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EVENT: First ever Brew Fest draws big crowd

11:28AM Wednesday
February 6, 2013

1,200 people packed into the Pawtucket Armory on Saturday for the inaugural Rhode Island Brew Fest. Photo by Elizabeth Meadows.

By Kim Kalunian, WPRO News

The first Rhode Island Brew Fest was Saturday, and Matt Gray, the man behind the fest, said it was a huge success.

The festival featured 34 breweries from across Rhode Island and New England, and hosted an additional 13 vendors. The Fest sold out, with a total of 1200 tickets sold.

In an earlier interview, Gray, president of Gray Matter Marketing, said vendors were a mix of "new and established R.I. breweries and brew pubs as well as some small and large scale microbreweries from around the country." SOme of the local breweries included Foolproof of Pawtucket, The Bucket of Pawtucket, Ravenous of Woonsocket and Whaler's Brewing Company from Wakefield. There were also several larger breweries like Long Trail, Lagunitas, Brooklyn Brewery and Sixpoint. Narragansett Brewery served as the Presenting Sponsor.

When initially interviewed, Gray said he would take it "one event at a time," but this week expressed his excitement over planning future events. He announced Wednesday that there would be a Cape Cod Brew Fest on Sept. 28.