Thousands travel to try Frederick craft beers at Hyper Local Brew Fest

Feb. 18—Craft beer from local Frederick breweries was flowing freely on Saturday afternoon.

The air vibrated with songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queen, played by students from Let There Be Rock School.

Around 2,000 people were at the Frederick Fairgrounds for the Hyper Local Brew Fest, organized by Rockwell Brewery.

"It's about wanting to support the communities, supporting local breweries," said Matt Thrasher, co-founder of Rockwell Brewery. "Because there's a lot of us here and I think we're building a reputation for being one of the top brew cities in Maryland, if not close to the East Coast now."

Unlike the usual brew festival model, where people pay a high cover free and then get samples of beer for free, the Hyper Local Brew Fest charges just $10 for entry, and allows customers to buy pints for $6 a pop.

The featured breweries also get to keep the profit they make, Thrasher said. There were seven breweries featured at the festival, all from downtown Frederick: Rockwell Brewery, Olde Mother Brewing, Steinhardt Brewery, Smoketown Creekside, Idiom Brewery, Midnight Run Brewing, and Monocacy Brewery.

"It's a brew fest by brewers, so it's to benefit the brewery directly," Thrasher said.

Jackie and Matt DeLand liked the way the festival was set up. Saturday was the third time the Greenbelt couple had traveled to the brew fest.

They liked the fact that the brew fest was hosted in the winter. Matt DeLand said he appreciated how the festival brought in other vendors as well, not just breweries.

Rachael Sanchez brought her younger brother, Joshua Sanchez, to the brew fest. It was Joshua's first brew fest ever.

They had very different opinions on it. Joshua, who isn't a craft beer fan, wasn't impressed. Rachael, who loves craft beers, said she could appreciate it, considering the point of the festival was to be "hyper local."

Brian Phillips, Mikey Richmond and Mark Late also had some differing opinions. Phillips, who had just moved to Frederick from Tennessee, was expecting a more laid back environment. With the loud music, he felt like he was in a rush to finish his beer, rather than taking his time to sip and enjoy it.

But that wasn't going to stop the group from having a good time. Late, who is from Thurmont, and Richmond, who is from West Virginia, frequent Frederick for its breweries often. Richmond said it was nice to go to an indoor festival post-COVID and feel comfortable.

"Everyone has something to offer," Richmond said.

For Kristy Hundley and Ashley Harford, managers of Midnight Run Brewing on North East Street, Saturday was their first time setting up a tent at the Hyper Local Brew Fest. They were seeing regulars come over to ask for their favorite beers, but they were also getting to share their beer with new people.

They were excited to get their name out more.

"It's all the local breweries and supporting everything local, everyone here is from here," Hundley said. "It's nice to just kind of be part of that camaraderie."

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel