Cap City Beer Fest, hosted by Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m at the Town Square on North Boulevard will give guests the opportunity to sample local and national brews. Wristbands are $40.
A sampling mug for the beer as well as soft drinks and water will be included in the price. For those who want to participate in the festivities without sampling, the event is free to enter with food and soft drinks sold separately. The event is open to the entire public.
CAABR event coordinator Renee Dugas said an Oktoberfest event would be too specific of an event, and the organization wanted as many people to come out as possible.
“We did not want to pigeonhole ourselves,” Dugas said. “We wanted to make an event that beer connoisseurs would be proud of instead of just sticking to German beers.”
Dugas said the key to finding one-of-a-kind beers required Happy’s Running Club’s Scott Higgins to reach out to local breweries and national distributors to get a wide range of beers for the festival. Each brewery at the festival will have four or five brews, she said.
One of the most interesting beers present at the event will be Parish Brewing Co.’s Neapolitan milk stout. The beer is made of freshly dipped strawberries, vanilla beans and chocolate, Dugas said.
“Normally, you cannot get the beer bottled or at any bars here,” Dugas said. “You would have to go to Parish Brewing Co. in Broussard, Louisiana, to be able to try it any other time.”
For those who do not want to taste brews, DJs and live entertainment will perform throughout the event. Gourmet festival food will be available from
various local restaurants.
Galatoire’s Bistro will be making oyster BLTs and shrimp remoulade, Reed’s Cakes and Catering will be make stuffed sausage dogs and Mestizo will cook pulled-pork tacos and shrimp enchiladas, Dugas said.
This year marks the beginning of this brand new fundraiser for CAABR, and along with the new event, comes various beers that are not available every day.
Proceeds from the festival will go toward CAABR’s animal shelter for daily operations that include vaccinations, housing and adoption for the dogs. The alliance will be present at the event with dogs for attendees to adopt.
“My goal has always been to make Baton Rouge people hang out with other Baton Rouge people and just enjoy each other’s company,” Dugas said. “Most Louisiana culture is hanging out and talking to friends while enjoying a good beer, and that is what we aim to provide at the event.”