Saturday, May 2, 2026

A BEER FEST HISTORY

Legend has it that the event now known as the Boonville Beer Fest traces its roots back to the early 1990s. The Anderson Valley was lush following the spring rains. The creeks were full, the pine boughs glowed green and the valley floor was speckled with wildflowers of unimaginable variety.

Barkley sat on a stump on the ridge high above the brewery, Boont in hand, antlers on head, surveying his kingdom. For all the beauty a melancholic feeling tugged at his fur; something was missing. His was a lonely palace in the redwoods.

So he did what any mythical half-bear half-deer would do: he invited the entire beer world over to his pad to throw a few back and dosey doe 'til the wee hours.

In the beginning it was a humbly intimate affair. But as the legend of the antlered bear and his springtime shindig grew so did the festival, gradually swelling to become one of the biggest beer festivals in the country, drawing brewers and beer drinkers from around the world.

Now in its 27th year and having donated over $1.7m to local charities, Barkley and his Beer Fest are a little longer in the tooth, but they've only gotten better with age. So if you see Barkley at Beer Fest, make sure and give him a hug. Just make sure you don't have a seltzer in your hand when you do. He, uh, he doesn't like those.