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Announcing the Mid-Atlantic Craft Brew Festival – MAC Brew Fest!

May 9th, 2011 • No Comments


Brandon Skall, Founder of DC Brau, DC’s 1st Brewery in Many Years

So after spending the last 14 years focusing on learning about wine and food (and plenty of beer and spirits in between!), I’ve decided to re-dedicate myself to craft beer. I’m certainly not giving up on wine, but I’ve seen the light – growth in craft beer sales and consumption in the U.S. has increased consistently at over 10% a year for the last 5 years. But the real impetus for moving myself into the craft beer field is really that Washington, D.C. is a VERY under-served area for craft beer. For example, we only have a few breweries in the area including Baying Hound Aleworks, DC Brau, Port City Brewing Co., and Lost Rhino Brewing Co.. Although we do have some excellent brew pubs such as Franklin’s, Mad Fox Brewing and Capital City Brew Pub, there is so much room for growth in both local breweries and brew pubs. And did I mention that the beer wholesalers in the area tell me they can’t get enough craft beer to keep up with demand?

So here’s the official announcement – I’m organizing the Mid-Atlantic Craft Brew Festival, known as “MAC Brew Fest” on Saturday, October 15th, 2011 in Washington, D.C. at the Sphinx Club which is hidden gem of a venue in the heart of DC at 13th and K St., NW. The website is at MAC Brew Fest and will include 30 craft breweries – many from the DC/MD/VA area as well as delicious food paired with the craft beers. Right now my event planner and I are working on the event including developing the TasteDC Food Pavilion which will include a minimum of 30 American artisanal cheeses, locally sourced charcuterie, a gelato bar and extensive selection of sweets and desserts as well as international foods. The goal is to showcase craft beer as part of meal with regional specialties. I’ll keep updating the blog and website, but I’m looking forward to creating a beer event that makes people proud of our city – Cheers!