The new King of the Brewfest : Neal Hickey brings fresh ideas to an Exeter staple event

EXETER - All rise. The new “King of the Brewfest” is making his grand entrance.

After a 27-year reign, Terry Miller is stepping aside, and his nephew Neal Hickey is taking over as the committee chair for the Exeter Lions Club Brewfest.

“Lions run in my family,” Hickey said. “My grandad was a Lion here, and my dad was a Lion for many years … I’ve always been part of the Brewfest. As the son of Peter and nephew Terry, who was the king, I always knew that if I ever had the chance to come back, this would be a part of my life, and I’m grateful that it is.”

Hickey moved back to Exeter in 2017 and became a member of the Exeter Lions Club. Now, he leads the club’s largest fundraiser.

The 28th annual Exeter Lions Club Brewfest will be from 2–6 p.m.

May 4 at the Exeter Veteran’s Memorial Building.

Hickey has taken over from his uncle and hit the ground running, making several additions and changes to the event. But one thing hasn’t changed—the $50 entry fee.

“We know how hard times are,” Hickey said. “Inflation is crazy, and we thought long and hard because our costs aren’t going down either, but we didn’t increase the price, and we’re going to continue it for as long as we can. I hope people can appreciate that.”

Hickey said a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to keep the price point at $50, and he is proud of that. He also puts in a lot of work in front of the scenes.

Hickey has taken to social media and contacted several media outlets around the Central Valley to promote the event. Some notable changes to the event include a new King Miller Cup, which will be presented to the top brewery as voted on by the attendees. Being able to purchase tickets online is also something new. For the first time, food vendors will attend to serve the expected 2,000 attendees. Hickey is also working with the city of Visalia to have two trolleys transport people to and from the event.

“Terry Miller started the Brewfest 28 years ago,” Hickey said. “They had four craft brewers, but his vision was to have a craft beer lover’s paradise. Year by year, we engage more and more of the local brewers here, which is what it’s all about. They need the spotlight because it’s a competitive landscape out there, but we have some amazing guys we like to bring in and give them some love.”

The Miller Cup is named after Terry Miller and is a 1:1 replica of the NHL Stanley Cup. Hickey said that each year, attendees will vote on the top brewery in attendance, and the name will be etched into the trophy. The winner will take the Cup home for the year and bring it back one year later.

“We have had a couple of cool updates since I started,” Hickey said. “The first is the King Miller Cup, named after Terry and his 27 years of leadership. He has raised over $1,000,000 for the community over the years. It’s a nod to him.”

Hickey was born in Visalia and raised in the area until he was elementary school age, he said. He then moved away with his mom and became a world traveler. He attended college at UC Davis, and his corporate job allowed him to travel the world. In 2017, Hickey moved back to Exeter.

“I had a corporate role before, and I just got super tired of it,” Hickey said. “It was super competitive, and I had enough, so I came back to this community.”

Living in Exeter with his wife and three children, Hickey is happy with his role with the Lions Club. He loves what the club represents and what it does for the community.

“The lions have two mottos,” Hickey said. “One is ‘yay God, boo devil.’ The other is ‘we serve.’ It’s as simple as that. They are, in my opinion, the baton holders for service in this community. We have a lot of great clubs, nothing against them, but when you think about what defines the fabric of Exeter, it was the Lions Club 4th of July celebration, the all-star baseball game for all of Tulare County. So, it’s really events like that that keeps the tradition going.”

The Exeter Brewfest has become one of those staple events in Exeter.

“It’s big,” Hickey said. “I see more people at the Brewfest than I see at Christmas and Thanksgiving combined. Everybody comes home for this event. It’s a tradition. It's the oldest brewfest in the Valley. There’s only one Brewfest older in the state - the Golden State Brewfest. It’s ironic that a tiny community like this would have that and it’s all from Terry’s leadership. Brewers tell us they do other brew fests and say this one is done the way it should be.”

What’s Next

The 28th annual Exeter Lions Club Brewfest will be from 2–6 p.m. on May 4 at the Exeter Veteran’s Memorial Building. Tickets for the event are $50 and can be purchased online. The link can be found on Instagram @exeterlionsbrewfest. Tickets can also be purchased from members of the Exeter Lions Club, at several local businesses around Exeter, Brewbakers, and Kaweah Brewing in Visalia.

This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: The new King of the Brewfest : Neal Hickey brings fresh ideas to an Exeter staple event