Pour the Core: A Hard Cider Festival will be held in Brooklyn on Saturday, June 13

As the weather heats up, you may be looking to keep cool by whetting your whistles with some deliciously refreshing alcoholic libations. Well, look no further than Pour the Core: A Hard Cider Festival.

The 21-and-over event, taking place this Saturday, will celebrate its first NYC appearance at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint. Attendees will gather to discuss, learn about and, most importantly, taste ciders from around the world.

The festival marks a pivotal shift in NYC culture, as cider has become a bar scene phenomenon in recent years. "We had primarily been doing beer festivals," explains Kristyn Dolan, marketing manager for Starfish Junction Productions, the event production company responsible for the festival. "But we decided to look into hard cider because a lot of people were asking about having cider at these festivals."

Ask and ye shall receive, because with 30 different brewers, and each one bringing two or more styles, guests will be able to taste an overwhelming 75 ciders throughout the day. Guests also will be treated to live music, interactive lectures (including a "how to brew your own cider" course presented by Mary Izett, author of "Speed Brewing") and an array of food truck options selected to go with the cider theme.

Pour the Core previously made stops in Philadelphia and Long Island, and is expected to do well with the Brooklyn audience.

"Cider is good for those who are observing the gluten-free lifestyle," says Dolan, regarding the fad thatas been taking over the borough. "But also, it's for men; it's for women; there's dry, there's sweet; there's all different types of cider out there, not just your commercial ones."

Dolanas team hopes the festival will help to educate people on the fact that cider is a broad term, like soda or beer, and that there are flavors that can be enjoyed by everyone.

"What we think weare doing by organizing Pour the Core is helping the consumer understand cider a little bit more so itas not just that 'girlie' beverage you drink in college," she says.

Pour the Core: A Hard Cider Festival is Saturday from 1:30 to 6 p.m. at the Brooklyn Expo Center, 72 Noble St., Greenpoint. VIP from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., $50. General admission from 2:30 to 6 p.m. is $40.