hosted by the Drinking Partnersat 12:00p atAlloy 26just inside the Nova Place Courtyard. VIP ticketholders will be treated to an up-close conversation with two of Pittsburgh’s best comedians interviewing craft beer legend Garrett Oliver.

As an additional delight, VIPs will take part in an exclusive catering event sponsored by Guinness and featuring James Beard Award-winning executive chef Kwame Onwuachi (Kith/Kin). This one of a kind experience will highlight Chef Onwuachi’s expertise close-up, as the author of Notes from a Young Black Chef (published by Alfred A. Knopf) and the owner of the Philly Wing Fry franchise is front and center in Alloy 26. Born on Long Island and raised in New York City, Nigeria, and Louisiana, Onwuachi was first exposed to cooking by his mother, in his family’s modest Bronx apartment. He took that spark of passion and turned it into an award-winning career. As VIP guests sip exclusive bottles and sample Chef Onwuachi’s culinary specialties, they will be entertained by DJ Nate Da Barber, one of Pittsburgh’s most notable deejays who prides himself on taking his listeners on a “mental journey that lasts much longer than the party.” Swag bags will also be included in the ticket price.

The Fresh Fest VIP experience promises to be a truly sensational trip.

Full Festival Schedule:

12-3p ($150) – VIP Admission. Meet the Brewer VIP Podcast with special guest Garrett Oliver. It is with great pleasure that we welcome the legendary Garrett Oliverto Pittsburgh for Fresh Fest 2019 as our Meet the Brewers VIP podcast guest! “Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver is widely known for his debonair personal style, his elegant lectures on the history of beer and the art of brewing, his extensive knowledge of movies and literature and his two hats. He is also the brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, editor-in-chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer, author of The Brewmaster’s Table and winner of the 2014 James Beard Award for Excellent Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional. He’s a world traveler, snazzy dancer and we’re starting to suspect he doesn’t sleep.”

3-5p ($70) – Festival Early Admission.Two additional hours of festival going, which includes early pours of limited beer, early band and DJ access (Flow Band, Devan Rue, DJ Bamboo). Swag bag.

5-9p ($45) – Festival Regular Admission 

*Fresh Fest 2019 will also include twenty Black food vendors and live art, music throughout the afternoon and evening.

Live Music Schedule:

Stage 1 (Main Stage/Courtyard): 

3p Flow Band
4p Devan Rue
5p Elias Khouri
6p BBGuns
7p Starship Mantis
8p Nappy Roots

Stage 2 (Mall):

12p DJ Nate Da Barber
3p DJ Bamboo
5p DJ Femi
7p Arie Cole

*Tickets are on sale now at freshfestbeerfest.com. 

Sunday, August 11 – Nova Place, Pittsburgh (Included with VIP ticket) ($25 a la carte)

 12-3p – New Belgium Brewing presents Fresh Fest 2019 Brewer’s Brunch

Many of Fresh Fest’s collaborators and brewers have worked several months, if not all year, to bring their beers, products, and stories to life for this year’s event, and we are extremely grateful! Fresh Fest Beer Fest, along with our partners New Belgium Brewing, is showing our appreciation with a farewell brunch to close out this amazing weekend!

Join us as Chef Andre Robinson prepares his city-famous Lobster and Waffles and New Belgium pours several of their specialty brews including the exclusive Fresh Fest Collaboration with Ale Sharpton, Piano Keys.

About Fresh Fest

Fresh Fest in the nation’s first Black beer festival and second best in the nation, according to USA Today. The annual event showcases the country’s mosttalentedBlackbrewers,alongwithPittsburgh-basedbrewersincollaborationwithBlack artists,entrepreneurs, politicians, and business owners.Theseimaginativepartnershipsincludebrewcollaborations, label designs, and/or food pairings for a new beer released exclusively at FreshFest.

Established in 2018 by Mike Potter, founder and CEO of Black Brew Culture, and Day Bracey, co-host of the Drinking Partnerspodcast, Fresh Fest attracts thousands of craft beer industry veterans and connoisseurs as well as novices from across the country to enjoy unique beers, ciders, and spirits. Fresh Fest 2019 will bring together 28 Black brewers nationally and 50 Pittsburgh breweries that have collaborated with an eclectic and impressive group of Pittsburgh’s finest. The event will take place on August 10 from 12-9 pm at Nova Place/Alloy 26 on the city’s North Side. In addition to beer and spirits, Fresh Fest will feature Pittsburgh’s best food trucks, brew-related vendors, artists, and live music throughout the evening. Media coverage of Fresh Fest has included Thrillist, Imbibe, NPR, Atlanta Black Journal, and the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette.

About Black Brew Culture

Black Brew Culture is ushering in a new narrative in the $70 billion craft beer industry — one that features greater representation of African-American-owned breweries across the United States. Mike Potter, founder and CEO, established Black Brew Culture in 2017 to expand Black presence in the craft brew industry, on the drinking side of the bar and in production. Of the 6,000+ craft breweries in the U.S., minority-owned breweries and brewers make up only 2% of the industry. In 2018, Black Brew Culture released its first beer, For the Culture. Through its online platform, magazine, and Fresh Fest, Black Brew Culture educates and advocates for access, exposure, diversity, and equity in the industry, connecting craft brew culture with Black culture.

About Drinking Partners Podcast

The Drinking Partners Podcast features comics Day Bracey and Ed Bailey swilling microbrews and spirits and engaging in dynamic, entertaining, and informative conversations with entertainers, politicians, and entrepreneurs. Three-time winner for Pittsburgh’s Best Podcast, the show’s guest list is both esteemed and diverse, including comedians Todd Glass and W. Kamau Bell, and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman. Musicians, like international stars the Cool Kids, as well as local acts just starting out, have joined the Drinking Partners in the studio for conversations and confessions. Artists, authors, brewers and brewery owners, and other leaders in business and development have also been guests on the show. The Drinking Partners have been profiled in many national publications and on air, including Viceland, NPR, The Atlantic and Imbibe, and featured in a Smithsonian exhibit examining the history of American brewing. Sometimes outrageous and sometimes educational, the Drinking Partners are nothing short of highly addictive.

Connect with Fresh Fest Beer Fest: 

www.freshfestbeerfest.comwww.facebook.com/freshfestbeerfest/@freshfestbf on Twitter@freshfestbeerfest onInstagram

#freshfest #fresher2019#fresher

Connect with Black Brew Culture:

www.blackbrewculture.comwww.facebook.com/blackbrewculture@blackbrewcultur on Twitter@blackbrewculture on Instagram

#somethingisbrewing #newnarrative #blackbrewculture

Connect with Drinking Partners:

@partnerspod on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

#drinkingpartners #partnerspod #daydrinking

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