Tony Kiss

ASH

This sure has been a great year for warm weather beer festivals. It started back in May at the Beer City Festival and rolled on like a runaway barrel, with Burning Can in July at Oskar Blues in Brevard and Ale Share at Highland Brewing in Asheville and then the big Beer Camp bash in August at the Sierra Nevada brewery in Mills River N.C. Asheville’s Thirsty Monk had its Thirsty Fest event earlier this month.

And now there’s a pair of dueling Carolina festivals on Sept. 20. Asheville has the nationally famous Brewgrass celebration at its new location at Memorial Stadium near McCormick Field ballpark. And across the state line, the Swamp Rabbit Brewery hosts its first SeptemBREW fest at its brewery in Travelers Rest, S.C.

These two events are quite different. SeptemBREW will focus just on the six Upstate breweries. Brewgrass will have more than 50 breweries from around the Southeast and beyond. Just two breweries will be at both events — RJ Rockers from Spartanburg and Thomas Creek from Greenville.

SeptemBREW is the latest project from Swamp Rabbit owner Ben Pierson, well-known in Asheville where he previously was the brewer at Lexington Avenue Brewery. His festival, at 1-5 p.m., will showcase the Upstate’s growing craft beer scene which also includes Blue Ridge, Quest and Brewery 85. He’ll host the event in Swamp Rabbit parking area behind his brewery, 26 S. Main St., Travelers Rest, about an hour’s drive from Asheville, and even quicker from Hendersonville and Brevard, as well as Greenville and other South Carolina destinations. He’s hoping to draw 500-1,000 fans, but can handle up to 2,000.

Tickets are $35 online at theswamprabbitbrewery.com. Proceed will benefit Active Heroes, the National Kidney Foundation, and Pierson will also use some of the money to begin an Upstate Brewers Alliance trade group, similar to the Asheville Brewers Alliance. Parking will be at the nearby Methodist church, at Sunrift Adventures and at a nearby city lot. Food trucks will be at the festival. But the Swamp Rabbit tasting room won’t open until 6 p.m. after the festival ends.

Asheville’s Brewgrass festival will run 1-7 p.m. And in a switch this year, tickets will be available even at the gate. Usually, Brewgrass has been a quick sellout. Up to 4,000 tickets will be sold, more than in the past, festival producer Jimi Rentz said. They’re $50 at Barley’s on Biltmore Avenue, or $55 at the gate or online at brewgrassfestival.com.

In recent years, Brewgrass had been held at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, but that space is no longer available, so it moved over to Memorial, where it was last held in 1999. The challenge here will be parking, but to avoid disrupting the surrounding neighborhood, Brewgrass will run free shuttles from Pack Square to the stadium, Rentz said.

Beer stands will be located around the field, but won’t be on the stadium turf, Rentz said. He’ll also have food trucks and vendors at the event. As usual, it benefits Big Brothers and Big Sisters of WNC.

More beer news

• Highland Brewing will celebrate the release of its fall seasonal Thunderstruck Coffee Porter with a Sept. 19 event at the brewery, 12 Old Charlotte Highway. The beer will be available in draft and 12-ounce bottles around both Carolinas.

• Green Man has released a tart Berliner Weiss beer made by specialty brewer Mike Karnowski. Berliner Weiss is a style that dates to the 16th century and was once a common German brew, but has almost vanished there. Karnowski’s version is made with 50 percent wheat and soured with lactobaccilus. Enjoy it straight or with Cheerwine or blueberry syrups. It’s just 4.5 percent alcohol, a true sessions beer.