Brewgaloo offers new sours, barrel-aged event in 6th year

Raleigh is no stranger to beer festivals, and Brewgaloo is one of the most popular.

Shop Local Raleigh, the organization that puts on the festival, is expecting roughly 30,000 people on Fayetteville Street this Saturday.

The festival saw enormous growth is its first five years. At first, Brewgaloo had just 13 brewers. This year, though, Jennifer Martin, executive director of Shop Local Raleigh, said the festival will host 100 breweries, 50 food trucks and 45 other vendors from around the state.

New this year is the sours and barrel-aged beer section of the festival. A ticket to the separate section gives attendees access to samples that won't be found in the rest of the festival, such as brews from Asheville's Wicked Weed.

Martin said the sour and barrel-aged section has been well-received, selling about 250 advanced tickets to the 300-ticket event.

Tickets to the Friday night block party and the sour and barrel-aged section are a separate charge, but admission to the main festival on Saturday is free. Drinkers pay for "carnival-style" tickets that can be used to get a sample or a pint from a brewer, Martin said.