There will be brew: Your six-pack guide to Bluffton International & Craft Beer Fest

Saturday is forecast to be perfect beer-drinking weather — sunny with highs in the 70s.

And that will be a change — it’s rained the past three years during the Bluffton International & Craft Beer Festival, organizer Mark Weisner said Wednesday.

Weisner expects about 600 people to show up for the festival’s sixth installment, which will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Oyster Factory Park.

There will be brew, a lot of it — around 150 different kinds, Weisner said, referring to the beer list he’s still adding to ahead of the festival.

And yet ...

“The focus is to have a few less beers than in the past,” Weisner said, “because I go kind of crazy on these things.”

If you’re going to the festival, here’s a six-pack of things to watch for and enjoy.

1. You’re kind of a big deal ...

The “Everyone is a VIP Experience” is new this year and features samples of high-gravity beers at the bottom half of each hour of the festival.

Dubbels start things off followed by blondes, tripels, quads and, finally, retired and hard-to-find beers.

Some of those hard-to-find beers: Avery Brewing Co.’s Nineteen, Delirium’s Argentum 25, a couple of bottles of Fort Collins’ Malt Monsters and Unibroue’s 17 Grande Réserve.

2. ... but you still need ID ...

Don’t bring your kids or your pets, Weisner said.

This is a beer-drinker’s festival, he said, and everyone has to be 21.

No, Fido, dog years don’t count.

3. ... but maybe this exotic stuff will make you feel better ...

“Our focus (this year) is on more new interesting seasonal and exotic kinds of beer,” Weisner said.

Some of those selections?

Half a dozen or so barrel-aged beers, such as a saison from River Dog Brewing Company, and Samuel Adams’ New World Tripel and Thirteenth Hour.

And the holiday season arrives early with Brouwerij Corsendonk's Christmas Ale and Delirium’s Noel.

4. ... because you can’t find a lot of this stuff at your grocery store ...

While seasoned (and less so) brew drinkers will recognize many of the brewers from the grocery store beer aisle, they might not be familiar with all of those brands’ offerings.

“A lot of the stuff you see at the grocery store, we’re not going to have,” Weisner said. “There might be some familiar brands, but not products.”

Weisner estimates about 60 to 70 percent of this year’s beer list isn’t available in a typical grocery store.

5. ... but sadly you won’t find Hilton Head Brewing Company at the festival ...

Because, according to Weisner and the brewery’s website, the company is still recovering from Hurricane Matthew.

The brewery is “closed until further notice” due to flooding, its website says.

6. ... and it will be hard to pick your favorite brew

Weisner will tell you about his six favorite beer styles — blondes, tripels, holiday brews, fruit beers, IPAs and barrel-aged beers — but he won’t tell you what his favorite products are.

Because he can’t.

“I can’t even do it,” he said. “I’m telling you, we have so many great beers.”

In his words, he’s like a kid in a candy store.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 10:35 AM with the headline "There will be brew: Your six-pack guide to Bluffton International & Craft Beer Fest."