2024 Between The Bluffs Beer, Wine & Cheese Festival Program

Welcome to the 20th Anniversary of the Between the Bluffs Beer, Wine & Cheese Festival! This epic Festival is the best way to kick off the great weather that Spring and Summer bring us here in the La Crosse Region and reminds us of all the great activities of our area! Thank you for joining us as we partake in a great time with amazing craft beverages and eats today, but be sure to return all summer for more great things to do! Enjoy Responsibly and CHEERS!

12:00pm VIP Admission Entry

12:00-2:30pm LIVE MUSIC: JayR Brink Band

2:00pm General Admission Entry

3:00-5:30pm LIVE MUSIC : El Caminos

2:30pm Home Brew Contest Winners Announcement

5:30pm People’s Choice Awards

5:45pm Last Call

6:00pm Fest Grounds are Closed to the Public

JayR Brink Band

12 pm - 2:30 pm

El Caminos

3:00 -5:30 pm

The Beginnings of Between the Bluffs Beer Fest

by Randy Hughes, Brewmaster City Brewery, La Crosse WI

The idea for a beer fest at City Brewery began at one of our daily taste panels in 2002. City had been brewing craft type beers, City Festbier, Pale Ale and Winter Porter, and while we were tasting one day I said that we should have a beer fest to promote them as well as our other lagers and light beers. The more we tasted and discussed the more we thought it was a great idea. Sam McNeely and I floated the idea to Joan Kovel, the manager of the City Hospitality Center and she was on board with the idea. We fleshed the idea out, and some even took it to Randy Smith, the President of City Brewery, he thought it was an excellent idea. We were off and running! We brought Jon Reynolds, our head of Marketing, on board and with Sam, Joan and myself we formed our fest committee.

First thing was to come up with a name. We began tossing around names for the fest. I brought one up that had been bouncing around in my head for quite some time…The Between the Bluffs Beer Fest. Everyone liked the name as it was different from most and paid homage to one of the unique features of the La Crosse region…our beautiful bluffs. Next was to pick a date. Even back then there were MANY fests being held throughout Wisconsin all summer long. We decided on a Saturday in April, very early in the year for beer fests. This time of year would pose less competition for our fest and come at a time when people were through with winter and ready to get together for good beers! April would still have the possibility of poor/snowy weather but our ace in the hole was that we had the Hospitality Center as a backup location. If the weather was too bad we could just bring the whole event inside.

Next, we wanted the proceeds to support a local organization. Joan approached several but the only one that was excited about the idea was the Muscular Dystrophy Association. So the MDA it was! The admission fee was set at $15 after some discussion. I was a bit worried that it was a little high (HA!) but JR assured me that it was an economical price for a beer festival but agreed that $10 in advance was good. I had many friends in the Wisconsin and Minnesota brewing industries and I began contacting them about bringing their fine beers to the fest. We invited many Wisconsin brewers but the only ones we ended up with were the ones that were my friends. Others had conflicts or not enough staff or beer to be able to attend. I think my brewing friends took pity on me and agreed to exhibit at the event! We ended up with 12 breweries total…including City Brewery. A small group but with quite a bit of diversity.

CHEERS TO 20 YEARS!

The committee really wanted to have a band at the fest but with little to no budget there was no way we could afford one. I talked with my daughter Emily about a band as she knew many musicians in the area. She rounded up a bunch of her musical friends and they were excited about performing at the fest. They got together and started practicing for the event. We asked them what the name of their band was and they looked at us kind of funny…they hadn’t really thought of themselves as an actual band and didn’t have a name. They came up with The Midwest Band just for the fest. They all agreed to play for free beer which fit our budget perfectly. They were excellent and the crowd really enjoyed them. Jane, my wife, said we should really give them something so Jane and I paid the band out of our own pockets. They played for the entire fest and I don’t believe they ever performed as the Midwest Band again.

