Brew-Ski Fest: a toast to fall

SALISBURY — The Salisbury Fall Festival was capped off by the 10th annual Brew-Ski Fest at the base of the Satre Hill ski jumps, on Sunday, Oct. 13. The event featured more than 40 breweries and beer distributors from all over the New England and mid-Atlantic areas, offering tastings of more than 150 beers and ciders. 

On a picturesque New England autumn afternoon, the Stateline Wine & Spirits-sponsored event drew a few hundred beer drinkers to enjoy beverages, food and the featured band for the event, One Time Weekend.

Vendors for the festival included local breweries such as Great Falls, Little Red Barn Brewers and The Norbrook Farm Brewery.

“This is our second year at the event, but our first as an open establishment,” said Stephanie Grant, the taproom manager for North Canaan’s Great Falls Brewing Co. 

“We’ve begun distributing our most popular beers throughout Connecticut, so we featured beers today that people may not be so familiar with.” 

She said that the turnout for the event appeared to be similar to that of last year, and that their table had a lot of visitors. One of the brewery’s more popular beer’s, Lazy Hazy Housy IPA, can now be found in liquor stores all over Litchfield County. 

Little Red Barn Brewery, locatedin the heart of Winsted, is one of the newest breweries in Litchfield County, and was opened just a few months ago. Staff from the brewery showcased their IPA and Double IPA, two of the more popular beer types at the festival. 

Matthew Day, co-founder of the brewery, is excited to reach the Salisbury area for distribution purposes.

“We’re still under the radar in this particular area, being so new,” said Day. “Less than two years ago, our building didn’t have a roof or windows. We’ve turned it into a really nice place.”

Although vendors and patrons who have attended the event before said this year the crowd was larger than at past Brew-Skis, Stateline Wine & Spirits’ employees said the turnout was lower than in prior years. 

“The date kind of snuck up on all of us,” said Stateline Wine & Spirits employee Michael Tabor. “Getting the word out to newspapers and radios in this area is sometimes hard.”