Ken Grossman is working the taps. Clad in a trucker cap, blue jeans and Keen sandals, the 60-year-old is doling out samples of Hoptimum and Harvest Single Hop, two imperial pale ales made by his Sierra Nevada brewery. For many of 3,300 people who’ve paid $65 to attend the Portland, Maine, beer tasting with 117 breweries, Grossman’s the star attraction.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” says a brewer from Newington, New Hampshire, reaching the front of the line.