As we got closer to the date, April 12th 2003, we decided that with 12 brewers we could have the whole fest inside and didn’t have to worry about the weather. Good friend Joe Katchever, owner and brewmaster at the other La Crosse brewery at the time, Pearl Street Brewery, came over and we worked out the layout for the brewers in the Hospitality Center. As the date approached the weather was good but we kept the fest inside as people had plenty of room to sit and relax at the tables or the bar and had easy access to the restrooms.

One thing we hadn’t thought of was commemorative shirts for the fest. Again, with no money to really work with, Sam came up with a simple design and paid to have a bunch printed up just before the fest. Sam sold them basically at cost and managed to sell them all. As the date approached the weather was good but we kept the fest inside as people had plenty of room to sit and relax at the tables or the bar and had easy access to the restrooms.

Now all we needed was to have people to show up. Local radio stations helped us out with some promotional spots and quite a few prefest tickets were sold but we were still concerned about the turnout for our brand new festival. The day came and we were elated when we had over 400 beer lovers attend our first fest! We were energized to keep the fest as an annual event and it grew larger every year at the Brewery as we added more brewers, cheese makers, food, and games. We went outside the second year as it had outgrown just the Hospitality Center.

The Between the Bluffs Beer Fest became one of Wisconsin’s don’t miss festivals and outgrew the Hospitality Center and its parking lot after several years. The last fest in 2007 at the brewery drew 2,800 friends of beer! The city of La Crosse and the Visitors Bureau took over the Between the Bluffs Beer Fest and moved it to the more spacious southside fest grounds and added many more vendors of beer, wine and cheese as well as other fun events related to the fest. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this wonderful La Crosse festival! Cheers!

Fest Map

Those who choose to stay sober and give their friends a safe ride home receive free bottled water and Bubbl’r when they show their wristband at the Between the Bluffs Apparel Booth. They can also sample cheese + meats. Thanks for being responsible and taking care of your family and friends.

Arcade Pumping septicpumpingwi.com

City Brewery citybrewery.com

Driftless Area Magazine driftlessareamag.com

Drink Wisconsinbly drinkwisconsinbly.com

Explore La Crosse explorelacrosse.com

G.E.C.U. gecuwi.com

General Beverage genbev.com

Gillette Pepsi - LAX gpcbeverage.com

Hampton Inn + Suites Downtown hilton.com

Harter's Quick Clean-Up harters.net

Home 2 Suites hilton.com

Kwik Trip kwiktrip.com

La Crosse Beverage frankbeveragegroup.com/lacrosse

La Crosse Tavern League tlw.org

L.A.G.E.R.S. lagersbrewclub.com

Magnum Media magnum.media

Majestic Events majestictents.com

Midwest Family Radio midwestfamilylacrosse.com

Oktoberfest oktoberfestusa.com

Pearl Street Brewery pearlstreetbrewery.com

Phillips phillipsoutdoorservices.com

Poellinger Construction poellinger.com

Pour Another Round pouranotherround.com

Ron Hammes Refrigeration ronhammes.com

S&S Distributing s-sdistributing.com

Summit Fire Protection summitfire.com

Thorson Graphics thorsongraphics.com

Breweries

3 Floy ds B re wi ng / War Pigs

M uns ter, I N

TB D

3 Sheeps Brewing Company Sheboygan, WI

3 Sheeps and Cloudless

Ace Craft Cider / Vintage Wine Estates Sebastopol, CA

Ace Pineapple Cider, Ace Pear Cider, Ace Guava Cider, Ace Mango Cider, Ace Imperial Peach, Berry, Pineapple

Al. Ringling Brewing Company

Baraboo, WI

Porter, prohibition beer, Christmas tree ipa and grape kool aid sour

Ansay International LLC Port Washington, WI

Bo erding Winter Lager, Bo erding Pilsner, Bo erding Triple Ale

Avery Brewing Co./ Founders Boulder, CO

White Rascal, Electric Sunshine, Maharaja

Imperial IPA, The Reverend Quad, Island Rascal

BeatBox Beverages Austin, TX

Fruit Punch, Pink Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, Hard Tea Variety

