Craft beer fest promises to brew up some fun

Autumn is famous for shades of amber, brown, orange and yellow -- in beer, that is.

Drink to the season at the third annual Cape Girardeau Craft Beer Festival from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the SEMO Fair 4-H and Bank of America Show Arena Pavilions at Arena Park.

With 82 craft beers and 33 breweries represented, event organizer Mary Burton said there will be something for everyone.

"It's the perfect opportunity for the craft-beer lover to sample varied and distinct craft beers," she said. "Each attendee receives a small pilsner souvenir sampling cup, and attendees can either pick and choose the beers they would like to sample or go down the line and try a new variety of craft beer."

Last year's event drew 700 people. With long-range forecasts calling for a gorgeous afternoon, organizers -- and brewers such as David Bess -- hope for more this year.

"We're knocking on wood like crazy," Bess said. "But we're hoping to flirt with the thousand mark this year."

Bess, the fourth-generation owner of Bluff City Beer, said it's not an outrageous expectation, especially given the recent surge in enthusiasm for craft beer.

"The craft beer business is exploding," he explained. "Domestic beer sales have been dropping a bit, but craft beer sales have been rising fast."

What's responsible for the way craft beer's market share runneth over?

"Believe me, everybody's trying to figure it out," Bess said. "It used to be that ... every little town had its own brewery, and we're starting to get back to that. For instance, in the state of Missouri alone, we have 49 craft breweries."

Some of the craft beer world's elite call Missouri home, he said. Piney River Brewing Co. out of Bucyrus just took home the Great American Beer Festival's gold medal for brown porter, and Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City took the gold for wood- and barrel-aged sour beer.

Bess put these feats into perspective. "It's harder to get a ticket to [The Great American Beer Festival] than it is to the Super Bowl," he said. "It's a big deal."

Can't tell a pilsner from an ale? Not a problem, says Bess.

"People who are beer enthusiasts, they love to talk beer and ingredients and techniques," he said. "Whether you're just starting out learning or not, it'll be a good time."

Even if beer isn't your thing, Burton said there will be food -- "everything from barbecue to bratwurst," and all proceeds going to the Community Caring Council's various projects.

"In a time where budgets are extremely tight, in serving our mental-health clients, fundraisers such as this is extremely important in continuing to provide our services," she said.

Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, and are available at the Community Counseling Center, Primo Vino, John A. Huber Home Brewing, PMac, Dirt Cheap and all Kidd's locations.

"It's a lot of fun," Burton said. "We know people have opportunities to attend other beer festivals, [but] we believe that this one is the festival for the true craft beer lover to enjoy a new craft beer and socialize with friends."

tgraef@semissourian.com