On a September afternoon in 2014, tents stretched for several blocks along the north side of East Main Street in Lititz. Under them were taps from 47 breweries, and in front of them were more than 2,000 people holding small tasting glasses. It was the first Lititz Craft Beer Fest, organized by the Lititz chapter of AMBUCS as a fundraiser.
The format was simple. A ticket bought a souvenir glass and a set number of samples, and the breweries did the rest. What made the first year stand out was the mix: regional names, small brewers testing new recipes on a crowd, and a home brew contest that drew more than 100 entries.
Why AMBUCS
AMBUCS is a national service organization best known for its AmTryke program, which provides adaptive tricycles to children and adults with disabilities who cannot ride a standard bike. Local chapters raise money for those trykes and for therapy scholarships. A beer festival might seem an unusual match, but it gave the Lititz chapter a large, repeatable event in a town that already draws visitors for its walkable downtown.
The proceeds model has been common across Lancaster County’s festival calendar: a volunteer group stages the event, local businesses benefit from the foot traffic, and the money goes back into a specific cause.
What brewers said they came for
Brewers at the first fest were candid that festivals are marketing. Representatives from Chester County’s Sly Fox Brewing, for example, told reporters they turned down more festivals than they attended, and chose Lititz partly because of the home brew competition. Home brewers, they reasoned, are the people most likely to try a new label and talk about it.
That logic held for small breweries too. A two-day pour in a busy downtown can introduce a brand to more drinkers than months of taproom traffic.
Who came
The crowd came from well beyond Lititz. Turkey Hill Brewing Company of Bloomsburg made its longest festival trip to that point after learning about the event through a brewers’ newsletter, and visitors drove in from Collegeville, Bernville and other towns across eastern Pennsylvania. Some made a weekend of it, booking rooms downtown. Organizers capped attendance, and several attendees said that decision kept the street comfortable rather than crushed. The date also happened to fall on National Drink Beer Day, which did not hurt turnout.
The home brew contest
The contest was one of the more distinctive parts of the event. Amateur brewers submitted entries for judging, and the best were recognized during the fest. For a hobby that mostly happens in garages and basements, it offered a public audience and a chance to compare notes with professionals pouring a few feet away.
The festival grew quickly
By its second year, the event had more than doubled in scale, with 57 brewers and more than 120 beers on East Main Street. We have restored our account of that weekend as well: Craft Beer Faithful Flock to Lititz Fest.
Lititz’s beer scene today
Lititz has its own brewing history that predates the festival. Bulls Head Public House on East Main Street has been a downtown fixture for British-style ales and cask service, and Appalachian Brewing Company has run a Lititz location at 55 N. Water Street, known locally for its house-made root beer as well as its ales. Other breweries and taprooms have opened across northern Lancaster County in the years since, part of a statewide boom in small-scale brewing.
If you plan to attend a beer festival in town:
- Buy tickets early. Popular Lancaster County festivals regularly sell out.
- Arrange a ride. Parking downtown fills quickly on event days, and Lititz Borough’s paid parking applies on parts of East Main and Broad streets on weekdays and Saturdays.
- Eat first, and drink water between samples. Tasting pours add up.
- Check whether designated-driver tickets are offered. Many festivals sell them at a reduced price.
For other annual events in and around town, browse our Things To Do section.