Last February, Louisville wholeheartedly embraced the celebration of craft beer with more than 2,500 patrons who raised their glasses to toast the city’s inaugural “Tailspin Ale Fest,” held in a revived WWII-era airplane hangar at Bowman Field. The Fest was such a rousing success that it has been expanded over two days this year – February 20 and 21 – allowing a broader audience to enjoy a variety of craft beer, with an additional opportunity to savor barrel-aged bourbons, spirits and ales.
Both the Friday and Saturday events will be held at the Louisville Executive Aviation Hangar, 2700 Gast Blvd. Tickets will be sold for each day, as well as in combination packages at www.tailspinalefest.com. De
Tailspin’s Barrel Roll (New for 2015) – FEB. 20 from 7-10 p.m.
FRIDAY EVENING: Only 1,000 tickets will be sold to Friday’s VIP event. Prices range from $25 (Designated Driver) to $85, and highlights include:
- Limited-edition, barrel-aged beers, bourbons and craft cocktails
- Mingling with brewers, brewery representatives, and industry experts
- Gourmet tapas from Mussel & Burger Bar, El Taco Luchador, CENA, and Guaca Mole
- National recording artists out of Brooklyn and New Orleans, the Pimps of Joytime, will perform soulful music on stage, and
- Professional photos, as well as a photo booth for candid memories with friends
TAILSPIN ALE FEST – FEB. 21 from 3-7 p.m. (VIP entry at 2 p.m.)
SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Tickets to the Tailspin Ale Fest are $15 (Designated Driver), $45 (General Admission) and $75 (VIP with early entrance). A sold-out crowd is expected again this year, and the fest features:
- More than 150 craft beers for sampling
- Well-rounded varieties from 40 breweries across the U.S. (12 from Kentucky alone)
- Brewery representatives on-site and talking about their beers
- Lively Bluegrass music on stage and a photo booth for all to enjoy
- A colorful biplane display and a Kentucky Heritage Section
- A one-of-a-kind raffle with 100 percent of sales going to the local Dare to Care Food Bank
- A souvenir tasting glass and a 64-ounce glass growler for all paid attendees, and
- Food from a wide selection of local food trucks/vendors available for purchase
Louisville area residents Trevor Cravens, President of DRAFT Magazine, and Tisha Dean Gainey, Owner of HB Productions, co-founded the Tailspin Ale Fest in 2014, and said Louisville has proven it’s an important market for the craft beer industry. “The overwhelming response to our inaugural event last year was proof that Louisville is thirsty for more craft beer. We’ve added the Barrel Roll event on Friday night to provide a more intimate experience with the addition of our spirits heritage married with craft beer. We hope to continue to provide a platform to introduce new and established craft beer and spirits to both the casual enthusiast as well as the most discerning connoisseur,” said Gainey.
The 2015 Tailspin Ale Fest is expected to draw 3,600 people over two days to the spacious and historic hangar at Bowman Field. The first-ever Tailspin Ale, chosen by judges during a competition among the LAGERS (Louisville Area Grain & Extract Research Society), will be brewed exclusively at Apocalypse Brew Works to be tapped at the event.
In addition to craft beer revelry, 100 percent of proceeds from the Tailspin Ale Fest Raffle will benefit the local Dare to Care Food Bank. The raffle winner (and a friend) will have the opportunity to travel to a Kentucky distillery to taste and help select a barrel of bourbon to be bottled as Tailspin Bourbon, exclusive to Liquor Barn, Tailspin’s title sponsor. Once the bourbon has been bottled, the raffle winner will get to help a brew master create a beer to be aged in the barrel selected. A portion of Tailspin event ticket sales as well as proceeds from several pre-event promotions will also be donated to Louisville’s Dare to Care.
“We at Dare to Care are excited to again be the beneficiary of Tailspin Ale Festival,” said Brian Riendeau, Dare to Care Executive Director. “The need for food assistance is at an all-time high, with one in six families struggling to get the food they need. Dare to Care can only meet this need with broad community support, and partners like the folks of Tailspin Ale Festival help make this happen.”
For tickets or more information, visit www.tailspinalefest.com. For the latest updates about participating breweries and festival news, like www.facebook.com/
