“A celebration of craft beer friendship & camaraderie”
Living in Eastern North Carolina, we’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by many craft beer festivals each year, but during the pandemic, it was at times not possible to safely gather hundreds of patrons for these events. This led to many annual festivals being canceled the past couple of years. As we’re sure is the case with many others, we were itching to be able to attend a craft beer event, where we could talk with brewers and servers from a ton of different breweries, taste an unlimited number of craft beer samples (well, maybe there IS a limit…we just haven’t found it yet), and engage with other craft beer fans in an environment that compels friendly conversations and positive vibes. One of our favorite local breweries, Casita Brewing Company, sought out to host just such an event this spring: the Casita Collab Festival. Leading up to May 14, 2022, we had the Casita Collab Festival in our sights, having purchased tickets as soon as they were available. This, of course, led to a considerable amount of hype for the event, and if we wanted to keep this recap short, we could just say that Casita and their partners blew our expectations out of the water. However, the work that went into this event was incredible and we feel it needs to be acknowledged and shared in a lot more words than that!
Casita’s Mission
Perhaps our first introduction to Casita Brewing Company was drinking a collaboration beer; Casita has been active in brewery collaborations since the beginning! When they started their brewing company, it was through a collaboration with Hill Farmstead in Vermont. This led to them working with other breweries until eventually opening their brick-and-mortar brewery in Wilson, NC. Those relationships forged over the years leading up to Casita opening its doors in North Carolina are indicative of their mission to cultivate friendship and camaraderie, and to embrace community. The craft beer industry as a whole has always appeared to be welcoming and amicable, and Casita is a true testament to that notion. So, what better way to exemplify what it means to collaborate and connect with your community than by hosting a collab festival and bringing together over 30 breweries to share their passion of craft beer?
VIP and General Admission Sessions
When the Casita Collab Festival was announced and tickets went on sale, there were two options to choose from: a VIP session from 11am-2pm, and a GA session from 4pm-7pm. Having the option is always a nice touch for events like this, as some people may be more inclined to take advantage of the additional perks of a VIP session while others may be a little intimidated or are looking for an option that fits their budget. The VIP session included first access to the ~90 different beers (some of which were exclusive bottle pours that were not available in the GA session!), the opportunity to talk with the brewers and reps while the crowd wasn’t as large, and more. The GA session, which we opted to attend, had approximately 60 different beer and cider options from the 30+ breweries in attendance, and three hours to try as many 3oz pours as you like! All tickets included a commemorative tasting glass (pictured above), a festival wristband, and access to the beer garden (the brewery’s taproom was open to the public during the event as well).
The Venue
Having visited Castita Brewing Company’s taproom several times before, we already knew their adjacent beer garden was a great outdoor space. They’ve used this area for general outdoor seating, disc golf putting leagues, a special camping event, art expos, and more. The beer garden was also the perfect location for a beer festival in May. The only thing that could’ve put a damper on things is rain – and, wouldn’t you know it, that it did rain, for a bit. However, Casita planned for a rain or shine event and had a huge tent set up to keep everything and everyone covered in the case of inclement weather. This eased our minds as we were seeing showers in the forecast, the week leading up to the festival. Luckily, the rain didn’t stick around long, and it didn’t affect the upbeat atmosphere in the slightest! In addition to the 30+ breweries, Casita also brought in DJ Billy Crystal Fingers to play music throughout both sessions, which kept everyone going while they roamed around looking for their next pour. The space was large enough to accommodate the tables needed for all the breweries to be set up, the DJ table, and some tables and chairs for patrons to sit at and enjoy a pour and/or food from Chirba Chirba or Cousins Maine Lobster (the two food trucks slinging food all day), while still having room to walk around and not feel crowded or blocked in.
The Beers
While the VIP session added exclusive, rare bottle pours to the list of beer offerings – bringing the total to about 90 different options during that session! – there were generally two different beers/ciders to choose from at each brewery’s/cidery’s table. Over 60 different brews is an incredible offering, and made for some tough choices, knowing that we wouldn’t be able to taste them all (not for lack of trying, though). Casita and their collab breweries ensured that there would be plenty of variety to suit every craft beer enthusiast’s palate. Fans of traditional, malty beers like Vienna lagers and German Pilsners were presented with many options from the likes of Benchtop Brewing Company and Ardent Craft Ales. If you seek out hoppy ales and hoppy ales alone, there was no shortage of IPAs, DIPAs, and pale ales; our first stop of the day was at the Humble Sea Brewing Company booth to try a double hazy IPA, and it set the tone well! To our surprise there was also a great deal of high gravity beers, with some imperial stouts and aged barleywines from Casita, Wilmington Brewing Company, and Incendiary Brewing Company. Ciders and sour ales were plentiful as well, and we enjoyed several Cigar City Cider & Mead, Divine Barrel, and Evil Twin Brewing. While the tasting of various brews over the span of our three-hour general admission session was an absolute treat, it was also great to chat it up with several brewers and brewery reps in attendance. Seeing the lineup posted to Casita Brewing Company’s Instagram had us excited to sample pours from the likes of local staples like HopFly, New Anthem, Duck-Rabbit, and Trophy, while getting our hands on brews from some breweries that are a bit out of our driving range like Hill Farmstead, Stillwater Artisanal Ales, Creature Comforts, and Magnanimous Brewing. It was an impressive lineup to say the least, and we’re sure Casita could’ve gotten other breweries on board if they had more space to work with. With as many breweries as we mentioned here, there were too many to list them all without this turning into a novella – check out Casita’s Instagram posts from the day of the event to see the full lineup!
Overall Thoughts
We tip our hats to Casita for coming up with this idea for a collaboration festival, and for executing it with precision and diligence. They really thought of everything to make the day a success for everyone in attendance! From the numerous water stations to rinse tasting glasses in between pours, to the live music and food trucks, and access to several portable restrooms, Casita and their partners planned thoroughly for a enjoyable festival. We enjoyed our time and the three hours went by in a flash. The event saw a great turnout from breweries and patrons alike, and Casita set the bar high for future collab festivals, should they elect to host another – and we hope that they will.
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