This month, Oakland's beer scene will get slightly murky when website Hop Culture hosts Juicy Brews Westfest, a festival that celebrates hazy IPAs and fruit-forward sours.
Although Hop Culture started in Pittsburgh and is now headquartered in New York City, founder Kenny Gould has long been seeking an opportunity to bring Juicy Brews to the Bay Area. “I used to live in the East Bay,” wrote Gould via email. “I loved my time there, and I’m always looking for an excuse to get back.”
Unlike their clearer cousins, hazy IPAs use different strains of yeast and varieties of grain and generally aren't filtered or pasteurized before bottling.
“Up until this point, no one has really given hazy IPAs their due,” said Gould. “There are plenty of brewers who claim they’re just a fad, but we fundamentally disagree."
Juicy Brews is scheduled in two tasting sessions of three hours each on Sunday, April 22nd at Classic Cars West, located at 411 26th Street.
The first session runs from 11–2, and the second session from 3–6. Attendees can responsibly enjoy unlimited tastings, though attendance is limited to 300 ticket holders per session. General admission is $45 plus fees, though the event does offer a special ‘designated driver’ rate of $20 plus fees. All proceeds will benefit City Slicker Farms.
“When I lived in the East Bay, I worked for a food justice nonprofit, [Urban Adamah] and I find it personally meaningful to support food and environmental justice,” said Gould. Hop Culture’s previous brewfests in Pittsburgh and NYC likewise benefitted food justice organizations.
Juicy Brews will feature nineteen breweries from both coasts. Local beer aficionados will recognize hometown breweries like Ghost Town and Novel breweries among the attendees, as well as Berkeley’s Rare Barrel and Hoi Polloi.
For those seeking a taste from further afield, there’s also Little Beast from Portland, Narrow Gauge from St. Louis, and Triple Crossing from Richmond, Virginia.
“Generally, craft beer is hyper-local,” said Gould. “With Juicy Brews, we make things easy for the Northern California beer community by bringing the best of the East and West to one location.”
