Cristie ThomasA newly-launched event during Marietta’s annual Rivers, Trails, and Ales Festival is the RTA Beer Fest. Back for its 2nd year, RTA Beer Fest will feature over 15 regional breweries, a variety of local food trucks, live music, activities for the kiddos, and much more.
The first year of RTA Beer Fest packed 300 locals and festival-goers into East Muskingum Park to taste 42 beers available from 12 regional breweries. This year, 500 ticket holders will have the opportunity to choose from over 50 beers available from 15 breweries; the growth is an indication of the level of excitement produced by those passionate about support small business, local brewers, and unique community-based events like this one.
In celebration of good beer and great fun, Clutch MOV has partnered with the Rivers, Trails and Ales Festival to spotlight the 2019 lineup of participating Beer Fest breweries.
Brewery: Canton Brewing Company
Location: Canton, OH
Interviewer: Jeremy Stackpole, RTA Ales Director, with questions provided by Gavin Fury
Interviewee: Kristin Skolosh, Canton Brewing Company
When did the brewery open in its current form? We opened as our current brewery in 2014, but Canton Brewing Company’s history dates back to 1883.
Your brewery is very entrenched and invested in the local history of Canton and surrounding areas and you discuss it in great detail on your website. What impact do you feel connecting with Canton’s past has had on establishing the city as an Ohio beer destination? We offer a very unique experience at our brewery because of our connection to Canton’s history. We truly are a destination for beer lovers because of our historic beers such as Cascade, which is the beer that was drunk on the night the NFL was founded, as well as our modern beer selection. Stepping into our brewery is like walking into history. The building itself was previously a McCrory’s Five and Dime store. You can still see the original sign and most of the original structures. Our downstairs Speakeasy is a truly unique experience and is an ode to Prohibition times.
To what extent are you interested in recreating historically significant or nostalgic local brews versus responding to the demands and interests of the modern beer consumer? We plan to always offer our two historically significant brews, Tuscora and Cascade, but we also love to try new things! We have a diverse beer menu and we love to change it up! We are also playing around with “beer cocktails.”
Enough about the past. What does Canton Brewing’s trajectory look like for the near future? Growth is on the horizon! We very recently joined forces with Esber Beverage Company to help us get our name out there and to get our beer in the hands of our fans near and far!
Which of your offerings are best sellers/customer favorites? Local favorites include Tuscora, Cascade, and Carpe Noctem. Our younger crowd seems to get excited about our more modern offerings like 3.14 Pie IPA, Audi 5000 (a mango milkshake style IPA) and our orange creamsicle tart ale Slurp!
What draws you as a brewery to want to participate in RTA Fest? We love going to new places, meeting new people, trying new beer and getting feedback about our own brews. We are proud to be a part of the brewing community and meeting our fellow brewers and brewery employees.
Do you plan to participate in any events other than the beer festival? Which ones? We do plan to explore the area and enjoy the demonstrations and activities!
The 2nd annual RTA Beer Fest will take place on Saturday, August 10th from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in East Muskingum Park on Front Street in downtown Marietta, OH. More information, including ticket sales, can be found by visiting www.rtafest.com.