Irondequoit Beer Co.'s Stout Fest embraces community and winter
Irondequoit Beer Co.'s Stout Fest embraces community and winter
More than 30 breweries will pour dark beers at the Titus Avenue brewery festival
Note: This article is a result of a sponsored partnership between Irondequoit Beer Company and the Cleveland Prost.
Quinn Whelen, working as a bartender, loved the chaos of pouring cream ale after cream ale.
The constant procession of thirsty visitors sampling a seemingly endless assortment and variety of the style during Roc Brewing’s Celebration of Cream Ales inspired him and served as the inspiration for an event honoring a different beer style on Feb. 4 at Irondequoit Beer Co., 765 Titus Ave.
IBC will host its first 585 Stout Fest at noon that day. And like the Celebration of Cream Ales, Stout Fest is intended to shine a light on the creativity of local breweries while providing the public a chance to try beer from a ton of different places.
“I’ve been bugging Leslie (DiCesare, IBC’s general manager), Mike (Nolan, brewery owner), all of them for the longest time” Whelen joked. “Finally, they were, ‘Alright, we’ll let him do it.’ And I worked one of Roc’s first cream ale events and the amount of people that came out and just to see the different beers that people were coming out with for one specific style, it was so cool. And to have it all in one place where people could try it, it was amazing.”
“We want to celebrate our local scene as much as we can, because we love things like Flour City (Brewers Fest) and cream ale fest at Roc and Sager does something similar with a traditional beer fest,” IBC head brewer Nate Kester added. “We always loved that idea and threw it around between us.”
Whelen, who has been bartending at IBC since it opened in October 2019, and Kester have enlisted 30 breweries for the inaugural event. Each is sending along a stout and most will have some unique adjunct or provide some unique play on the style.
Attendees will be able to get a pour inside and outside as a large heated tent will be erected outside — 10 beers will be on draft inside and another six will be outside. As beers kick, they will be replaced by new beers, Kester said. Roc follows a similar model for its cream ale event. At the most recent edition, 36 New York state breweries were represented. Live bluegrass music will be provided by the North Star String Band between 4 and 8 p.m.
If Stout Fest is a successful, IBC envisions it will become a yearly tradition, much like the indoor-outdoor Homegrown party thrown by Lovin’ Cup and Three Heads Brewing. If nothing else, it gives attendees an excuse to hang out outside and drink some dark beers. It should be a great time for all.
“I really think that we can do something that’s exciting for the community, especially in the cold months,” Whelen said.
Whelen said IBC’s Three Shores almond milk stout was one of the first dark beers that opened his eyes to the endless possibilities with the style. He credited Kester and assistant brewer Bobby Baker for expanding his palate and introducing him to new styles. He hopes others have a similar experience at Stout Fest.
Kester has a lifelong affinity for stouts, because they were all he drank when he was first introduced to craft beer. And it’s clear Kester is elated about this event. It boils down to two main reasons: 1. He and Baker get to brew a new-to-them style (in this case a pastry stout with peanut butter and chocolate); 2. Selfishly, the event gives him a chance to hang out with brewers he hasn’t met yet and network even more.
Because the brewery opened months before the pandemic pause, Kester said he hasn’t had many opportunities to meet some of his brewing compatriots.
“We essentially opened just before the world imploded (with the pandemic) and it meant that we lost out on a lot of, as a fledgling brewery, getting to know the community,” Kester said. “All of us, not just IBC, were just doing what we could to maintain. I’m looking forward to finally meeting a bunch of the brewers at the other breweries that I just haven’t gotten in touch with.
“This is a nice opportunity to meet face-to-face with people I’ve email with or just chatted with digitally. It’s another step away from that separation, that divide, that Covid leveled us all with.”
If you go…
The event runs from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased online here: https://irondequoitbeercompany.com/events/. Entry includes a commemorative 10-ounce glass and unlimited samples. IBC is also rolling out a curated Stout Fest food menu for the event. That will include a special Swan Market sausage made with IBC’s Three Shores almond milk stout.
About this partnership
This is sponsored content. Irondequoit Beer Co. enlisted the Cleveland Prost to help spread the word about its upcoming event.
Thanks for the kind words, as always, Will! We can't wait - it's going to be a good day for dark beer drinkers!