What started as something unofficial and fun for Brewery Ommegang has made its way back after a short pause. The re-emergence of the “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown” event held by the New York brewery is making its return at the end of September for the first time since 2018 and according to Brand Manager Jordan Egbert, it’s one of the most requested things consumers have asked for over the years.
But 2024 is a much different time for beer festivals as the pandemic did quite a number on many aspects of craft beer and bringing this festival — a two-day event held on the brewery’s campus that includes camping and other events along with the beer — back meant keeping a mindset of what started the event in the first place.
“There’s so many beer festivals people can just walk to and maybe make that impulse decision of what they’re going to do for that day,” Egbert said. “This is very choice and plan-driven, and we saw that in ticket sales.”
When the festival started in the late 2000s and became more official at the start of the 2010s, tickets sold out quickly.
A slower crawl, Egbert said, is the consumer talking.
“People have more options than they’ve ever had. Not just beer festivals,” he pointed out. “There are more events in America than there’s ever been across all channels, in all industries. There’s always something fun to do, and that’s great. So you have to get their attention to say, I’m gonna choose this. This is our weekend. This is what we’re doing. We’re gonna drive a couple hours or maybe even get on a plane and go see this thing.”
It also means being more than just a beer fest and it’s something that BCTC already was, which is why it could fit into a consumer mindset of looking for a great experience outside of the consumption.
“We want our consumers to, obviously, come and drink great beer and meet some wonderful people, but we want them to have some fun,” Egbert said of the event that has live music and camping along with a few sessions of exclusive pouring. “There’s some ax throwing, yoga, t-shirt printing, and maybe some tie-dyeing. We’ve got fire spinning and cigar rolling.
“I think what worked so well with BCTC was that camaraderie, that element of bringing people together. And yes, we’re the host. But BCTC is for everybody. It was all about just the love of the game. So we’re excited.”
What started as a collection of breweries doing a bottle share turned into an official event eventually with ticket sales and working more and more logistics along with adding in more interest to make consumers want to spend two nights on the Ommegang grounds. Bringing it back meant getting back to the spirit of camaraderie once again.
“Let’s get the right people there, let’s bring it back to its core, and then slowly consider building it back up to a smart level,” Egbert said. “We have to remind ourselves that it’s ‘Belgium Comes to Cooperstown,’ and that was, I think, the biggest piece of novelty for the festival.
“There’s a huge Belgian beer fan base in America and it’s growing. As Brewery Ommegang, how do we authenticate ourselves as a Belgian-style brewer? You really showcase the right brands along with education and immersion and get people really understanding what it is about and it’s the Belgian beer that people fall in love with.
“This is our baby, and you get one chance to bring something like this back.”
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