Jul. 10—Saturday afternoon, the RiverPark Center lobby and patio were filled with milling groups of people, in twos or threes. A band played on the patio and there was food from a busy food truck parked by the main entrance.
But the main attraction was the beer.
Breweries and beer distributors were putting out their best brews for people to sample, at RiverPark's "Hops on the Ohio." Saturday was the first time the event has been held since 2019.
At the Brew Bridge tent outside, David Haynes' keg of Peach Cobbler Sour was quickly running out, but people kept stopping by for a taste. When the keg gets low, much of what comes out is foam — which is still beer, Haynes reminded people.
"I think we're the most popular brewery right now," Haynes said.
The event was just one of several the Brew Bridge crew were working Saturday: Earlier, they'd taken part in the Putt Putt Pub Crawl downtown, and had a couple of wedding receptions to work later that night.
Hops on the Ohio is good for the business, because people who try the beer will go looking for it, Haynes said.
"We get a lot of out-of-towners who don't know who we are" at the event, Haynes said. Later, "they'll see us on tap in Louisville, and can get us there, too."
Rich Jorn, RiverPark Center's executive director, said 52 beers were on tap for the event. There was also wine vendors, and bourbon from Green River Distillery.
As of 4 p.m. nearly 500 tickets had been distributed for the event, Jorn said.
Hops on the Ohio helps drawn new audience to the center, which hopefully brings them back for future events, Jorn said.
"You look at the demographic here: It's primarily the young professionals that you don't see as much at the Broadway series or other shows we present," Jorn said.
"It's a real good crowd," he said. "We are really pleased."
Ross Winterberg, distributor for Beer House Distributing, brought multiple beers from Erlanger, near Cincinnati. The trip was worthwhile, he said.
"The people are great," Winterberg said. "It brings a new meaning to southern hospitality."
While most of the crowd were there to relax and try a few beers, Kim Brown was there on business. Brown, who one of the owners of The Pub on Second in downtown, said the event was a chance to look for new beers to had her business' drink menu. Brown said she was particularly excited about a beer that tasted remarkably like Skittles candies.
"It's something the women will really love," Brown said. The event would give Brown a chance to talk with beer distributors and get some of their beers into the business.