This post is about an invitation-only beer festival. How do you score an invitation? Read on.
Are you a member of a homebrew club? If you brew your own beer, you probably should be. Sharing the beer you’ve brewed and what you’ve learned about the process with other homebrewers is one of the true joys of home brewing. Also, if you’re a member of Washington’s many homebrew clubs, you can score an invitation to Beerstock 5060. And it’s not too late to join a club.
Brewing is NOT a Crime
Before 2009 it was illegal for homebrewers to transport more than one gallon of beer out of their homes. This made it difficult for homebrew enthusiasts to share their work legally. Considering the popularity of homebrew clubs, and home brewing in general, it’s pretty hard to pass around samples of your beer with fellow club members if you can only transport one gallon of beer at a time. Basically, this law made most homebrewers criminals.
At the behest of some right-minded homebrew enthusiasts, Senator Ken Jacobsen of North Seattle introduced legislation that would change the one gallon law, but also prevent homebrewers from selling their product, which is all the government really wanted to do. Senate Bill 5060 eventually became the law of the land, allowing homebrewers to legally transport up to 20 gallons of beer for club meetings and tasting events.
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To celebrate the passage of Senate Bill 5060 and the changes to the one gallon law, local homebrewers stage a big party: Brewstock 5060. The event takes place in Puyallup and overnight camping is encouraged.
This is an “invitation only” event. It is not a public event. You must be a member of a homebrew club. This sounds like a good reason to become one. Your homebrew club can get you an invitation. Here is a list of Washington homebrew clubs from WAHA (Washington Homebrewers Association).
Here are details from the event organizers.
Sat Aug 6th
All day homebrewers festival in the Puyallup, WA area. Homebrew served all day by local clubs and overnight camping.sponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorsponsorYOU MUST BE A HOMEBREW CLUB MEMBER TO ATTEND! In accordance with the law, this is a private event and only Washington homebrew club members are allowed to attend. Not in a club? JOIN ONE RIGHT NOW! Clubs that are attending Beerstock have a focal and this person can help coordinate your attendance. They’ll have all of the rest of the info you need to attend this epic event. So join up ASAP and see you there!
WHAT IS BEERSTOCK 5060?:
Beerstock 5060 is a private festival for Wa state home brewers that celebrates the repeal of an old law on the WA books that made it technically illegal to transport and share homebrew except for the purposes of competition. This meant that when you took a growler over to your friends house, or to your homebrew clubs meeting that you were in violation of the law.
Washington Homebrewers Association (WAHA) and local home brewers worked hard petitioning the local government to get the law repealed, which happened in July 2009. The event celebrating the repeal of the law was the brainchild of a handful of Northern Puget Sound local home brewers. The event was named Beerstock 5060 for the number of the bill which eventually passed, and for the spirit of that granddaddy of festivals, Woodstock.
In 2009 the first Beerstock 5060 was held as the first, legal get-together of Washington homebrew clubs to taste each other’s home brew and talk brewing across home brew club lines. Yes, it’s like a homebrew beer fest!
The spirit of this festival continues on an annual basis. All homebrewers or interested brewers are welcome to attend.
This will be the 3rd annual of the event. Last year we had almost 200 attendees and over 80 different beers served. I am the primary information contact for the festival. If you are a WA homebrewer, or a homebrewer visiting the area and wish to attend, please contact me for more information at zenbrew1@gmail.com