Bell’s Brewery Kalamazoo, MI

Big Hearted IPA, Lager For The Lakes, Oberon, Hazy Hearted

Bent Paddle Brewing Co. Duluth, MN

Bent Hop IPA, Light Lager, 14 Degree Amber Ale, Venture Pilsener

Big Sipz Sausalito, CA TBD

Bloomer Brewing Company Bloomer, WI

Bloomer Lager, Cow Bell Cream Ale, Stache IPA, S'more Beer

Boston Beer Boston, MA

CANarchy Craft Collective Longmont, CO

Beast Unleashed, Nasty Beast Hard Tea, Oskar Blues, Cigar City

Capital Brewery Middleton, WI

Sticky Paw Honey Blonde, Maibock,Dark Doppelbock, Blonde Doppelbock, Supper Club

DESTIHL Brewery Normal, IL TBD

Door County Brewing Bailey's Harbor, WI

DCBC Pallet Jack Pale Ale, DCBC Timber

Chap Amber Lager , Hacienda - Back To The Flow Hazy IPA, Hacienda - Cosmic Tide Mexican

Downeast Cider East Boston, MA

Original Blend, Guava Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Overboard

Duvel USA

Kansas City, MO Duvel , Quirk Hard Seltzer, Tank 7

Fair State Brewing Cooperative Minneapolis, MN

Double Universie, Biggie Jumbo, Interior People, Zoomie Catcher, Legalize Big Doinks, NA Soda Hop, Water Plus

Founders Brewing Co./Avery Grand Rapids, MI

All Day IPA Grapefruit, All Day Haze, Mortal Bloom Hazy IPA, Rubaeus Raspberry Ale, Vanilla Porter

Fountain City Brewing Company Sussex, WI

Great Golden Lager

Fox River Brewing Company Oshkosh, WI TBD

Front Street Brewery Davenport, IA

Cherry Bomb Blonde, Vanilla Porter, Baroness Red, Raging River IPA

Go Craft Bier Wauwatosa, WI

Camba Bavaria

Sam Adams Just The Haze & Summer Ale, Angry Orchard Light, Truly Unruly & Party Pack CHEERS TO 20 YEARS!

Breweries

Hillsboro Brewing Madison, WI

TBD

Hinterland Brewery Green Bay, WI

Kosmic Kolsch, Saving Gracie Gluten Free Juicy IPA, Door County Cherry Wheat, Luna Co ee Stout

Hop and Barrel Brewing Co. Hudson, WI

Mullet Man, Docks Pale Ale, Lunar Wolf Double Hazy IPA (VIP), Cookie Lager

Humble Forager Brewery Rochester, MN

TBD

Indeed Brewing Minneapolis, MN

Pistachio Cream Ale, Brightside Lager, Flavorwave IPA, Mexican Honey

LAGERS: LaCrosse Area Grain Enthusiasts + Related Specialties

La Crosse, WI

Apricranasaurus, Brimstone, Do The Chickens Have Large Talons?, I Drink Your Milkshake, I’d SMASH That, Inner Hoppiness, One-Eyed Jack, MargaWHEATaville, Raspberry Beret, Renew Your Vows, Squirrel's Revenge

Lift Bridge Brewing Company Stillwater, MN

Mango Blonde, Lime Time, Grape Ape, Juice-Z

Lupulin Brewing Big Lake, MN

TBD

Mershon's Cidery Stoughton, WI

Mershon's ARtisan Cider, Mershon's Peach Escape, Mershon's Death Valley Dry

Mike's Hard Lemonade and Cayman Jack Chicago, IL

Cayman Jack, Mike's Hard Lemonade

MobCraft Beer Milwaukee, WI

Vanilla Wafer Porter, Low pHunk Rad-Berry, Batshit Crazy, Fish Fry Rye, Crush Creamsicle

