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Beer theme park in Napa County sparks fears, but may just be stunt

By Esther Lo
Published  July 7, 2022 1:05pm PDT
Food and Drink
KTVU FOX 2

Is a beer-themed water park coming to Napa?

There is a website promoting a beer-themed water park coming to Napa County but county officials said it must be a publicity stunt.

NAPA, Calif. - A 136-acre beer-powered theme park is coming to California wine country if a popular brewery is to be believed. 

Napa County officials, however, believe the claims that a rollercoaster made of beer barrels, a wave pool filled with 130,000 gallons of an IPA and a concert stage are nothing but an elaborate publicity stunt.

Still, the possibility of a Voodoo Ranger IPA amusement park rising up in Napa County was met with immediate opposition by some Napa activists who staged a protest. 

County officials are trying to soothe the rankled residents, telling the San Francisco Chronicle there is no record of brewery New Belgium applying to launch such an expansive project. 

The Colorado-based company does not hold a liquor license in Napa County either.

The county planning commissioner, David Morrison, told the Chronicle that chances of its approval would be slim. 

"The proposal would not be consistent with the General Plan (and) would require a public vote under Measure P," Morrison told the Chronicle. "And there has been no identified source for where the water would be coming from for an amusement park in the midst of a very serious drought."

Yet, the company insists on social media that the hoopla is for real.

The suggestion that this may all be a bad joke did not deter Napa County residents from protesting against the idea of building the park. 

"Not in Napa", a community advocacy group created against the proposal for the action park, went to protest at the local farmer's market last weekend, according to their Facebook page. 

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Protesters worried that the expected 30,000 monthly visitors would worsen traffic and bring up "environmental impact concerns, and general public safety issues", the advocacy group wrote on their website. 

Voodoo Ranger seemed to be unfazed by the resident's opposition. "The buzzkills of Whine Country want to stop our IPA Action Park.", the brand tweeted. "Help us make it happen. Like and share to save the park."