Beer lovers in search of a good festival not far from home should check out North Carolina's State of Origin Craft Brew Festival coming up on Saturday, June 11, from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Taking place on the downtown Morganton courthouse square for the third year in a row, the festival will highlight two dozen premier North Carolina breweries on tap to showcase beers crafted from North Carolina-sourced ingredients.
All the participating breweries are located in North Carolina (except for three special "ambassador" breweries") and will be serving ales made from local ingredients—which means you'll get to taste some special, one-time releases brewed up exclusively for the State of Origin Craft Brew Festival.
This year's breweries will include Fonta Flora, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Birdsong Brewing, Brown Truck Brewing, Burial Beer, Catawba Brewing Company, Free Range Brewing, Fullsteam Brewery, Haw River Farmhouse Ales, Highland Brewing Company, Lenny Boy Brewing, Mystery Brewing Company, Newgrass Brewing Company, Salud Beer Shop, Steel String Brewery, Triple C Brewing, Trophy Brewing, Wooden Robot Brewery, Wicked Weed Brewing and Zebulon Artisan Ales.
Arizona Wilderness Brewing in Gilbert, Ariz.; Jester King Brewery in Austin, Texas; and Scratch Brewing in Ava, Ill., represent the three ambassador breweries, which will be using ingredients from their respective areas to in an effort to support local farmers and producers.
In addition to sampling plenty of tasty brews, you can also enjoy live music thanks to bluegrass quartet Mipso, and food from local vendors, including Farmhouse BBQ and JD's Smokehouse.
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Basic festival tickets will run you $50, while added value tickets cost $86 and include two bottles of Funk Fuzz beer, an Appalachian wild ale. Designated driver tickets will also be available for $25. For more info on the State of Origin Beer Festival or tickets, visit FontaFlora.com/Festival. For local area lodging options, visit discoverburkecounty.com.