Hattiesburg Craft Beer Festival

Mississippi has a long and storied past when it comes to the hand crafted, fermented freedom that we love.  Well maybe not the type of history as some of the other states that have become the craft beer Meccas for the enthusiasts.  My beloved state was the last state to formally and legally end prohibition doing so more than three decades after the 21st Amendment was passed.  It took until 2013 for Homebrewing to become legal and up until 2012 the ABV was limited to about 6%.  Since 2012, there has been steady progress in the MS craft beer scene and part of that progress is due to the foresight of Jennifer Clark of Emerge Events in Hattiesburg.  She organized the first craft beer festival in 2013 in Hattiesburg and it has quickly become a circled date for not only MS craft beer lovers but also from surrounding states as well.

The following is a short Q & A session with Jennifer on some of her insight on the Hattiesburg Craft Beer Festival.

1.  What was the reasoning or motivation for starting a Craft Beer Festival in Hattiesburg, MS?

Hattiesburg has had a craft beer culture before "craft" beer was even a big thing here. When the laws changed 5 years ago, this community was ready to act. With so many pieces already in place to create great events centered around craft beer, a craft beer festival was a natural fit.

2.  Your first year, 2012, there were not many Craft Breweries in MS, how big was the festival? Any breweries represented?

The first year was in 2013. This will be the 5th year. The first year we had 5 Mississippi breweries represented at the Festival. We expect about 10 Mississippi breweries to be represented this year.  

3.  What do you believe to be some of the most important aspects that you have done to ensure not only people continue to come out each year to attend but also to continue to attract breweries to send representation?

Since the beginning we have always tried to really lay out the red carpet for our brewery representatives. Especially now, we realize there are beer festivals happening all the time, vying for their attention. We want to make sure ours stands out to them in a positive way. Not only by treating them well while they are here, but also making sure we are bringing out some of their biggest fans, but also some new faces, to help get their beer tasted by as many new and old customers as possible. We want to showcase Hattiesburg as the hot spot for craft beer that it is. For our attendees, we try to make this event as memorable and meaningful as possible.

4.  You are at the five-year anniversary this year and you have had to change venues to accommodate more attendees, what are your goals for the next five?

We want our attendees and our brewery representatives and other event partners to make this event a priority on their calendars. We want this to be a not-to-be-missed event in Mississippi, and in the region. But at the same time, we want to make sure the event remains on a scale to allow attendees to meet the brewery representatives, enjoy the festival without long lines at the sampling tables, and leave with a truly great experience.

5.  The festival does have a small home brew competition, what specific requirements are there to enter the home brew competition?

Our homebrew component is very small due to our limited space. Even with a bigger venue, we don't have much space for this component. Plus, Hattiesburg is lucky to already have a homebrew festival. But we do like to keep this as a component of the festival because that is a big part of the craft beer culture.

6.  What are you doing to grow the home brew participation?

Unfortunately, due to space restrictions we can't really grow this component much. But we are excited to have some new faces joining us this year.

7.  If you could get any brewery in the world to show up, who would it be?

Our goal is to have all the craft beer distributed in this area to have a representative at the Festival. That isn't always possible, since there are always date conflicts and several of the breweries do not have representatives nearby. But we want to host as many of the brewery reps as possible.

8.  When you and your husband, Steve sit down at home to have a beer, what is your go to style?  I won't ask for a specific beer unless you want to share that.

He tends to go for pale ales and I love drinking a good chocolate or coffee stout.

9.  Did it take much convincing to get Hattiesburg and/or Festival South on board?

Not at all, both see it as a natural fit.

10.  What suggestions do you have for anyone attending the festival to get the most out of it?

Come with an open mind and an open palate. You can be a craft beer enthusiast or a novice and still get a lot out of the Festival if you decide to try new things or things you may not normally prefer. Some people don't think they like beer at all, but leave the festival and find beer that they love.

11.  What do you know now about putting this together each year that you wish you knew 5 years ago?

I knew this at the beginning, but I realize it more every year: it takes a village! This event is a true partnership and it really takes a community to execute: event coordinators, sponsors, partners, brewery representatives, and of course a large crew of fabulous volunteers.

12.  What has been the biggest change you have seen through the years, whether it is attendees, breweries, distributors, volunteers, or anything that comes to mind?

It is amazing to watch the growth of the craft beer economy in Mississippi since the laws changed 5 years ago.

Mississippi may have come late to the Craft Beer party but for those of us who call the Magnolia State home, we are proud of the progress that has been made in the last few years and see a great fermented future. The 5^th Annual Hattiesburg Craft Beer Festival is June 10 5-8 PM with VIP entrance at 4 PM at Towne Square Park in downtown Hattiesburg.

 WWW.HATTIESBURGCRAFTBEERFEST.COM