Brews & Blooms brings craft brewers to scenic Botanical Gardens

Regardless of your passion or indifference towards craft beer, San Antonio’s Brews and Blooms festival provides a unique and eclectic experience that is sure to wow even the rare gastropub enthusiast.

As the festival’s fifth year comes underway, the San Antonio Botanical Gardens and the grassroots San Antonio Cerveceros organization align yet again to introduce a new generation of people to the beauty of the gardens and educate the community on the fairly simple process of home brewing.

Festival attendees are given sample tickets that are exchangeable for eight-ounce pours of their choice.

The festival will feature 17 different breweries and over 35 local Texas beers, seven of which are “premier” exclusive beers that most cannot find at their local dive bar.

This nontraditional beer festival provides a revitalizing experience of nature blended with the cool and crisp flavors of natural brew.

“There is no better location in all of San Antonio for a craft beer festival,” gushed SA Cerveceros President Pete Alanis. “The beers are what attract the people, and the garden is what wows them.”

As smells of sage and rosemary permeate the air, it is hard to ignore that statement.

In recent years, San Antonio’s brewery community has become very competitive, with each brewery offering unique pints to their consumers.

The Brews and Bloom festival provides a non-competitive and open environment for local San Antonio breweries to not only showcase their beer but also connect with the community in a fun atmosphere.

“There are a lot of reasons why San Antonio’s craft beer community is unique,” said Alanis. “A lot has to do with the people who make the beer. There is a lot of love and authenticity in the people behind that beer making process, and they are in love with this city and are contributing to this city’s overall identity. I see San Antonio becoming a craft-beer city.

At the heart of that movement, lies SA Cerveceros.

SA Cerveceros was founded by home-brewer Dan Gomez, who was committed to showing others a hands-on process of home brewing.

SA Cerveceros has evolved into a local non-profit organization that supports the local San Antonio craft beer community by teaching classes in homebrewing, facilitating beer shares, sampling and providing support to local breweries.

SA Cerveceros began its Brews and Blooms journey with the Botanical Gardens in 2012 with about 500-600 guests.

Now, five years later Brews and Blooms expects to welcome well over 1,200 visitors.

Cerveceros has even become a gateway for past members and current members to evolve into local Brewery owners, such as its former vice president Vera Deckard who will be opening Kunstler Brewing Co. this fall.

For those who plan to drink more than usual, Brews and Blooms offers a designated driver program that includes unlimited water and soft drinks to selected festival goers who volunteer their time to facilitate safe rides home for attendees.

The Brews and Blooms festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 16. According to  Connie Swan, director of marketing athe botanical gardens Brews and Blooms is the perfect time to enjoy sitting outside, sampling delicious food, listening to music and spending time with friends. “Butterflies, blossoms and the beautiful setting are included,” Swan said.

Don’t forget to dress to impress and prepare your palate for all the wonderful and select beers that await.

Cheers!