Courtesy of Fizz Fight
Audio By Carbonatix
Remember way back in 2019, when we all spent the summer drinking White Claw and not talking about a global pandemic? That was also when Samantha Sandt launched the world’s first hard seltzer festival.
“Seltzer brands from all over the country flew to Denver to see who had the best bubbles,” she recalls. “High Noon showed up with their soon-to-be-released Sun Sips and took home two championship belts. We had lightning in a bottle, which a big NYC firm quickly pounced on, buried us in ad dollars, and popped up in over 25 cities seemingly overnight with Seltzerland. We were crushed, but I always knew we named it Fizz Fight so it could one day live again, representing something fizzier.”
Last September, Sandt started working with Gum Pop Presents, which is behind events like TheBigWonderful and Denver BAZAAR. Now it’s resurrecting Fizz Fight – though the beverage market has changed a lot in the last five years. The new Fizz Fight, which is set to take place near Sloan’s Lake on August 10 from 4 to 7 p.m. (or 3 p.m. for VIP early entry), will include a wide variety of bubble beverages, from hard seltzers and beer to non-alcoholic canned cocktails and kombucha.
All kinds of bubbles will be sampled at Fizz Fight 2024.
Courtesy of Fizz Fight
“I have friends who enjoy drinks across the entire spectrum, but there was never an event that catered to all of us,” Sandt notes. “Fizz Fight is set to fill that gap. … We even got High Noon to return and defend their title.”
“Since our victory in 2019, High Noon has become the number-one-selling spirit brand by volume. We are back to defend our title this year with new, exciting innovations,” says Rosalind Zhu, business development manager for High Noon Sun Sips and EJ Gallo.
The return of Fizz Fight comes on the heels of the end of Seltzerland, which announced that it would not be returning in 2024. “Seltzerland’s shutdown is a welcome surprise, but not the reason for Fizz Fight’s return,” Sandt says. “We believe the best events are homegrown, and created for Denver by Denver. We’re excited to bring back Fizz Fight to celebrate our city’s love for all things bubbly. Seltzerland’s absence is just icing on the cake.”
Up to 100 different brands are expected to be on hand for the event, and attendees will vote for their favorites in various categories – though only one will take home the Best in Bubbles championship belt. The event will also include street food and food trucks, games, photo booths and more.
The latest addition to the event is a burping contest that will take place at the DJ booth at 6 p.m. Topo Chico will provide the bubbles, and the showdown will be emceed by former Denver Post pot critic and host of Comics Against Civility Jake Browne. “Anyone is invited to compete,” Sandt notes. “Ideally, we’ll find a couple of parents who brought their kiddos to Fizz Fight who also think burping is hilarious to be our official panel of Burping Judges. À la Kids Say the Darndest Things...with burping. We just added a $20 non-alcoholic-only ticket so parents and sober-curious alike can enjoy over a dozen options at a reasonable price.”
Tickets to sample all the beverages at the event start at $43.19 for general admission and are available via Eventbrite.
