A Beer-Focused Theme Park Is In The Works?
A beer theme park may be coming to Napa Valley, California, however, not everyone in the area is happy about it.
This article is more than 2 years old
A 136-acre beer theme park might be coming to California wine country, courtesy of the New Belgium Brewing Company. But Napa County officials believe the claims might be nothing more than an elaborate publicity stunt. The attraction is said to feature a rollercoaster made of beer barrels, a wave pool filled with 130,000 gallons of an IPA, and a concert stage with a massive sound system. While most people can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea, the Colorado-based brewery is still leaning into the idea pretty hard.
If only to push a few buttons in the Northern California community, the company behind the Voodoo Ranger IPA Action Park posted about the beer theme park on its website. “136 Acres of beer-powered fun!” the colorful promotional feature screamed. “Along with a beer-powered flume ride, a wave pool filled with 130,000 gallons of IPA, and a concert stage with a 25,000 watt sound system,” the advertisement continued. The convincing post promised that the attraction would be coming to Napa soon, but all traces have since been removed from the site.
Interestingly, the San Francisco Chronicle says New Belgium hasn’t filed any permits or done anything even remotely official with regards to the beer theme park. “We believe it’s a publicity stunt,” Napa County’s Planning Commissioner David Morrison told the publication in an email. “There has been no application filed with the County.” However, the lack of anything more concrete than a now-deleted website post and a few cartoons depicting the park’s layout hasn’t stopped local residents from opposing the idea.
Last weekend, protesters from a group called “Not in Napa” held signs emblazoned with the words “Stop the Beer Theme Park” and chanted “Voo-don’t” as they marched through downtown, Food & Wine reports. County officials are still trying to soothe the rankled residents, assuring them that the Colorado-based company does not hold a liquor license in Napa County. As such, Morrison added that the proposal would not be “consistent with the General Plan” and would require a public vote “under Measure P.”
There has also been no identified source for where the water would be coming from for an amusement park during a very serious drought. However, New Belgium has held focus group meetings in Napa to discuss their beer theme park plans. “That was so weird’” one attendee wrote on Reddit. “I feel like they wanted the content of people taking the zany proposal seriously. “Another focus group attendee said that they were waiting for the next phase of what they believed to be nothing but a well-orchestrated marketing campaign.
Yet, the company insists that the proposed beer theme park is very real. Video footage of protestors objecting to the idea was shared on Voodoo Park’s Twitter account. “The buzz kills of Whine Country want to stop our IPA Action Park,” the company wrote alongside the clip. “Help us make it happen. Like and share to save the park.”
Meanwhile, protesters are worried that the expected 30,000 monthly visitors to the beer theme park would worsen traffic. They are also concerned about the environmental impact on the area and issues surrounding general public safety.
