A beer festival in Penn State’s Beaver Stadium? What to know about Hoppy Valley Brewers Fest

Josh Moyer
·4 min read

Two years after beer sales first began at Beaver Stadium, the home for Penn State football is now set to host a spring beer festival.

“Hoppy Valley Brewers Fest” is aiming to feature at least 50 breweries — more than a dozen already confirmed — on Saturday, May 11, inside Beaver Stadium. The event will take place on the field from 1-5 p.m. for those with general admission, while those with VIP tickets (early access) will be able to start an hour earlier.

No formal announcement on the 21-and-over event has yet been made. But a website for the event is publicly accessible, and an event page began circulating on Facebook by Thursday afternoon. Organizers confirmed the event to the CDT, acknowledging they anticipated making a later announcement.

Ticket prices via Ticketmaster are not yet known but will be released by early next week, an official said. A link on the event website asks visitors to sign up for updates.

“We’re going to be priced competitively, but we also have to keep in mind we are at Beaver Stadium, and that’s also an expense,” said Eric Engelbarts, executive director of the Happy Valley Sports & Entertainment Alliance, which helped organize the event.

Who all is doing this?

According to the website, Antifragile Brewing Company — in downtown State College — helped organize the event with collaboration from Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, Happy Valley Sports & Entertainment Alliance, Breweries of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association. The event’s official social media partner is Hello Social Co.

Confirmed breweries at this point include the following, with the original location in parentheses:

Expect more confirmations as the festival draws closer.

“We’ll continue to release more breweries over the coming weeks,” Engelbarts added. “Almost every other week or so, we’ll be able to release another bunch of them. The vast majority of breweries will be coming from Pennsylvania or will have a tie to Penn State, like if it’s produced by an alum. But not all.”

Tickets for designated drivers will also be available for sale.

What is the event setup?

Ticket-holders will enter the festival through the south tunnel of Beaver Stadium — and, yes, the event will be held on the field. The ID check and ticketing lines will start as early as 10 a.m., two hours before VIP admission.

Ideally, Engelbarts said, Hoppy Valley Brewers Fest will feature close to 75 breweries on the field, in addition to about 10 food vendors. No vendors are ready to be announced, but priority will be given to those pre-approved by the university, he said.

Live music is also expected at the beer festival, although — again — no bands are yet confirmed. Organizers are contemplating having a potential DJ supplement the live bands, but no decision has yet been made.

A lot remains in flux at this early point, but organizers wanted to remain flexible depending on the response to the brewfest. If fewer people sign up, they might aim for closer to 50 breweries than 75. If more sign up, they’re likewise able to scale up.

Although a cap on the number of ticket sales has not yet been set, organizers still acknowledged they might have to halt sales at some point. After all, Beaver Stadium may be the fourth-largest stadium in the world — but the space on the field isn’t infinite.

“We want to make sure everyone has a good experience and no one has to wait hours on end waiting for their beer,” Engelbarts said. “So we want to be mindful of the customer experience.”

For more information on the event, and for future updates, go to HoppyValleyBrewersFest.com.