NCHF 15: Founding Fathers

Four Score and seven years ago... wait, that's was later. This year we return to the beginning of... Our great nation? Our great brewing traditions? See what you can do with home brewing around this idea!

What better way to kick off the festival than "Hoppy Hour"?

Enjoy appetizers and many different homebrews with old friends and new, surrounded by the beautiful redwoods at Lake Francis Resort.

Camping under the trees and stars

Only a short walk from the festival grounds, including a beautiful lake for boating, swimming and fishing.

Fantastic Raffle Prizes!

Last years grand prize: a new 14.4 gal Conical Fermenter from More Beer! Grain, hops, hats, brewing hardware are just a few items we raffle off during the festival. The more tickets you buy, the more you can win!

Hear from the best brewers in the craft brewing industry!

Sampling, critiques, techniques and brewing trends are some of the topics covered by our panel of invited experts.

Friday Night Brewers Dinner

Sean Paxton, the fabulous "Homebrew Chef" is back! He'll once again dazzle us with a gastronomic/zymurgistic experience few others will ever taste. Tickets for this event go fast, so once sales start, don't be late!

The main festivities are on Saturday

The festival takes place on the beautiful Lake Francis fest grounds on a natural grass field, surrounded by pines and redwoods in the lower Sierra foothills.

Festival Schedule

Here is the tentative schedule of events for Festival 15. For more info about all the activities at the festival, click here for general festival information.

Friday Sept. 21, 2012

Time Event Location
12:00 - 3:00 Registration Campground Entrance
4:00 - 6:00 Registration The Village
4:30 - 6:00 Hoppy Hour The Village
6:30 - 7:00
 Dinner Seating Begins
 The Gazebo
7:00 - 10:00
 Brewers Dinner
 The Gazebo
10:00 - ? After dinner (self-service) beverages The Gazebo



Saturday Sept. 22, 2012

Time Event Location
10:00 - 11:00 Club booth setup Festival Grounds
10:00 - 11:00 Submit ALL Club Keg Competition entries Beer Trailer, next the Gazebo, near the Stage
10:00 - 2:00
 Registration and Store Open
 Registration Booth on Festival Grounds
11:00 Festival Opens! Festival Grounds
11:00 - 4:45 Raffle tickets on sale Raffle booth, next to Stage
12:00 - 2:00
 Mystery Challenge Beer Competition tasting/voting
 Beer Competition booth, center area of Festival Grounds
12:00 - 6:00
Accepting Board Member nominations
Events Table, center area of Festival Grounds
12:00 - 1:00 Keynote Address
 The Stage
12:00 - 4:00

Competitions open for voting:

  • Club Keg competition
  • Best Club Booth Decorations
  • Best Booth Food
 Ballots at the Events Table by the Beer Competition booth in center of festival grounds.
1:30
First Raffle Drawing
Raffle Booth
2:00 - 4:00
Beer Competition tasting/voting
Beer Competition booth, center area of Festival Grounds
2:30 - 3:30
 Speaker Series, TBA
 The Stage
4:00 Second Raffle Drawing

Raffle Booth
4:00 Second Raffle Drawing Raffle Booth
5:00 Final Raffle Drawing The Stage
5:15 Competition Winners Announced The Stage
6:00 - 7:00 Saturday Night Eats Adjacent to the Stage
6:30 - 9:30 Open Jam Fest The Stage
10:00 Festival Officially Closes Goodnight and be safe!



Sunday Sept. 23, 2012

Time Event Location
Before 12:00 Noon Packing Booths for return home Festival Grounds
Before 12:00 noon Checkout of campgrounds Campground