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.

What's the set-up for the Mystery Hop Challenge beers?

Since this is something we have never done before, it is a bit of a "work in progress"! We expect 20-25 Mystery Hop Challenge beers, in addition to all the West Coast IPA's. This means possibly 50+ beers to pour! Our projected capacity is 26 taps. Hmm, math problem here...!

We are going to split the competition into two shifts: MHC beers first on the taps, West Coast IPA's second. To make this happen, we will need your help! Here is the general plan:

  • Please bring your MHC and West Coast IPA to the Keg Comp Tent in the center of the festival grounds before 11AM Saturday morning.
  • Bring your recipe for your Mystery Hop Challenge beer.
  • Bring your gas/cobra tap set-up. We may need these if there are more than 26 beers in either category.
  • Make sure your keg has your Club Name on it! We will tag everyone's keg with an entry number.
  • Help move the West Coast IPA's into our beer trailer for cold storage.
  • MHC beers on tap from 12-2.
  • West Coast IPA's will be on tap from 2:30-4:30
  • Pick up your kegs from the Keg Comp Tent at 5:00

Successfully making this happen depends on everyone having their kegs to the center, on time, labeled, ready to go. Late-comers will really make this an all-day affair for those of us setting this up--we'd like to enjoy the festival, too!

Voting for best of the fest beers will happen after that, with the decision announced under the big tent, as usual.