Time to HOP again folks!
Tickets for the 20th anniversary of the HOP In The City go on sale Wednesday, August 15th. The anniversary edition will feature 40+ beers along with six, highly anticipated ringings of the specialty tapping gong. This year's HOP takes place on Saturday, September 15. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the tasting will take place from noon to 4 p.m. with limited tasting tickets available.
For today only, Hop in the City tickets will be $20 for 20 hours to celebrate the milestone anniversary. Tickets can be purchased here, August 15.
“HOP in the City is a very special day for us," said Founding Brewer Stephen Hale. "It gives us the opportunity to showcase our passion for all styles of beer to the community. It was really one of the first beer festivals in St. Louis so we’re happy to continue the tradition 20 years later. With over 40+ beers to try, guests get a taste of almost Schlafly’s entire portfolio from wood-aged beers and hopped-up IPAs to traditional ales and lagers.
Many beers that are now Schlafly staples were first introduced at HOP in the City. “Our White Lager is now one of our most popular year-round beers," said Hale. "But we realized that it had this potential after guests tried it at HOP. Many times, our brewers develop a recipe and run a small batch on our pilot system. If it does well when tasted in our brewpubs, it gets a chance to shine at HOP. White Lager was extremely popular that year at HOP so we were confident it would perform in the market. We take the feedback from our festival attendees very seriously.”
Every year, Schlafly showcases a new brew for the festival. This year’s festival beer is a Double Dry Hopped Passionfruit Pineapple Peach North East Session IPA (DDHPPPSNEIPA) featuring Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops. “It’s a bit of a joke to how extreme beers have become in the industry, but it’s delicious at the same time,” explains Hale. After a few years playing with the layout of the festival, I think they found a winner with the giant single tent in casing 40 plus beers all within six style categories, fruit, hop trial, lager, traditional, hops and full bodied beers.
But for me, the key moment of HOP is the specialty tappings. Hale rings the ceremonial gong (in a different costume) to signal the start of a new specialty tapping. Six specialty beers will rotate throughout the day – five have never been tasted by anyone but the brewers, including a Brewer’s Blend Imperial Stout and a collection of sour beers from the Ibex Cellar.
There will also be festival fare available for purchase, 20thanniversary memorabilia and more for festival goers to celebrate 20 years of HOP.
