Forest City Beer Fest comes to an end after 7 years

It’s the end of an era for local beer connoisseurs.

Officials with the Forest City Beer Fest says after seven successful years, the annual celebration of craft brews will be no more.

The event’s founder Aaron Brown says running the festival has become a full-time job throughout the year.

“Everything that you did wrong, or want to fix or elevate, you have to wait a full year to have another crack at it,” said Brown.

“You spend that whole time picking away, it really is a 24/7 thing, especially in the six months leading up to it.”

Brown says between other work commitments, he isn’t able to put the work into the event that it requires and deserves.

He says when he first started the event in 2012, there wasn’t much of a craft beer presence in the city, but he’s seen the popularity grow significantly since.

“I remember thinking it’d be great to get our own hometown craft brewery, and now I can’t even count how many there are, and just the craft beer culture in the local bar and restaurant scene.”

Given its increasing popularity, he’s hopeful someone will start up a similar event.