NEWS RELEASE:
Sly Fox Brewing Company

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They really do race goats at the Sly Fox Brewery!

Welcome to Your Favorite Beer Event of All Time

May 2, 2018 — Pottstown, PA—Now in its eighteenth year, the Sly Fox Brewing Company Bock Festival and Goat Races is one of the beer world's more unique events. Like the traditional Bavarian festivals happening throughout Europe this time of year, the event in historic Pottstown, Pennsylvania is a celebration of spring featuring delicious, freshly brewed bock beers but the Sly Fox event has a twist all its own.

The Sly Fox Bock Festival has become regionally famous for what started out as a side attraction.

"The first year a few goats showed up to race," recalls Brian O'Reilly, who hatched the idea of combining goat races with an annual bock festival where he and his team serve up a mouthwatering lineup of bock beers including Slacker Bock, Helles Bock, Instigator Doppelbock, Hefeweizen Doppelbock, Slacker Eisbock, and a Maibock. The day marks the release of the Maibock, which is tapped immediately after the goat race and named in honor of the winner.

ANNUAL GROWTH

It's a lineup that has grown as the festival has evolved to be one of the largest single offerings of bock beers, but the goat racing has blown up too and that's the prime attraction at this family-friendly event held on the first Sunday in May every year.

This year, 60 competitors are registered to run in front of thousands of attendees on May 6 at the Sly Fox Brewery, 331 Circle of Progress, Pottstown, PA.

Goats run in heats of 6 with the winners advancing until there is a single champion for whom the brewery's annual Maibock is named. Bragging rights are coveted and the action is exciting, drawing spectators from great distances.

The first heat for the goat races starts promptly at 2 p.m. and this 'delightfully weird' event typically takes about 90 minutes.

MORE THAN GOATS AND BEER

The annual rain-or-shine event has been called "Philadelphia's Best Beer Event" and, besides the compelling racing of ruminants, features live German Oompah bands, a plethora of food choices and plenty to do and see for the entire family.

Bock Fest is cash only and free to attend. All food and drink must be purchased with tickets, available on site. An ATM is located inside the Sly Fox Tastin' Room (open during Bock Fest), and there will be a mobile ATM van in the parking lot. Guests may also purchase food and drink tickets using the secure BeerMe app, available for easy download on all smartphones.

In addition to some of your favorite regional food trucks, the brewery will serve German brats, pretzels, veggie sandwiches, cheesesteaks and pizza. Last year was the first time nationally acclaimed accordionist Alex Meixner performed with his band, blowing the crowd away with energetic renditions of classics in a jazzy, funky, polka style.



There's a Main Stage with something happening all the time and jumbotrons in the fields so no one misses any of the action. In fact, there is even a simulcast to Sly Fox's original location, the Sly Fox Brewhouse and Eatery, in Phoenixville. There are costumed attendees, mingling goats and fun at every turn including a feat of strength for beer drinkers. Masskrugstemmen, a traditional Bavarian bier steinholding contest where participants compete to see who can hold a filled 5-pound, one-liter mug the longest.

"Bock Fest started small, but today, it's the kick-off to our summer season and something we look forward to all year round," smiles brewmaster Brian O'Reilly. "We can't wait to wash down a delicious bratwurst or two with some great bock beers and cheer on this year's racers!" For more information about the event, visit http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/bockfest.

 

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About Sly Fox Brewing Company

Since their inaugural brew in 1995, Sly Fox has crafted more than 100 different top-notch craft beers. Their critically acclaimed year-round lineup and highly anticipated seasonals are available in their brewpubs in Phoenixville and Pottstown, as well as top bars and restaurants in PA, NJ, NY, MD, VA and Washington, DC. They were the first craft brewery in the mid-Atlantic to put in a canning line, adding it to their facility in 2006, and with it, earned the first-ever Great American Beer Festival (GABF) medal awarded to a canned craft beer, in 2007. They have earned GABF medals virtually every year since and are widely recognized as among the region's best and most enduring craft breweries.

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POTTSTOWN BREWERY & TASTIN' ROOM Pottstown Airport Business Center 331 Circle of Progress Drive Pottstown, PA 19464 P: 484-524-8210

PHOENIXVILLE BREWHOUSE & EATERY Maple Lawn Shopping Center 520 Kimberton Road (Rt.113) Phoenixville, PA 19460 P: 610-935-4540

© Sly Fox Brewing Co., All Rights Reserved.