BierFest attendance a record;

BierFest attendance a record;

Stienholders repeat champions

Thousands pour into city park to see what’s brewing

BY JEFF B. FLINN Managing Editor

Pedro Aguilar made it look easy. Arm out straight, sunglasses hiding his eyes, hat pulled down tight to keep the sun off his face.

For more than six minutes, Aguilar, 51, a Boerne retiree from the law enforcement field, stood his ground. Then the legs began to quake, the arm shivered, a grimace crossed his face, and -- it was over.

Aguilar was crowned the Boerne BierFest Steinholding Champion during Saturday’s sixth annual Boerne BierFest. He logged a time of 6 minutes, 3 seconds -- more than a minute longer than any other contestant.

“ No, I didn’t practice,” Aguilar, the defending champion after having captured the steinhold competition title in 2022, said. “I was just trying to see how long I could hold it. This year, I came out

James Ratnayeke of Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, hands a mini-stein to a Boerne BierFest attendee Saturday. With Ratnayeke is BierFest volunteer Chad Hearne.

Pieces of art created by local artist Geri Piper line a table in the local artist’s booth at the sixth annual Boerne Bier-Fest Saturday.

and just thought, ‘I’ll try it out again.’” The win qualifies him for the 2023 Texas Steinholding State Championship, slated for Oct. 21 at the Altstadt Brewery in Fredericksburg. Joining him will be Jennifer Horton, the women’s steinhold champion. She logged a time of 3:14 to recapture the title she first won in 2021.

The steinholding competition was just one of the participatory events last Saturday during the sixth annual Boerne BierFest. Paula Horner, president of the BierFest-sponsoring Hill Country Council for the Arts, recalled the BierFest’s origins as a fundraiser for the organization.

“Six years ago, in our effort to assist in funding the Arts in Texas Hill Country, we scratched, literally, out of the sod on Main Plaza, a Boerne BierFest,” Horner said.

Things have changed in the years since. The Bier-Fest quickly outgrew the main plaza and found a home at the AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center on City Park Road.

“After years of struggling with rain, cold, sleet, and under-exposure, I was delighted to have to weave my way through throngs of revelers being treated to America’s finest craft beers, noteworthy artists and artisans, and tasty victuals,” she said of Saturday’s event, “while listening to Texas’ own Gary P. Nunn singing his classics. And all of this occurring at our beloved AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center.”

More than 30 craft breweries were intermingled with a similar number of Hill Country artists showing and selling their product. Food trucks offered sustenance to go with the beer being consumed at the AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center.

The $30 ($35 at the gate) admission earned each attendee a small plastic collector’s stein to use in approaching the dozens of tents where the craft breweries were set up. Brewery employees and BierFest volunteers poured halfglasses of whatever craft ales attendees asked for.

James Ratnayeke, of Real Ale Brewing Co, in Blanco, Texas, brought an upstart and a traditional brew for Real Ale fans.

“We bought our Crash Pad, which is one of our newer innovations. We always like to do something a little new and something a little tried and true,” Ratnayeke said. “Crash Pad just released about two months ago, a new double hazy IPA bursting with tropical fruit with an easy drinking finish.”

On the traditional side, Real Ale offered up its crowd favorite, Devil’s Backbone.

“It’s one of the oldest beers we make,” he said. “It’s always one of our best-sellers, something that’s generated its own growth the last couple of years.”

For Ratnayeke, being present at BierFest meant more than quenching thirsts.

“Being so close to Blanco, Boerne has always been one of our best markets,” he said. “So whenever there’s some kind of event like this, we always like to be out and present, showing some support.”

Artists set up shop between breweries, offering everything from acrylic to oil to art made from recycled magazines.

Jenna Graham, has lived in the Boerne-Fair Oaks Ranch area for about seven years.

“My favorite thing is the color. I love painting with bright colors,” Graham said. “Everything is textures. Art is to be experienced, not just seen, so I make sure all of my art is treated so you can actually feel it. Kids can play with them, and nothing will happen to them.”

While landscapes, still life and portraits seem to dominate the canopied art shops, Graham uses bursts of acrylic color on canvas.

“My whole thing is experiencing that textile art and experiencing the color and feeling happy with it,” she said.

“My images come from aura. I am a Reiki master so I do a lot of aura reading,” she said. “Reiki is really important so all the chakras have certain colors. If I’m feeling a certain color one day, then that’s the color I paint.”

One of the larger pieces up for purchase “probably took me about 50 hours to get done,” she said. “Every piece is different. Something intricate might take like 40 hours. Little pieces probably took me about 10 hours.

“I can do (several) sections a day, or sometimes I go spend a full day in my art studio and just go for it,” she added.

Horner had kind words for everyone who made the Sept. 23 event so successful.

“A heartfelt thanks and God bless to every one of our participants, attendees, volunteers for helping HCCArts celebrate the Arts in Texas Hill Country,” Horner added.