Looking for a lager? New Groove Artisan Brewery in Boiling Springs hosting Crispifest
Lager lovers should head to Boiling Springs this weekend for New Groove Artisan Brewery's second annual boutique lager festival Crispifest.
The festival, featuring 17 craft breweries from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and upwards of 40 beers for sampling, is this Saturday from 2-6 p.m. outside the brewery (4078 Highway 9).
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"There's been a real evolution of the palette, especially for the people that drink beer as often as we, as brewers, do, where you go more and more flavor and then, eventually, you get tired of those big flavorful things and just want something that's easy drinking and crisp," said co-owner Jonathan Duke.
The festival will feature live music outdoors from My Brother Oliver from 2:30-6 p.m. with t-shirts for purchase, food from the New Groove Smokehouse kitchen and 86Pho, and unlimited beer samples. Tickets for the event are available for purchase the day of the event or in advance at newgroove.oznr.com for $55. Designated driver tickets will be available Saturday at a discounted rate.
The beers available for sampling will, as the festival's name implies, be majority lagers or crispies, though there will be a few other varieties available. New Groove will be serving up their salted lime lager and new orange and sea salt lager.
The small-scale, themed festival is part of a trend among craft beer lovers, according to Duke and fellow co-owner Josh Dodson. The first Crispifest took place last July when it was one of only a few festivals like it around the country. Now, it's one of a growing number boutique beer festivals.
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"In the past, a festival was going to be like 60-100 breweries and you have four, five hours. You can't sample all those," Dodson said. "I think with the more boutique style — smaller, more focused — you get to really experience the few breweries put together."
"It allows us to sort of curate offerings that are more special or unique, so people can come and get beer here that they wouldn't have an opportunity to or would have to travel out of state to try," Duke added.
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Participating breweries include 13 Stripes Brewery, Burning Blush Brewery, Eurisko Beer Co., Pontoon Brewing, Salud Cerveceria, Magnetic South Brewery, Incendiary Brewing Co., Petty Thieves Brewing Co., and Resident Culture Brewing Company.
"We're trying to keep it focused on our friend breweries from outside the area that you don't normally have access to here," said Dodson.
Samantha Swann covers food and restaurants in Spartanburg County. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her with your burning restaurant questions, recipes, and new dinner specials at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sameatsspartanburg.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: New Groove Artisan Brewery to host curated, boutique lager festival
