With nearly 80 beers from 32 breweries, the second annual Whistle Belly offers quite the craft beer selection.
“Everything for every taste,” said Lauren Davidson, general manager of DoG Street Pub and Hair of the DoG Bottle Shop.
Organized by DoG Street Pub, and presented by Junior Woman’s Club of Williamsburg, Whistle Belly returns to Merchants Square on Aug. 7 with all-you-can-eat local food and all-you-can-drink beer samples.
And it’s all for a cause.
Funds raised at Whistle Belly support local nonprofit organizations and scholarships for high school seniors, through Junior Woman’s Club of Williamsburg.
Last year, Whistle Belly raised around $2,600, according to this year’s event chair Meghan Mayfield. While the club’s largest fundraiser, Art on the Square, supports arts-related initiatives, the club supports more than just the arts.
“It’s just a great myriad of different people that we give to with this other fund that we’re raising money for through Whistle Belly,” Mayfield said.
The beer comes from breweries both near, including Alewerks and Virginia Beer Company, and far, like Allagash Brewing Company in Maine. But most breweries are Virginia-based, such as Hardywood, Lickinghole Creek, St. George and Smartmouth.
The festival does feature a blueberry stout from Birrificio del Ducato, an Italian brewery, in the VIP area. VIP tickets allow guests a taste of 12 rare beers, bringing the festival’s total count closer to 90.
It’s fitting, then, that the festival’s namesake was a Colonial-era hangover remedy. Davidson described Whistle Belly as sour beer sweetened with molasses, with bread sometimes added in.
Styles include everything from saisons to IPAs to ciders. There are even some new tastes in store. For the second year, Virginia Beer Company and Alewerks have collaborated on a special beer to be tapped at the festival.
Though beer takes the stage at Whistle Belly, food is far from an afterthought, served up by DoG Street Pub, Trellis Bar and Grill, Blue Talon Bistro and the Catering Company of Williamsburg.
“It’s just amazing food, and it’s not your standard food that you would find at a beer festival,” Mayfield said.
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
Whistle Belly Festival
When: 12:30-5 p.m., Aug. 7
Where: Merchants Square
Tickets: $50/general admission, $70/VIP admission, $20/food-only
For more information and to buy tickets, visit whistlebelly.com.
