As many as 22 craft brewers could line the golf course trail for Brewski this Saturday; it’s been dubbed “The Big LaBrewski”

Scene from the 2024 Brewski

by Dan McClelland

As many as 22 craft brewers from all over the region will be in Tupper Lake Saturday for the Town of Tupper Lake Recreation Department’s 2025 Brewski.

Celebrating the event’s ten-year history, organizers are calling this one “The Big LaBrewski,” a take off of Jeff Bridges’ cult movie by the Coen Brothers, “The Big Lebowski.” Some may show up in bath robes and PJ pants, as result.

If past crowds are any indication, as many as 3,000 people could be in town for the biggest event of winter here and to enjoy the recreation, the camaraderie and some of the best craft beer in the region.

Recreation Department Director Laura LaBarge noted Monday that while this year’s beer vendor number is the highest yet, typically a couple of vendors drop out at the last minutes.

Recent Brewskis have featured as many as 18 or 19 craft brewers.

Laura’s dad, Bill Cote, has put in a lot of time and work this year recruiting new beer vendors.

Laura explained that her dad had to reach out to brewers farther away from Tupper Lake this year to get them to come because somehow this year the Tupper Lake event conflicts with a similar one in Saratoga Springs. As a result many of the Albany region brewers who often come here, have committed to go there instead.

Saratoga has been doing their brewfest for 15 years and it’s never happened on the same weekend as ours, she noted.

Some of the brewers Mr. Cote has booked are coming from greater distances than any have before.

For Mrs. LaBarge this is her third year directing the event- in the wake of two very successful ones since the town assumed the now defunct chamber’s events.

-And she’s excited this year with the abundance of snow. “Since I was a kid, I don’t remember this much snow!”

“Our groomers have been grooming the trails every single day, and especially after each of the heavy snowfalls in past weeks.”

The town recreation department set a higher maximum for drinker tickets this year at 1,350- an increase over recent years. Along with those craft beer fans are expected to be as many as 1,500 more non-drinkers and children- for a robust crowd indeed.

“I know that most of the motels and hotels and short-term rentals in the tri-lakes villages are booked right now,” she said of the visitor numbers expected this weekend.

“Some of our brewers who signed up late have had difficulty finding accommodations,” she noted.

“We’ve even had recreational vehicle owners call our office looking for places to situate them.”

For visitors looking for more to do than ski, snowshoe and drink tasty craft beer, the Tupper Lake Lions Club will again host its annual Fire and Ice Snow Golf Tournament, which challenges golfers and non-golfers to an abbreviate round. This year there will be plenty of snow to swing through, adding to the always fun event. Registration for the event will be in the heated pro shop building.

The local service club will have its cook shack on the scene as usual, selling its well-loved hot dogs and hamburgers, smother in those special Lions onions.

The Lions will also be staging their big 50-50 raffle, with tickets for sale at the pro shop and from the cook shack.

Prospective ticket-buyers should know that winners at recent Brewskis have won well over $2,000 in the Lions fundraising event. All proceeds go to support Lions community projects.

The lucky ticket will be drawn at the conclusion of the Brewski and Fire and Ice at Lakeview Lanes.

Parking this year will again be on one side of the Country Club Road, as it has been done relatively trouble-free in the past. Vehicles will park facing down the road towards the lake. The Tupper Lake Sportsmen’s Club has again loaned the town their many parking signs they use each year as the Northern Challenge, to keep vehicles on only one side of Lake Simond Road.

Mac’s Safe Ride will be on the scene that afternoon, and we’re encouraging people to use that service to reduce vehicles at the golf course and for folks to get home without incident, Mrs. LaBarge stated.

For those who wish to keep celebrating Saturday, Raquette River Brewing is again hosting this year’s Brewski After Party, she noted.

Laura and her team will be there selling tickets on the town’s 50-50 Brewski raffle.

The Brewski has developed a huge fan base from all over the country and Canada. “We have people coming each year from California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Oregon and all up and down the east coast. People come here from hundreds and hundreds of miles away just for our Brewski. We have many of the same people coming back year after year...it’s crazy, but great!”

It’s not uncommon for people five states away to jump in their cars at 7p.m. on Friday and drive all through the night to get here for our noon start.”

The event opens at noon and concludes at 4p.m.