Main Street during the Brewfest

DOWNIEVILLE — The Downieville Mountain Brewfest took over Main Street last Saturday. A collection of 17 breweries, most from Northern California, set up tents, kegs, and taps to offer participants a taste of their craft beers. Local businesses such as Jadaa’s Kitchen and Sabrina’s at the Forks provided plenty of food, and Bob Mora and the Third Degree Blues Band provided music. About 500 people purchased tickets, with many more coming to enjoy the weekend. The event was sponsored by the Downieville Improvement Group (DIG), which intends to contribute to funding a new firehouse for the Downieville Volunteer Fire Department using the money raised.

Nevada County Homebrewers pour competition entries for voters

Among the festival’s highlights were the Nevada County Homebrewers’ tent and its homebrew competition. The tent featured a massive custom 12-tap bar, each tap corresponding to an entry in the competition. There were 18 entries, so a separate tent and taps housed the final six brews. Entries included ales, stouts, lagers, and even a seltzer. Voters could taste all 18 brews, each numbered and described by type and flavor, and select their three favorites by placing voting tickets. The winner was Michael Montgomery, with his Mango Hazy IPA. Jay Cole brewed a Black-Currant Hefeweizen that took second place, and Paul Howard, with the only hard seltzer, finished third.

Some of the most popular breweries attending the event included Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Revision Brewing Co., and Rebellion Brewing Co. Businesses from the Nevada City/Grass Valley area included Gold Vibe Kombuchary, 1849 Brewing Co., Grass Valley Brewing Co., and Three Forks Bakery and Brewing Co. The company farthest from Downieville to attend was Mammoth Brewing Co. from Mammoth Lakes, California.

The Brewfest wrapped up with lighthearted breathalyzer testing done by the California Highway Patrol, an ever-popular event feature for which a line quickly formed. Some attendees took to treating their tested blood alcohol content as a score, with higher scores celebrated by the crowd. Golden Rays Seniors and Big Boulder Bike Shuttle provided shuttling services to ensure the high-scorers could safely make it to their lodging accommodations.

Following the event, Boomtown Backyard hosted a well-attended concert for the popular bluegrass-inspired band Caltucky, with misters to cool people off after tasting in the near hundred-degree heat. Though not affiliated with the Brewfest, the Caltucky show offered a great wind-down of the day’s activities.

Congratulations to DIG, the participating breweries, and all the organizations and volunteers involved in the seventh successful Brewfest!