COLUMBIA - As the Missouri Tigers enter their third season in the Southeastern Conference, the South East Craft Beer Fest came to Columbia for the first time Saturday.

Columbia has 5 craft breweries, more than 130 bars and 300 restaurants. The festival Saturday aimed to expand those numbers.

Owner of Annabelle Events, Anne Hanks, explained why expanding along with the new conference is so important. "I'd say personally, since we've joined the SEC, you've seen a big change. The city is beautifying, there's new trends coming in, football's changing, beer's changing!"

The festival's website said the goal of the event is "to further the reach and enjoyment of craft beers, we are bringing together breweries from all over the southeast region that are currently not available in Missouri."

"Craft beer is huge in the SEC and it's huge in the southeast, and we have great breweries here so it's a great match for us," said Hanks.

People gathered for the event at Columbia's Logboat Brewing Company near the intersection of Paris Avenue and College Boulevard to enjoy 44 new beers from 11 different breweries, including some of Logboat's own.

In addition to the beer, local food trucks came and sold food at the event.