Molson Coors Milwaukee, WI TBD

MoonRidge Brewing Company Cornell, WI

MoonRidge, Fisher, Below The Dam

New Belgium Brewing Fort Collins, CO

Voodoo Ranger Hard Charged Tea, Voodoo Ranger Tropic Force, Fat Tire, Voodoo Ranger 1985 Mango IPA

New Glarus Brewing Company

New Glarus, WI

Kid Kolsch, Moon Man, Apple Ale, Dancing man

Pabst Brewing Company Cedarburg, WI

Not Your Fathers Hard Soda Pop (Lemon lime, Cola, Cherry Cola & Strawberry Vanilla), Jack Daniels Hard Tea (Original, Peach, Raspberry & Blackberry), El Jimador Spiked Bebidas (Lime Margarita, Paloma, Orange Sunrise & Cocnut Margarita)

Pearl Street Brewery La Crosse, WI

TBD

Raised Grain Brewing Co. Waukesha, WI

Naked Threesome IPA, Summer Vice Hefeweizen

RAZE (Rochester Area Zymurgy Enthusiasts) Oronoco, MN TBD

Remedy Bloody Mary Mix Arcadia, WI

Remedy Bloody Mary Mix

Schell's Brewing Company

New Ulm, MN

Grain Belt Premium, Grain Belt BLU, Schells Firebrick, Schells Fresh Prints, Schells Lake Escape

Seattle Cider Company Seattle, WA

Basil Mint / Dry / Honey Crisp / Odyssey

Skeleton Crew Brew Onalaska, WI

Crow’s Nest Coconut Cream Ale, Stern Chaser Sour – Huckleberry, Sassy Parrot

Red Velvet Stout, Me Hearties Mango Milkshake IPA

Sparta Soda Works Sparta, WI

Ginger beer, citrus, berries and cream, sour cherry balls soda

Steven’s Point Brewery Stevens Point, WI TBA

Surly Brewing Company Minneapolis, MN

Furious, Mosh Pit Juicy, Mosh Pit Hazy, Before I Die, Nitro Co ee, Outlook Good NA Pale Ale, Axeman Hop Water

The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Co Madison, WI

Duval St Key Lime Pie Sour, Crop Circle Wheat, German Pilsner, Tri pepper Pilsner

Third Space Brewing

Milwaukee, WI

Happy Place Midwest Pale Ale, Heavenly Haze Hazy IPA, Frog Weiss Fruited Sour, Paloma Sour, Pretty Good Amber, In nite Wisdom Imperial IPA

Titletown Brewing Co. Green Bay, WI

Tundra Tropics, Dark Helmet, Blueberry Blitz, Wild@Tart-GuavaTangerine

Toppling Goliath Brewing Company Decorah, IA TBD

Turtle Stack Brewery La Crosse, WI

SMaSH Golden Ale, Irish Red Ale, Hoppy Saison, Coconut Baltic Porter

Untitled Art Waunakee, WI

Hazy Quad IPA, Florida Seltzer, Van. Apricot Soursop GF Smoothie, Green Canvas THC Tea

White Claw Chicago, IL

White Claw, White Claw Tequila Smash, White Claw Vodka Soda

B a il e y' s R u n Vineyard and Winer y New Glarus , W I

S e y v al Bl an c, E d elweiss, Lipsti c k, M a rquet t e

Dn A Vi ntner s

La C r osse W I

R a s pbe r r y S quee z e, Crangria, Fr o st W a t c h

O r an ge, C ra nber ry Cocon u t

F r a nk L iqu o r

O nalas k a , W I

Do or P en i n s ula, 14 Hand s

In fi n it y

Eau C laire , W I

P a nach e, Desire, S olace, Summer S a ngr i a,

S u mm e r Hea t

L os t Is l an d Win e

O nalas k a , W I

S e mi - Sw eet Wine s -Tiki S u nrise, Beac h Bu m ,

O ce an Cu r r a nt, B l ack Cherry Boa r dwa l k D r y

W i n e s - S a u v i gnon Blanc,E n igma (d r y red )

