Experience New Beers for Charity -- Classic City Brew Fest, Athens, GA

The Classic City Brew Fest is the Southeast's largest indoor beer festival. It is coming to the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia on April 6, 2002. Attendees will sample 160 beers from around the world and hear live music.

The Southeast's largest indoor beer festival, Classic City Brew Fest, will attract beer aficionados from several states who will enjoy open sampling of over 160 of the world's greatest beers on Saturday, April 6, 2002 from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Held in the huge exhibit hall of Athens' Classic Center, the festival will allow attendees to experience over 30,000 square feet of beer. Brewers will be on hand to discuss beer styles with the public, and over sixty brewing companies from fifteen different countries will be represented. The event is presented by Pabst Brewing Company, Center Stage Catering, and Brewtopia Events.

Live music will be provided by the New Orleans harmonica band Rockin' Jake. Since it's formation at Mardi Gras 1995, the Rockin' Jake Band has backed up blues and R&B stars like Billy Boy Arnold, Guitar Slim Jr., and Tab Benoit.

A portion of each ticket sale will benefit the client services and education efforts of the only HIV/AIDS service organization in the ten counties of northeast Georgia -- the AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia (ACNG). ACNG is a nonprofit, community-based agency committed to meeting the needs of northeast Georgians affected by HIV/AIDS through direct client services, advocacy, education, and outreach programs. The Athens-area Emergency Food Bank and Athens Humane Society will also receive funds from this year's Brew Fest.

Last year's Classic City Brew Fest drew a record crowd of 2,500 beer lovers who came to learn about, taste, and appreciate the hand-crafted ales and lagers. Attendees at the 2002 fest can also enjoy food, non-alcoholic drinks, music, and great beer-related door prizes and giveaways throughout the day. People will roam from booth to booth tasting samples of all the varied beers and ciders -- all for one ticket price.

"Flavorful, interesting, old styles of beer are becoming more and more rare and endangered these days," says Brew Fest founder and director Owen Ogletree. "For example, in England sales of complex, delicious English Pale Ales, Mild Ales, and Old Ales are decreasing while sales of lighter lagers are on the rise. The Classic City Brew Fest allows people to discover and appreciate a variety of interesting, flavorful beer styles, and the program book contains useful information about each brewing company and beer. Discovering and tasting flavorful, hand-crafted beers are the first steps in helping to insure the continuation of these products," adds Ogletree.

Admission is $17.75 plus tax in advance and $20 plus tax at the door. Tickets are available in Athens at

- Classic Center Box Office, 300 North Thomas Street
- School Kids Records, 264 East Clayton Street
- Five Points Bottle Shop, 1655 South Lumpkin Street
- Normal Brew Shop, 1383 Prince Avenue

and in the Atlanta area at

- Marietta Homebrew, 1355 Roswell Road, Marietta
- Java Monkey, 205 East Ponce De Leon Ave., Decatur
- Beer Necessities Homebrew, 9850 Nesbit Ferry Road, Alpharetta

Last year's Classic City Brew Fest sold out, so tickets should be purchased early. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ClassicCityBrew.com or by calling (706) 254-BREW.