Kennett Square Brewfest organizers of Historic Kennett realized that loyal attendees were particularly fond of their Connoisseur Session. As a special feature to the main event, the session features unique, hard to find sips from boutique breweries and a more personal crowd. In response, the committee decided to go a step further and create the First Ever Kennett Winterfest. This event, scheduled for Saturday, February 23rd from 12:30 to 4pm, is like the Connoisseur Session’s totally awesome sibling. Everything from rare stouts and saisons to porters and IPA’s will be there – even a beer modeled after Mexican hot chocolate with ancho chiles!
Nicole Grebloskie, a Board Member for Historic Kennett Square & Chairperson of the Kennett Winterfest Committee, shared some brew-infused details with PA Eats’s Mary Bigham so you can get a taste of the one of a kind affair before snagging your tickets.
Mary Bigham: I’m so excited to hear about this event. I know craft beer lovers are going to love it and I’m hoping foodies, and even people who don’t love beer are going to love it just as much.
Nicole Grebloskie: That’s what we’re hoping!
MB: So let’s talk about the Winterfest in general. How did it come up? And then we’ll get into the delicious details.
NG: Well, obviously you’re a fan of our brewfest that we hold every fall. A component of that brewfest is a connoisseur event. That event features more boutique beers of the season or the year. Based off feedback from the attendees – they loved the connoisseur events and they would love to have an event like that just separated from the regular Brewfest.
MB: And that would sell out, correct? That would be the VIP aspect of the Brewfest.
NG: The Connoisseur tickets sell out within about a month of us notifying everybody. So what we decided to do was something different. It’s February, not too much is going on in the winter. Let’s do a Winter Brewfest and it’s really just going to have the connoisseur theme and have mostly boutique beer. Before making this official, we reached out to all the breweries that we have wonderful relationships with. They know the way we hold the brewfest, we’re only going to have the best type of breweries out there, real craft brews, not your normal every day beer and they were all on board because there aren’t any brewfests happening in the winter time.
MB: And I wonder why that is because I think that’s the fastest way to stay warm.
NG: I agree. So we thought, what a wonderful idea. We’ll be outside and it’s going to be cold but people love being outdoors. Basically we’re going to feature 28 craft breweries. The list is amazing if you were to see it. We can even go over those details if you like.
MB: Yes, let’s talk about the date and the website so craft beer fans can buy tickets right away once they hear the list.
NG: The best way to get to the website is just to google Kennett Brewfest. It will come right up and you can click on a link for the First Annual Kennett Winterfest. And that way I don’t have to talk about the whole url. Or you can go the Historic Kennett website which is a great website to check out anyway because all of our events are listed on the Historic Kennett website.
MB: Alright. Now let’s pick your top five participants for Kennett Winterfest and why.
NG: Well there are so many different breweries but I’ll tell you right now so we can kind of review the types of beers. We’re going to have some excellent saisons, stouts, porters, ipa’s and then we’ll also feature some local favorites from Twin Lakes for example. Victory Brewing is coming and they’re going to be featuring their Ranch Double IPA. I don’t know if you had that yet but it’s amazing!
MB: I haven’t. I’m actually not that into very hoppy beers but I love any other type of style of beer that’s not a huge IPA. But, I’m not the norm in that case.
NG: Well then this is still the event to come to because I, like yourself, am not necessarily a hoppy fan but I love stouts and porters. Because it’s winter we’re going to have a tremendous amount of different representation from different breweries and a lot of them are going to bring out their stouts and their porters. I’m really excited to try the Coco Loco Chocolate Stout from Arcadia Ales.
MB: [Gasp] That sounds awesome.
NG: Yeah and Founder’s will be bringing their Breakfast Stout which is a favorite.
MB: That is one of my favorite beers for sure.
NG: Well there you go. And there is a neat one coming from California, Telegraph Brewing Company, called Winter Ale with ancho chiles. It actually comes from a Mexican Hot Chocolate recipe and they use the ancho chiles from that.
MB: Interesting. That’s a perfect warm you up beer with the heat from the chiles and obviously the alcohol content so great! I love this!
NG: Yep and another favorite – Lancaster Brewing Company will be bringing their Double Chocolate Milk Stout. So those are some really great stouts and, like I said, there are going to be some saisons there and obviously your every day, good IPA’s that people are diehard about.
MB: Okay. Now is this the same group that puts together the other event for Kennett Square.
NG: Yes!
MB: Okay. Well in case listeners haven’t been to Kennett Square for all of your amazing events, which you guys do an incredible job of putting together, I just want to showcase the different levels of the other brewfest you do, like with the Fermentation Festival and everything. I want people to know about all the wonderful things you’re doing year-round in Kennett Square.
NG: Sure. So the committee is basically a special events committee. We put on the Brewfest and we partner with the Kennett Square Farmer’s Market to do the Fermentation Festival. We wanted to feature all of our local farmers and we’re committed to having it be at the Farmer’s Market in town. So that’s really where the Fermentation Festival kind of took off. And what we did this year is another spin-off and decided to bring and feature local cheesemakers and pair them with local breweries and local wineries. It was ALL local. It was only $10 to come in. It was more about getting people to taste all of the great local cheeses and let people enjoy local beer and local wine.
MB: Showcasing your local artisans while having a delicious event. That’s what you’re doing and your having so much success that it only makes sense to do another one and this [Kennett Winterfest] is coming up February 23rd. It’s from 12:30 to 4.
NG: Right and just remember, you want to go to KennettBrewfest.com and get your tickets because there are only 130 tickets left.
MB: AND if you go to the website, which I’m on right now, there are the cutest snowflakes coming down the screen.
NG: Yeah! I’d like to mention that we are selling limited tickets to this event so, unlike the Kennett Brewfest which is in the fall and it’s a great event, we really just wanted to feature the boutique beers but also make it more intimate so we’re only selling 800 tickets. This one is going to be right on Broad Street in the Kennett Square borough and you’re going to get to enjoy some craft beers and a more intimate setting. We’ll also have Shady Groove Trio playing live music. They got their roots from West Chester University. Plus, Talula’s Table! Your $65 ticket includes a fabulous meal from Talula’s Table.
MB: So this is just a no brainer. It’s $65 and that includes unlimited tastings and food. Do you happen to have a sample of what Talula’s will be offering? I hope it has mac-n-cheese involved.
NG: Not yet but I will let you know as soon as I do.
MB: Also, just so people have visual. It’s on Broad Street. It’s going to be between State and Cypress Street, right downtown and at least 25 unique craft breweries. How many are on the roster right now?
NG: 28.
MB: Alright, cool! They’ve already gone above that and Designated Driver tickets, so you can still enjoy the food and great company are only $15. That includes soft drinks and food. It’s hugely important that you have a designated driver involved. This is when you get in touch with your pregnant friends because they are built-in designated drivers as I like to say, but still wanting to have a good time. More information is and will continue to be available on KennettSquareDish.com. You can also follow the Facebook page, Kennett Brewfest. Town Dish is a proud sponsor and there is also a great blog that is keeping people updated.
NG: I think we covered everything but I just want to thank all the committee members and the breweries that constantly partner with us to bring this to Kennett Square and to Chester County. It’s a wonderful event and it takes a lot of time. Thank you to Talula’s Table and all of our volunteers and all of you, the people who buy tickets and support Kennett Square.