Mo l ly's Winer y La Crescent, M N

Ca r ame l A pple, R aspber r y Rhub a rb, Ar o nia, Kiwi P e a r

Od y sse a Sangri a Milwau k ee, W I

Sp i ced Peach R e d Sangr i a, Cit r u sy Wh i t e

Sa n gri a , Stra w berry Ki w i Rosé S a ng ri a

Sugar C reek W i nery L L C of W I

Fe r ryville, W I

TB D

Wi l d H i lls Winer y Muscoda, W I

TB D

Wine S i tter s La Crosse, WI

Ro c kab y e Red, S t arry N i ght, S w eet Dreams, S un Kis s ed, Evening R a i n

Wisconsin Veter a n Farm & Winer y Co r nell, WI

TB D

Al o ha Dave’s Isl a nd Cookies

La Cr osse, W I

Go u rm e t Ch o c o late C h ip Cookies

Bu b ba' s Me a ts LL C

La Cr osse, W I

Sm o k e d mea t

Ch i li Re v ol u tio n

B ango r, W I

C h i li F o o d T ruc k

*F o od V end o r not sa m pli n g .

C re am ery Creek F a rm s

B ango r, W I

D r y A ged S t e a ks, Me a t S n ack s

D a n a' s K i tche n

La Cr osse, W I

F er m e nt ed h o t sa u ce s , d r ied m ush ro o m

s ea soni ng, f r esh m u s hro o m s

H u n t + Gat h er Gr a zing B o ard s

La Cr osse, W I

C h ee s e

Mr. B ’s Smokehouse Meat s

H ills b oro, W I

Sn a ck S t i ck s and Je r k y

No r di c Cre a mer y

W est by, W I

C h ee s e c u r d s, Gr u mp y Go a t, o t her a r tis a n

ch ee s e s .

Premier Caterin g West Salem, W I

Pu l led P ork, M a c N Chee s e, B a c on , C hi p s

*F o od Vendor n o t samp l i n g

Sp a rky's Spi t Stoddar d , WI

Pu l led pork s a n dwich, b r at, m a c an d ch ee s e

*F o od Vendor n o t samp l i n g .

Sw i ss F a mily

Necedah , W I

Fresh C h eese C u r d s, S m o k ed M o z z a W h i p s

Sn a ck S t icks, Landjaege r s, S u m m e r S ausa g e

Wiscons i n Fr i e d Cheese C urds ™

West Allis, W I

Wi s cons i n Frie d Cheese Curds™ Ra w

Gr i lled Chee s e Sandwi c hes, C h o c o lat e C h ip

Co o kies + Wa t e r

*F o od Vendor n o t samp l i n g .

Wiscons i n Ve t eran Far m & Winer y

Co r nell , W I

WV F & W i nery BLUE ANGE, Grape Wi ne,Cr a nbe r ry W i ne

Wo o dshe d Pizz a

In d epen d ence, W I

Wo o d Fi r ed Piz z a Food T r uc k

Market

99 PROOF DESIGNS

Davenport, IA

Repurposed Beer and Liquor bottles, Candles and Soap

Drink Wisconsinbly Milwaukee, WI

Apparel and souvenirs

Kwik Spirits

La Crosse, WI

Premium cigars

Opulenza Designs

Holmen, WI

Sterling silver jewelry

Paulin's Provisions

La Crosse, WI

Gourmet Condiments

Official BTB t-shirt and tankard available at the Apparel Booth

Quichua Crafts Chicago, IL

Handmade and Fair Trade Clothing

Rebex Cutlery

Oak eld, WI

High Carbon Steel Cutlery

Stacks Family Farms

La Crosse, WI

Hemp gummies, pre-rolls, seltzers

TreeHuggers

La Crosse, WI

Hemp gummies, pre-rolls, seltzers

LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE

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