Thirsty Orange Beer Festival prepares for fun for 13th year

The Thirsty Orange Beer Festival is making its annual return for the 13th year. Homebrewers, beer and cider businesses will be joining together in Founders Park on April 18, giving attendees an opportunity to partake in the beer and brewery culture of the region. Aaron Carson, founder of the Thirsty Orange Beer Festival, said the adult-focused event is "a celebration of the craft beer scene" in East Tennessee. "It's focusing in on the craft brewers that contributed a lot to the economy and a lot to each city," he said. "Really, the thing about craft brewery is they give each city their own identity…Certainly Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, Bluff City, Elizabethton, et cetera – they each have their own unique thoughts and feeling about what that craft beer scene looks like, so it's really a celebration of that." Carson estimated around 50 businesses and homebrewers will be part of the festival, alongside food trucks, live music and other participating vendors. Those sharing their alcoholic products include well-known businesses in Johnson City, such as YeeHaw Brewing, Johnson City Brewing Company and Tennessee Hills. However, Carson said other businesses will come from all around the East Tennessee region, including Xul Beer Company from Knoxville and Atomic City Brewing from Oak Ridge. 6ix Grist and Grind from Kingsport will also be participants, as well as Appalachian Sun from Elizabethton. Gypsy Circus Cider Company is also this year's headlining sponsor of the festival, a business Carson said was nominated for Best Cidery by USA Today. "We're bringing in big hitters that are local," Carson said. "Amateur people always know how big of a deal some of the local breweries and cideries are." Carson said attendee amounts for the Thirsty Orange are usually capped at 2,000 based on their ticket sales, which have sold out in the festival's previous years. He added having homebrewers as part of the festival is something unique to Thirsty Orange and gives them a way to "get their start" in the brewing and/or cider industry. "You can look across the board and see probably over half of the pro-brewers that are in the Tri-Cities started at Thirsty Orange," he said. "I feel that Thirsty Orange is an incubation point for the pro-brewers and craft brewers in the region." Thirsty Orange is also an economic driver for Johnson City. Carson said by having the event in Founders Park, businesses and the breweries can see the benefit of people traveling to the festival and bringing more tourism to the area and surrounding places in the Tri-Cities. "After Thirsty Orange, the businesses get a really big boost off of Thirsty Orange and everyone coming out there," he said. "The second area is really going to be into the craft breweries because once someone tries something they really appreciate…then, they're going to have more tourism coming toward Johnson City, Kingsport or Bristol coming for those breweries." Carson shared while the festival leaves an impact on the region, his favorite part of the Thirsty Orange is sharing how significant the brewery and cidery businesses are to their appreciators in East Tennessee. "The brewers play such a pivotal role in the economy and the uniqueness of each city," he said. "To have people appreciate the uniqueness of each brewery and cidery – that makes me smile and makes me feel good about what we're doing." The festival will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. on April 18 in Founders Park.