Update

The Heritage Trust announced the festival has sold out.

It makes perfect sense that a brew fest is one of the biggest annual fundraisers for the York County Heritage Trust.

"There is a long history in this area of breweries," said Tim Fulton, a Heritage Trust board member. "There was a time where there were like four or five major breweries in town before Prohibition."

York County is rediscovering its brewing past, with two first-time breweries - Crystal Ball Brewing Co. (York) and Warehouse Gourmet (Hanover) - participating in Saturday's 15th annual Microbrew Fest.

In addition, the judges rated 74 entries for the home brew contest, Fulton said. Last year's event drew about 30 entries, he added. The Heritage Trust is sponsoring the show at the Agricultural & Industrial Museum, 217 W. Princess St., York.

"It has grown every year and this year there's going to be a thousand participants," he said. "This helps to support the Heritage Trust and its mission of promoting and preserving our history here in York County."

Shane Speal might not have a lot of time to taste test new beers. He'll be busy playing the blues as the headlining musical act.

"It's me with a whole bunch of handmade cigar box guitars," he said. "The music is a mixture of old blues, deep delta blues ... mixed with Led Zeppelin."

Speal has since recorded and released more than 10 cigar box guitar albums, including his latest, the eponymous "Shane Speal." On his website - shanespeal.com - he describes his music as "loud, gritty blues-rock style, performed live with the sole accompaniment of (Speal's) right foot stomping on an electrified floorboard."

With his unique guitar, Speal set out to strip away the modernization of the music until he found the origins of the Mississippi Delta blues. That meant tracing a musical path from Hendrix to Muddy Waters to Robert Johnson.

"For me it was always about trying to find the grittiest, oldest Delta Blues stuff," Speal said.

While that might not sound like commercially appealing music, Speal promised to mix it up. For example, he often drops a "Purple Rain" into his set, catching audiences unaware with the Prince pop song from 1984.

"My whole set has to be well-rounded," Speal said. "That's what I do. I'm a song-and-dance man more than anything else."

In addition to Speal, The Bottomfeeders will also perform. They will be joined by vocalist Elizabeth Zito.

Rabbit Transit will run free shuttle buses from all of the Heritage Trust's parking areas.

- John Hilton, Flipside staff

If you go

WHAT: 15th annual Microbrew Fest

WHEN: 4 to 6 p.m., premium session; 6 to 10 p.m. general admission, June 23

WHERE: Agricultural & Industrial Museum, 217 W. Princess St., York

COST: $55 member, $60 non-member, premium session; $35 and $40, general admission

DETAILS: Visit www.yorkheritage.org