Hop Sauce Festival – I Love It Spicy!

Hop Sauce Fest 2015 Recap

The weather could not have been any better for an outside beach event. The best attribute about this festival is that this is a tourist area that brings in a very young clientele. They do not seem put off by trying new things and with the added liquid courage, they seem intent in trying it all. With only 18 hot sauce vendors, and with no desire to drink the hops I was only going to truly enjoy myself if I got involved in some way. Seeing that Johnny McLaughlin from Heartbreaking Dawns, Steve Seabury from High River Sauces and Austin D’Almeida from Jersey Barnfire were working their booths solo I decided to help them briefly during a busy time of the Festival. I took turns at each booth and I totally had a blast shilling spicy products. Mind you the only time I witnessed it slow was in the last 45 minutes of the event. My favorite part of the event was definitely working those booths, but meeting and talking to my vendor friends is always a highlight whenever I attend these events.

Events

Hop Sauce Fest 2015 – Why Should You Be There?

May 29, 2015May 29, 2015 Buddah 2015, Hop Sauce Fest, Hop Sauce Festival

Before I actually explain why you should be at this event tomorrow on the Jersey Shore, let me first explain what the Hop Sauce Festival is. Imagine an event that combines the love of spicy things with the love of beer. Add in an ongoing music concert, the love of good food and place it on the Jersey Shore at Long Beach Island, and then you might get the idea of what is going down. By the reactions of some of the hot sauce vendors that attended last year, this was quite the place to be at the inaugural event. I did not attend, instead choosing to do the upstart Kempton Pepper Jam, which was more like a Farmer’s Market that an event like this Hop Sauce Festival seems to be. I was not disappointed in my trip because I got to try some amazing new products, but I was jealous at the fanfare this event received. So I am hopping in my jalopy early in the morn and going 4 hours north to see what the hubbub is all about.

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