Josh Yost moved to the Butler area from Pittsburgh a few years ago, and as a beer connoisseur is delighted by breweries which have popped up in the city in the past few years.

Naturally, he was present at the 2017 Downtown Butler Beerfest, which was held Saturday on the top level of the Centre City Parking Garage.

“I'm impressed by the scale,” Yost said. “I expected this to be tiny. More people showed up than I thought.”

One hundred people bought tickets to the VIP event, which started at 3 p.m., and 325 more paid for general admission at 4 p.m.

Ben Smith, co-owner of Reclamation Brewing Co. and Butler mayoral candidate, said he expects the event to bring in between $17,000 and $18,000.

Reclamation Brewing Co. held the event, which included 23 breweries, wineries and distilleries that made a share of Saturday's profits.

“We just wanted to do something in Butler,” Smith said. “There hasn't been one in Butler County in at least four years, and we thought it would be a good opportunity to set up something downtown in the new garage.”

Butler Brew Works also was on tap at the Beerfest.

“This is the kind of stuff that we want to see downtown, so obviously we want to participate in it,” said Travis Tuttle, co-owner of Butler Brew Works.

Dave Bestwick, co-owner of Recon Brewing in Center Township also was glad to see a brew fest in downtown Butler.

“We're always excited to support the local community and local business, and we were excited for the opportunity to bring people in downtown Butler,” he said.

Yost's wife Stacey said it was “awesome” that the event was held on a rooftop.

“I like it,” she said. “The breeze feels good, too.”

Narcisi Winery, of Gibsonia, Allegheny County, offered an alternative to beer.

“It's a great way to showcase our wine, and because there's a lot of companies here that aren't breweries it's a good break from all the beer we're drinking,” said Jake Narcisi of Narcisi Winery.

Matt Walsh of Center Township is a lover of brew fests and was glad to be out in the sunshine.

“(I came to) support the local guys and get outside on a perfect day like this,” he said.