RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond beer-lovers don’t have to wait until the Folk Festival starts on Oct. 7 to get a taste of the new FestivALE.
The Oktoberfest–style Märzen ale, brewed by Charlottesville-based Champion Brewing, is now available at select retailers. Wild Wolf will continue to make the Folktoberfest brew, a tradition which began two years ago.
“We’ve loved partnering with Wild Wolf the last few years to produce Folktoberfest beer for sale at the Richmond Folk Festival, but we’ve always thought it would be cool to get the name of the festival out there on store shelves and to extend the festival brand,” says Lisa Sims, Interim Executive Director of Venture Richmond.
Champion offered to brew and can the beer and then they took things – organizers said — to a “whole new level” because they are also creating a pop-up tasting room downtown on Grace Street.
Folk FestivALE by Champion Brewing.
The temporary tasting room is a joint effort with the brewery and the folks behind local restaurants Comfort and Pasture, Jason Alley and Michele Jones.
“It all kind of fell together,” says Amanda Marable of Loveland Distributing Co. “It’s in October, it’s that time of year, it’s fall, Champion wanted something that fit with the season but something that was easily approachable to other folks.”
Folk FestivALE, at 5% ABV is a nice, sessionable drink.
“It’s a beer pretty much everybody can enjoy,” Marable said. “You don’t have to be an IPA lover or a hops lover—it’s a very balanced and drinkable beer.”
The FestivALE can be found at the following retail outlets: both Wegmans, The Wink, Once Upon a Vine South and North locations, Rittenhouse (Carytown/Short Pump/Ironbridge Rd., Corks and Kegs and Whole Foods.
Four Richmond restaurants are serving the brew on tap: Saison, Acacia, Pasture and Comfort.
FestivALE being canned at Champion Brewing.
FestivALE will be on tap during the festival also, along with many other beers.
There will be a ton of beers on tap, from from Stone, SweetWater, Miller Brewing, Yuengling, Modelo, Buskey, Champion and Wild Wolf. They will change constantly throughout the day.
Folks from Sam Adams, Trapezium and Stone will host some beer seminars throughout the weekend, in the craft beer area.
Check out the performance schedule and get festival details, on the Richmond Folk Festival website.
