The 3rd Annual Top of the Hops Beer Fest is September 22 2012. Get tickets if you like beer. And fun. Taste the beers there, then plan a trip down the Brew Ridge Trail.

The folks from the Fest asked me if I’d write about the Top of the Hops … I thought I’d take the opportunity to ask them a few questions – (note to those in sales: cold calling works sometimes. 🙂 )

How has the Top of the Hops grown since its inception?

The attendance continues to grow each year and we have now expanded the footprint of the site slightly so we can include several additional elements: a cider garden, an import garden and a cask garden. We have also added a corn hole tournament to this year’s Top of the Hops!

Why did you start this?

Our company produces beer fests all across the country. We chose Charlottesville because we cold called the Star Hill Brew Master Mark Thompson to see if Charlottesville had a craft beer festival. Surprisingly, he said no. So, we quickly decided to bring the Top of the Hops Beer Fest to this great city. We quickly learned that the people of Charlottesville really loved craft beer so we figured a world class beer fest would be well received.

How many breweries come?

There are 73 breweries with 184 beers being poured.

Why these breweries they come to Charlottesville?

Charlottesville has a deep understanding and love for craft beer as evidenced by the fantastic Beer Run. Breweries from around the region love to come to Charlottesville to interact with people that really understand and respect great craft beer.

And once again I’ll miss the Top of the Hops … someone have a beer for me, will you?