HANOVER, Pa. (WHTM) -- So you enjoy drinking beer, but have you ever wanted to brew and sell your own? The second annual Hanover Brewery Olympics, happening on Saturday, gives teams the opportunity to do just that.
On July 23, several teams of four will compete in challenges hosted by three downtown Hanover breweries -- Fat Bat Brewing Co., Something Wicked Brewing Co., and Zeichen des Pferdes Bierhaus. The competitions include a stein hold at Zeichen des Pferdes, a barrel roll at Something Wicked, and a cornhole skills challenge at Fat Bat.
The three teams with the best scores in the first three competitions will then participate in a keg relay race around downtown Hanover.
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"I love watching the keg relay because it's unique. I have not seen anything like it," said Main Street Hanover Executive Director Justine Trucksess. "I think it's a lot of fun to see someone trying to carry big kegs throughout the downtown."
The challenges are not just about beer and bragging rights; the team that wins the relay race gets to brew a beer from start to finish with help from the three breweries. The team will come up with the flavor profile, name, and design for their beer, Trucksess explained, and then it will be brewed at the Sign of the Horse brewing facility and distributed to all three participating breweries for community members to enjoy, both on tap and in cans.
The winners' beer will enter the breweries with a launch party, which will likely take place in early September, although the exact date may fluctuate depending on the type of beer the winners choose to make.
"We are looking forward to assisting the winning team and other brewers in developing a beer, brewing, labeling, canning and launching it…the brewery world is all about community and this event demonstrates that," said Sandy Bialek, owner of Fat Bat Brewing Co., in an email.
Teams can sign up to participate in the Brewery Olympics here, and proceeds from the event benefit Main Street Hanover, a nonprofit that focuses on economic development in downtown Hanover.
Owners of the three participating breweries approached Main Street Hanover about partnering for the event last year, when the first Brewery Olympics were held.
"We three brewers in a square block of downtown, it just makes sense to work together," Bialek wrote. "We all were interested in a summer event to draw people downtown."
New this year, the Brewery Olympics will also include the launch of a "Have it Made Here" tangerine wheat beer in partnership with the Destination brand of York County, which is part of Explore York. The beer, created exclusively for this event, will be available on tap at the three participating breweries.
Melissa Beaverson, director of Destination marketing for Explore York, said in an email, "We’re thrilled to partner with Main Street Hanover and the Hanover breweries for the 2nd annual Brewery Olympics. I’m especially looking forward to the keg race! Hanover is known worldwide for products made here, so partnering was a natural fit. The winners will quite literally ‘have it made here' when they brew a custom beer next month featuring our branded tagline!"
"We're really trying to further this idea that there are so many makers of really unique products here in York County, and Hanover is no different," Trucksess said. "We really have a lot of unique makers, and that also includes beer!"
The games kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Online registration closes at 11 a.m. on July 23, and in-person registration closes at 2 p.m. Twenty-four teams will be able to participate.
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