Bars react after Gate City Brewfest postponement

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Several Pocatello bars decided to hold a brewfest of their own after the annual event was postponed.

The postponement was announced Thursday, but many bars had been preparing for the event for months. Expecting Saturday to be buzzing, the postponement put some in an interesting position. 

"I had already purchased the beer,” Wanderlust owner Albert Moreno said.

Moreno and his wife Jennifer purchased eight kegs of "exclusive beer" for event VIPs. They say these beers had "never" been in Pocatello before.  

"Well, we gotta find a way to get this beer out to the public that wants to try it," Albert recalled of his thoughts after the postponement. "It was a big let down to the public," Jennifer added.  

Instead of giving up, they decided to host a brewfest of their own, Blackhawk BBQ food truck included. Now, they're making the beer available to all and even opening the bar on Sunday. 

Though the postponement was announced, Moreno said some showed up unaware.

"Yesterday, we had a couple come in who were from Boise who hadn’t heard that the brewfest was canceled. So, you know, they got their hotels, they were here all weekend and I mean luckily that we still have those beers that they can come in and try and not be completely disappointed in their trip."

Across town, at the First National Bar, Marcus Whisler made the trip up from Ogden, Utah knowing brewfest wasn’t on tap. 

"We said, ‘You know what? We got rooms. We got a couple friends up here. Let's get out of Utah, let's do it,'" he said.  

Brewfest is something of a tradition for Whisler, who has attended the event for the past five years. He said he still plans to crawl Saturday.

"We’re gonna live it up as we would if it were still happening," he said.  

The First National canceled its daytime entertainment, but owner Ross Gutterud believes people still want to have fun. 

"Of course we won’t have we would have for being as busy right now, but I still think people are going to be out and about," he said.  

Though the weekend may not be what many had spent months planning for, it's still expected to be a success.

A date for the rescheduled Gate City Brewfest has not been announced yet. 

In an effort to kill the kegs, Wanderlust will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Sons of Bannock will still play at the First National Bar on Saturday night.