The Rocket City Brewfest is one of the primary fundraisers for Free the Hops, an all-volunteer 501(c)(6) non-profit in Alabama. Free the Hops is a lobbying organization of craft beer consumers. We do not directly represent the beverage industry, although our interests do often coincide. We don’t sell beer for a living, we drink beer. If we could drink beer for a living, we probably would.

None of the Free the Hops members who organize and work at the brewfest are financially compensated for their work. Not the principal organizers, not the webmaster (trust me), not the people serving you beer. Most volunteers (the ones wearing green shirts) do receive a complimentary brewfest admission the day they’re not working the event. Some of us (the ones wearing blue shirts) work both days managing the event and thus are not able to attend as a patron. We do it because we love craft beer, we love teaching people about the wide world of beer out there, and we want to support Free the Hops in its effort to change the beer laws in Alabama.

Our partner in the festival is Venue Management, LLC, an Alabama event planner. They help us by getting all required permits and licenses and by providing invaluable experience in logistics, planning, and event budgeting. Much of the work done by our partner is behind-the-scenes, but it has been essential to have professional people with an event of this magnitude.

After paying expenses and our partner, the funds raised from the Rocket City Brewfest go to help Free the Hops in its efforts at lobbying the state legislature.