EASTON, Pa. — Lehigh Valley Beer Week kicked off this weekend with celebrations of the region’s breweries, complete with special releases and collaborations.
For more than a decade, the event has shown off the Valley’s breweries through stand-alone events and partnerships with local restaurants.
It encompasses more than just beer: This year's participants include two cider producers and a meadery.
"We're showcasing a whole bunch of cool products or cool new beers.”James Wickemeier, general manager of Boser Geist Brewing in Easton
“Beer Week gives us an opportunity to really reach out to people that don't usually come out to breweries, you know?" said James Wickemeier, general manager of Boser Geist Brewing in Easton.
"We're showcasing a whole bunch of cool products or cool new beers.”
Beer Week officially began Saturday afternoon with an “opening tap” at Weyerbacher Brewing in Easton, where brewers competed in an “Olympics” including contests such as stein holding and a keg toss.
The celebration will continue through May 11. Find a full list of events here, and beer week participants here.
Along with special releases from many participating breweries, this week also saw the release of this year’s Lehigh Valley Brewers’ Guild collaboration, called Guildy Pleasure.
The 2024 edition, produced by Weyerbacher, is a West Coast-style IPA.
Exploded in recent years
While Beer Week is separate from the Brewers’ Guild, the two organizations share many of the same members. Guild members can participate free in Beer Week.
As much as anything else, the weeklong celebration shows how the region’s craft brewing scene has exploded over the past several years.
“It’s thriving. It really is. In the Lehigh Valley there are so many amazing breweries."Boser Geist owner Erik Thomasik
“It’s thriving. It really is,” said Boser Geist owner Erik Thomasik. “In the Lehigh Valley there are so many amazing breweries."
McCall Collective Chief Financial Officer and Brewers’ Guild President Chris McCall wrote in an email that “The Lehigh Valley beer scene really is one of a kind."
“Thanks to our amazing customers all over the Valley we’re able to support 26 members of the Guild and growing each year," McCall said. "We all try to work together on a regular basis.”
Thomasik said the Valley’s brewers have formed a close community, where everyone goes out of their way to help out their counterparts in times of need.
“We're not competing with each other. We're competing with big beer,” he said.
