Brewskis, puppies, and good company; New Orleans second annual Brewstock Fest celebrated all three with the help of local homebrewers and the Louisiana SPCA.
The festival hosted 34 locally based homebrewers, sampling over 100 home brewed beers, said Oliver Codner, the festival’s main organizer and the owner of Brewstock Homebrew Supplies, located in New Orleans.
Brewstock Fest aims to give New Orleans homebrewers an opportunity to showcase their passions and hard work, Codner said. And, he added, it was this same passion that originally inspired him to buy Brewstock Homebrew Supplies and host the festival.
“I want to give them an outlet and a platform to serve their homebrew,” Codner said.
Other participants and attendees, similarly, voiced their love for beer and excitement for the whole event.
“This is one of those things that you wake up for, and you sweat your ass off, but you don’t even mind,” said Josh Hudak, who started Brudak’s Cult of Malt and showcased his own home-brewed beers at the festival.
Michael Giusti, a Loyola journalism professor and New Orleans home-brewer said that Brewstock Fest offers him a rewarding opportunity to showcase his brews to people outside of his circle of family and friends.
“When you’re actually out and able to serve the public, who doesn’t owe you anything, and they give you a compliment it tells you ‘ok, maybe I’m doing something right,” Guisti said.
In addition to encouraging local passion and talent, Brewstock Fest partnered with the Louisiana SPCA.
Codner said that the SPCA has been a longtime supporter of New Orleans based homebrew, as they have previously sponsored Nola On Tap. Representatives from the SPCA brought puppies to the event, all of which were available for adoption.
