ALTAMONT — Farming Man Fest is returning to Indian Ladder Farms 2-11 p.m. July 15. The festival is a celebration of New York’s breweries and the industry, and patrons get to sip the benefits.
Now in its 9th year, the event will feature 30 breweries, 3 distilleries, 5 bands, 4 DJs, and 9 hours of the best beer experience in New York. Organizers are anticipating such a huge turnout, that they’ve doubled the ticket availability.
Patrons arrive and drive through the century-old orchards of Indian Ladder Farms to a beautiful clearing in the back of the farm that opens up to a breathtaking view of the Helderberg Escarpment. The day is shaped with a full day of live music and craft beverage options from dozens of producers across upstate New York, who bring their choice brews and ciders to enjoy. The head brewers and cidermakers from each company will be on hand to talk about the trade and craft. Guests will be able to enjoy full pints of the beverages of their choice with each drink ticket.
Food will be available for sale from Indian Ladder Farms in the event space. The Tasting Room, Biergarten, and the Yellow Rock Cafe, as well as the Farm Market will all be open normal hours on July 15.
Families are invited to attend as well. There will be areas for water play and plenty of space for lawn games and picnicking.
This year’s featured bands are Televisionaries, Super 400, Precious Metals, Blasé Debris, The College Farm, and will feature DJs Ritz Carlton, DJ Dad Bod, DJ Space Wolf & Master Peace, DJ Chooch and Boose.
The full list of breweries at this year’s festival is as follows: Active Ingredient Brewing Company, Allied Brewing Company, Artisanal Brew Works, Blackman Brewery, Bolton Landing Brewing Company, Brewery at CIA, Brown’s Brewing Co, Bound By Fate Brewing, Cantina Cantina, Community Beer Works, Common Roots Brewing Company, Dancing Grain Farm Brewery, Druthers Brewing Company, Fidens, Helderberg Mountain Brewing Company, Nine Pin Cider Works, ONCO Fermentations, Paradox Brewery, Rare Form Brewing Company, The Real McCoy Beer Co, Rip Van Winkle Brewing Company, Rockland Cider, Seven Points Brewery, St. James Brewery, Slate Town Brewing Company, Slow Fox Farm Brewery, Saranac Brewery, Thin Man Brewery, Unified Beerworks, übergeek Brewery, Wayward Lane Brewing, West Kill Brewing, Whitman Brewing, Wolf Hollow Brewing Company.
There will also be three distilleries participating, Albany Distilling Co., Black Button Distillery and New Scotland Spirits.
Multiple vendors of crafts and wares will also be on site. If you’re interested in being a vendor, contact bridget@ilfcb.com.
The festival began in 2014, but it was just for brewers, and it was called “Bottle Share.” It was more of a networking event for maltsters, brewers, and hop growers. There were about 10 breweries at the first festival. Attendees grew from about 150 in 2018, when the festival first became public, to over twice that in 2019. There was a short hiatus in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, but the event came back strong last year with 400 patrons.
For patrons who will come to just enjoy the music and food, tickets are $30. General Admission tickets for 21+ are $35, and include a commemorative pint glass. Under 13 years of age are $10, and additional fees exist for camping. Cost of food and beverages is not included in admission. Tickets are available on the Farming Man website.