Sean Stevens, an owner of White Squirrel Brewery, was so impressed with the Bowling Green Bourbon and Brewfest last year that he knew he had to participate again.

“We did not send enough beer,” he said. “It went quickly.”

The 2016 Bourbon and Brewfest will be from 1 to 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at Bowling Green Ballpark on Eighth Avenue. Admission is $35 for general admission and $70 for VIP tickets in advance and $40 general admission and $75 at the door. To purchase advance tickets, visit bgbrewfest.com.

The event will feature 25 breweries, 15 distilleries, 40 bourbons and about eight food trucks, according to Joel Nivens, a Bourbon and Brewfest partner.

Guests will get 20 tokens, and each drink will cost a certain number of tokens.

“Bowling Green doesn’t allow for unlimited tasting events, so you get tokens for drinks,” he said.

A portion of proceeds go to the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society and an organization that hopes to achieve nonprofit status to build a downtown bark park.

The Bourbon and Brewfest partners have businesses downtown on the square, Nivens said.

“We really tried to bring a different kind of event to Bowling Green. We wanted to give a different atmosphere,” he said. “They have them all over Louisville and Nashville. We wanted to give that back to the community.”

Planning the event meant reaching out to breweries that distribute beer throughout Kentucky, Nivens said.

“We were trying to get them to come out to talk about the quality and taste. A lot of people want to talk to the brewers,” he said. “We won’t have much beer outside the people who are here. We have a few national brands. Some are local. We have some from Evansville, Lexington and quite a few from Louisville.”

Organizers weren’t discriminating when it came to choosing breweries and distilleries for Bourbon and Brewfest, Nivens said.

“It was free for them to come to the event. We wanted to give the people an option,” he said. “They’ll have three to four different beers on tap. If you look at it that way we’ll have over 100 beers on tap that day alone.”

Organizers learned to do things differently after last year’s experience, Nivens said.

“We didn’t really reach out to distilleries and breweries (last year). We didn’t have time to reach out,” he said. “We started it really late. We served out of four tents. We had to grow up real fast and see what we missed out last year and learn from it.”

White Squirrel is bringing its Nut Brown and Kolsch beers and maybe a specialty beer, Stevens said.

“We’re so small right now. We mainly distribute our Kolsch and Nut Brown,” he said. “It’s size and growing pains things, which are good things.”

Supporting events such as the Bourbon and Brewfest is important to Stevens.

“We want to give as much support to local businesses as we can,” he said. “It’s gonna be a good time.”

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.