By GARRETT SAGER
Hays Post
Brews on the Bricks is a festival that is more than just a celebration of good craft beer, but rather a spotlight on the art of brewing.
The second annual Brews on the Bricks, an event hosted by the Downtown Hays Development Corp. and sponsored by Eagle Communications, was such an overwhelming success in its inaugural year that it is back, better and bigger, according Sara Bloom, DHDC executive director.
“Its the biggest craft beer festival in the area, and we will have more brewers than we did last year,” she said.
The festival is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 8 at 10th and Main in downtown Hays.
Tickets go on sale Feb. 1, and Bloom is expecting to be sold out in just hours.
Last year, Bloom said, 500 tickets were sold in less than four hours and the VIP tickets sold out in 15 minutes.
“We anticipate that, in one day, the tickets will be sold out again and sold out fast,” she said.
With the anticipation of the high numbers for this year’s festival, DHDC has increased the number of tickets available.
Bloom said the number of VIP tickets has doubled this year so now there are 150 VIP tickets available. Also, the general admission tickets was raised from 500 to 600, she said.
This year, VIP tickets will be $75.
A VIP ticket gets you a Q&A with the brewers, a four-course meal, pairings with four brewers that will not be available via general admission and a full beer stein sampling glass. VIP tickets also allow entry an hour prior to general admission.
General admission tickets are $35, which gets you into the sampling tent from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and a sampling glass.
There is also a designated driver ticket, Bloom said, that will allow entry to the event — but also comes with a wrist band that will bar beer tasting.
Tickets can be purchased at downtownhays.com and DHDC offices at 106 W. 12th. Or call (785) 621-4171 for tickets or more information.
Bloom said there are already people who have notified her they will be camping out outside of the DHDC offices to get an early jump on purchasing tickets.
Last year, there were 13 breweries from seven states coming from as far as Indiana, but this year Bloom expects 25 brewers.
“Last year, they found out about this event and wanted to be a part of it, and we are anticipating the same for this year,” Bloom said.
Registration has been open for less than a week and already three breweries are on board for the festival, but Bloom knows of at least 15 more that will be participating.
“Defiance is doing a collaboration with 15 Kansas breweries that have agreed to come to Hays the Friday before the event, and they will actually spend that day coming together and making one beer that will then be distributed all over the state,” Bloom said.
The 15 breweries working on the collaboration then will participate in the festival the next day.
Live music and food will also be a part of the festival.
As of now, Bloom said a band has not been booked, but the hope is to have them booked by the end of the month. They do plan to invite the McPherson Pipe Band to kick off the ceremony.
The food will be provided by several vendors throughout the state, she added.
For more information, check out the Brews on the Bricks 2017 Facebook page.