Rochester's oldest beer festival, Flour City Brewers Fest, returns with a bigger scope

28th edition of Rochester's original beer festival kicks off on Friday, Aug. 18 at the Rochester Public Market

Rochester is a party-driven town. We love our big events. And when it comes to the yearly beer calendar, there are a few events penciled into every beer nerd’s ledger.

Those in the know know you can’t miss the Lovin’ Cup/Three Heads Brewing Homegrown in January. That’s followed by the Rochester Real Beer Expo in June. A month later, you just have to attend the Luau, organized by Swiftwater and Mortalis.

Rochester’s original and most iconic beer festival, the Flour City Brewers Fest, returns on Friday, Aug. 18 to the Rochester Public Market.

Each event brings a completely different vibe. And for the Flour City Brewers Fest, it’s about showcasing the best in New York state craft beverages (because yes, there are some wonderful cideries, distilleries, and wineries at the event), raising money for local charities and the New York State Brewers Association, and a chance to meet the passionate people producing the beverages.

The event is noted for the participation of brewers and brewery owners. It provides a unique opportunity for attendees to interact with brewery personnel. The festival is now under the stewardship of Rohrbach marketing director Nicolina Boccia and marketing interns Joe Morrell and Maddie Kammholz. The trio realizes it’s a big responsibility, but they seem up to the task and are excited for the experience and opportunity.

“One of the things that’s so important to us is honoring the legacy and focusing on Rochester and the neighboring areas,” Boccia said. “Everything we have is pretty much local to this region. When we started with our outreach at the beginning of the year, we started with Rochester and then slowly worked our way out.

“We’re excited about welcoming in some smaller breweries that may not get a lot of exposure in Rochester.”

Specifically, they trumpeted the arrival of 14 new breweries this year. There is a newly added local market, sort of like a smaller version of the weekly Lucky Flea at the Village Gate, also. It’ll feature 14 Rochester-area vendors. There is also a stein-holding competition that will serve as a preview of sorts to the brewery’s upcoming Oktoberfest at the market.

Every single vendor, outside of Connecticut-based non-alcoholic brewery Athletic, is from New York. Rohrbach held the first Flower City Brewers Fest in 1994 at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua. Brewery founder John Urlaub is still one of the driving forces behind the event. The Public Market remains one of the best venues in this region for a large-scale event. It’s wide open and still offers coverage in case of inclement weather. It really has been the ideal spot for this beer fest.

VIP tickets are sold out, but general admission (at $50 each and still one of the best deals in beer) and designated driver tickets are still available here: https://event.attendstar.com/event/show/flour-city-brewers-fest-2023/. General admission entry begins at 6 p.m. and the festival runs till 9 p.m.

Rohrbach opening its Railroad Street location in 2008 provided a spark in the resurgence of the area around the Rochester Public Market. The area now includes multiple restaurants, Katboocha kombucha, and other small businesses.

Here are five breweries I’m super excited about:

1. Naples Brewing Co.: I really love what this crew is doing with New York state ingredients. The brewery is making some of the best hoppy beers in our area and utilizing local ingredients to add a fresh, new spin to it. This will be a great chance to check out the Ontario County spot that just celebrated its second anniversary.

2. Preservation Beer Co.: This will be the public debut of the soon-to-open Fairport brewery — from the owners of Lock 32 and Seven Story. I am stoked to see what head brewer Phill MacArthur does with a bigger brewing system.

3. Runaway Blue Brewing: Life has been wildly chaotic as we settle into our new house and try to raise a soon-to-be 2-year-old. That’s why I haven’t made my way out to Wayne County yet to visit this Newark spot. Like some of the others on this list, I’ve heard nothing but spectacular reports.

4. Relative Risk Brewing: This Yates County newcomer has been generating quite a bit of buzz. I’ve yet to have the chance to visit. But the FLX space looks gorgeous and the beers are getting rave reviews (from some beer nerds I really trust). I am legit excited to finally try some RRB beers.

5. Bullfinch Brewpub: I’ve yet to have anything from this new Syracuse brewery. I do, however, know what owner/brewer Dave Collins is an incredibly talented brewer with an incredible breadth of experience.

Really looking forward to this one, all. One of the best nights of the year and filled with so many of the best and coolest people in our region.

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