Many Cornell students are used to drinking foul-tasting beer — think “Beast,” free beer and any typical fraternity party libation. However, Dan Mitchell ’00, the President of Ithaca Beer Company and organizer of the first-ever Ithaca Brew Festival, is looking to change that. He hopes that the Brew Fest will “introduce people to new styles of beer.”

The festival, which will take place this Saturday from 4 - 8 p.m. in Stewart Park in downtown Ithaca, will host about 30 different breweries that specialize in traditional craft beer. According to Mitchell, craft beers, also known as microbrews, are made in smaller batches and have more flavor options than most mainstream beer.

Craft beer is one of the only segments of the larger beer market to have experienced growth in recent years, the result of consumers’ better understanding of food, Mitchell said.

Although some of the breweries participating in the festival hail from as far away as California, many of them are from the local and regional area. Mitchell said the festival has “a focus on New York State.”

One such local brewery is Roosterfish Brewing Company, located in Watkins Glen. Owner and brewer Doug Fair said that he has a stand at the festival “to give people the opportunity to taste what I’m doing.”

Rohrbach Brewing Company, based in Rochester, NY, is setting up a stand at the festival to “support Ithaca breweries.” Acknowledging that people within the brewing industry have “close” relationships, Brew Master Jim McDermott said Rohrbach will support Ithaca just as Ithaca supports Rochester by attending Rochester brew festivals.

The Rohrbach brewery is bringing its blueberry ale, Sam Patch porter and Old Nate’s Pale Ale to the festival; in addition. Rohrbach will offer festival-goers its Scotch ale, which McDermott describes as having a “sweet” aftertaste. He said that “most people have no idea that beer can taste” like the Scotch ale and hopes that the festival will educate people about craft beer and make them more willing to try it.

McDermott cited the fact that a liter of craft beer can cost $10 and that a liter of wine “can cost 10 times $10” to explain that craft beer is “one of the more affordable luxuries.”

In addition to beer, the festival will feature the live music of local talents such as the Sim Redmond Band and Kevin Kinsella, as well as Texas blues musician Shelley King. There will also be food from four vendors from the Ithaca Farmers’ Market. While food and beer pairings are increasingly popular, all individual crafters must determine whether they will pair up their beers with certain foods.

Although most of the beer will be on tap, certain types of beer will remain bottled to preserve their natural carbonation. Because this festival takes place in eco-conscious Ithaca, Mitchell said that the bottles will definitely be recycled.

Anyone over the age of 21 can purchase tickets for the Ithaca Brew Festival for $25 at the Ithaca Beer Company, Wegmans, the ticket center at Clinton House, located at 116 N Cayuga St. or online at Ithacabrewfest.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the festival for $30.

Special designated driver tickets — which means no beer drinking — can also be purchased at the festival for $10; volunteers who help set up the festival, pour beer or clean up at the festival’s end get in for free.

“The emphasis of the festival is on sampling, rather than drinking,” Mitchell said, adding that there will be security and police on site to ensure the crowd’s safety.

Radio station WVBR, the event’s official media sponsor, noted that an added incentive of the festival is that part of the proceeds are going towards what WVBR General Sales Manager Mike Estrich called the “revitalization” of Stewart Park. He said that the radio station appreciated that the Ithaca Brew Fest “[gives] back to the community.”