Competition is brewing

Aug. 15 will bring the 20th Annual Steinley Cup Microbrew Festival to Saratoga. Brewers will compete to win the coveted Steinley Cup and vie for the “People’s Choice” award. The event starts at 1 p.m. and will continue until 5 p.m. at its original location, Veterans Island Park.

The Brewfest has taken place at Kathy Glode Park the last four years due to the flooding of Veterans Island and the park not being completely cleaned up.

Local crafters will show their hand-crafted creations during the Brewfest, so you can take home a trophy of your own.

Children are more than welcome to attend as well. Veterans Island has a skatepark, playground and horseshoe pit at Veterans Island.

Families are welcome to bring yard games and set them up for their children. Admission is $25.00 per person and is free for children 12 years old and under.

Stacy Crimmins, Chief Executive Officer at the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce, explained the differences between the Microbrew Festival now and when it began. “When we first started, there was a standard category of beers, and so we just rotated with those fix or six [beers as the competition brew],” Crimmins said. “Now, there are a lot of subcategories that have become more commonplace and so the list is a little bit longer.”

The competition brew this year is “Fruit and Field,” which is a little less common. It is special competition brew this year for the anniversary of the Microbrew Festival. Crimmins said that it won’t be in the rotation, but they wanted to do it because it is completely different for their 20th Anniversary. “Fruit and Field” includes beers that have flavors such as pomegranate, blueberry and honey. One brew even has ruby red grapefruit in it. The ‘field’ part of “Fruit and Field” are supposed to be brews that include grains.

At the Brewfest, there will be multiple beers for people to taste what brewers have to offer. “A brewer brings the competition beer, and then they also usually bring two or three of their best-sellers,” said Crimmins.

Brewers that have committed so far to this year’s Microbrew Festival include Altitude Chop House, of Laramie, Wyo .; Cheyenne Brewing Company, of Cheyenne, Wyo .; Coal Creek TAP House, of Laramie, Wyo .; Lander Brewing Company, of Lander, Wyo .; Library Sports Grill & Brewery, of Laramie, Wyo .; Prairie Fire Brewing Company, of Gillette, Wyo .; Snake River Brewing Company based in Jackson, Wyo. and the Snowy Mountain Brewery, of Saratoga.

“This Microbrew Festival is unique in that only microbreweries based in Wyoming are invited. It was one of the first, original competitions and brew festivals in the state and is known by the brewers as the official competition. Nobody can claim they’re the best in the state unless they have carried the Steinley Cup trophy home,” said Crimmins.

The defending champions of the Steinley Cup are Coal Creek TAP; the defending “People’s Choice” champion is the Library Sports Grill & Brewery.

Brewers at the competition need to have their booths set up by 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 15 and the judging starts at noon.

“The [five] judges have been the same for almost all 20 years. They are a group of brewers and professionals from Colorado; they either work as brewers or as judge for similar competitions,” Crimmins said.

“Thunder and Rain”, a band from Loveland, Colo., will provide the live music during the event. They are a high-energy bluegrass band. “We try and switch up the bands every year so we keep the variety; we keep the genre wide open,” said Crimmins.

“Rain or shine, bring a lawn chair, your children and make a weekend of it,” said Chamber Board Chair Mitch Bangert.

The third Annual Trout Run (5K) will be held the morning of August 15. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. and the run starts at 8 a.m. Runners will receive a free T-shirt and will generate a powerful thirst for a cold beer afterwards. The fun run will have a few obstacles and surprises, too. To register, please call Lisa at 307-326-8338.

Complete listings of lodging and other events held that weekend can be found on the chamber’s website, http://www.saratogachamber.info. For more information, call the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce at 307-326-8855 or email [email protected].