2009 Microbreweries Battling Breast Cancer Brewfest Recap

You couldn’t have asked for better weather this past Saturday for the 9th Annual Microbreweries Battle against Breast Cancer Brewfest. The brightly shining sun helped to not only set a festive summer stage but also helped to shine the light on the fight against breast cancer. Hosted by Marin Brewing Company, Breastfest, as I’ve heard it more commonly called, was graced by cool ocean breezes blowing in from the bay even as the sun shone high above to a tune of 90° F.

While most brewfests are undeniably attended predominantly by guys looking for the next tastiest brew, or to get drunk, the attendees of Breastfest were nearly equally split between the ladies and the fellas. Not surprising considering the subject of the brew fest. For the price of admission ($35 advance/$40 door), festival attendees were affixed with a bright pink wrist band that granted them unlimited access to the brews being poured by the 20+ microbreweries in attendance. Food was widely available from the vendors in attendance at the festival or you could purchase something from Marin Brewing Company as they are a brewpub serving both beer and food.

Breastfest was held outdoors in the Larkspur Landing Courtyard directly adjacent to Marin Brewing Company’s back patio. The 20+ breweries were arranged around the courtyard’s perimeter with the band playing in the center. For those not fortunate enough to have landed a spot in the shade, breweries brought their own EZ Up tents sporting brewery colors and logos. While this arrangement works for most of the brewfests I’ve been to I think Breastfest could’ve arranged from a little better set-up. There was a spot near the back of the festival which could’ve easily supported 2-3 breweries. By comparison, there was a small corner of the courtyard where 4 breweries were crammed together. There was barely enough space in their shared area for about a half dozen festival attendees to stand comfortably. Speaking of breweries, here are those that were in attendance:

• Marin Brewing Company*
• 21st Amendment*
• Anderson Valley
• Beach Chalet
• Bear Republic*
• Black Diamond
• Blue Frog Grog & Grill*
• Drakes Brewing*
• Fox Barrel Cider
• Half Moon Bay*
• Iron Springs
• Moon Light
• Moylan’s
• North Coast
• Rubicon
• Russian River*
• Santa Cruz Aleworks
• Seabright
• Speakeasy*
• Stone Brewing
• Stumptown
• Triple Rock*
• Trumer Brauerei
• Two Rivers Cider*

* Denotes breweries Sammy and I tried.

For the most part, it was business as usual at the Breastfest. People socialized, took photos of/with each other and danced to the sound of Petty Theft, a Tom Petty tribute band. People would navigate the crowded courtyard to sample brews from their favorite breweries as well as look for shade.

At one point, Sammy and I headed over to Russian River to get a couple of tastes of their beers. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time. As soon as we got there, Vinnie was getting ready to uncork this ginormous bottle of his latest sour ale, Consecration. Having some technical issues, Vinnie was forced to cut the knob off the cork and then use a standard wine bottle opener to pull out the remaining piece still housed in the bottle. As he was working, I overheard someone in the audience yell out, “C’mon. C’mon! What’s the problem?!” I’m not sure what it is about free stuff that turns ordinary people into douche bags but I felt that was uncalled for. If you can believe it, I even heard boo’s because Vinnie was taking a while to open it up. Luckily for me, Sammy was able to squeeze her petite frame up to the front and return back with samples for the both of us. Still, some people…

I was able to talk to a few of the brewers in attendance to get first hand knowledge of some of the beers that were being poured. I had wanted to get more video clips but the festival stayed busy and experienced no drop off in beer-tasting intensity. I had to pick my spots. The one interview that I was really gunning for but didn’t get was with Arne Johnson, brewmaster of Marin Brewing Company. I was looking to get some background information about the festival and why breast cancer was an issue the brewery decided to do something about. Being the man of the day, he was being pulled in one direction or another and I never got that interview.

Due to some prior commitments Sammy and I had later on that evening, we left Breastfest a little early. Despite that, Sammy and I had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends, getting to know new friends and drinking good beers for a good cause. This is one festival that will be on our yearly festival schedule. If you weren’t able to make it out this year, I encourage you to go next year. If you were there, I’d like to get your take on the event in the Comments section at the end of this post.

Here’s a video I cut together of the footage I had from the festival. Let me know what you think and if they are worth doing. There’s no audio for the first part of it but it’ll kick in later. It’s my first video so please cut me a little slack. Thanks!

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