Craft Beer and Home Brewing

Join

Beer Festivals

2»

Replies

  • danibu98
    danibu98 Posts: 281 Member
    I work as a craft beer rep so I definitely go to a lot of festivals! I am always working at them though!
  • esjaygee
    esjaygee Posts: 148 Member
    If anyone is going to be in Michigan for the Winter Beer Festival 2/23/2013 stop by Odd Side Ale's table and say hi! The Summer one is two days and a lot of fun too! Here's the link to the Michigan Brewers Guild: http://www.michiganbrewersguild.org/events.html

    I really wanted to go the Winter Beer Fest, perhaps I'll make it next year. I head to Grand Rapids several times a year for beer and will be there in three weeks to check out a few new brewpubs and visit my favorites. I've been to Odd Side several times, I love the creativity they have in their beers and wish something like that would open up around the Milwaukee area where I live.

    I've been to the Great Taste of the Midwest three times and plan to go again this year. It's an amazing beer fest where the breweries pull out all the stops. I print out the program when it's available and go through it making my plan for the day though after about one hour those plans are distant memories. Perhaps this year I'll finally try Dark Lord!

    I've been to The Great Lakes Brewfest in Racine a few times and several other smaller ones. I want to finally make it to the Wisconsin Micro-Brewers Beer Fest this May in Chilton, WI.
  • littlewhittles
    littlewhittles Posts: 402 Member
    Before our local Brewfest, a nice butcher shop and deli in town puts on a smaller fest with the same local Colorado brewers. They bring their fancier stuff though, and it's less of a drunken frat party and more of a tasting. It's pricey, but I think it's worth it.
  • frood
    frood Posts: 295 Member
    I've been to ACBF in Boston twice, and to the Belgian Beer Fest once. I went to Snallygaster in DC last year - I'll definitely go again if it goes annual.

    And GABF is on my radar. :)
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I've been to a few local festivals, but I would shoot my cat to go to:
    https://www.facebook.com/events/104123279762686/?ref=3
    Look at that list of brews.. just.. just look at it.
  • Rivmage
    Rivmage Posts: 48 Member
    I'm going to try to make it to the GABF this year.

    Scott
  • juditanne
    juditanne Posts: 59 Member
    anyone going to Dark Lord Day on 4/27? we were able to get tickets for group C.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    anyone going to Dark Lord Day on 4/27? we were able to get tickets for group C.

    My BF and I are. Group D. Lucky to even get those tickets. It's my 1st time, his 3rd. Looking forward to it!
  • juditanne
    juditanne Posts: 59 Member
    you will have a blast. promise. :)

    4th year for me. always a good time.
  • esjaygee
    esjaygee Posts: 148 Member
    I got up at 5am yesterday and drove to Madison to get in line for Great Taste of the Midwest tickets. The tickets went on sale at noon and I was in line by 7:30 and was about 1/2 hour too late to get tickets. Damn, I've gone three of the last four years and was hoping to go again this year. I'm mailing in for the ticket lottery but I only have about a 25% chance that way.

    At least I made the best of yesterday after not getting tickets. I visited four brew pubs and three bars as the wife and I traded off where we drank. I finished the night off with a Peanut Butter Porter, French Onion Ale and a Jalepeno ale, all rather interesting.
  • BigDog
    BigDog Posts: 272 Member
    That really sucks esjaygee!

    I know the feeling. I have been just a little too late on a few occasions buying tickets to various events. I guess it's a good thing that these things are so popular, (bodes well for the industry) but it's too bad they can't accommodate all who wish to attend.

    Good luck on the lottery!
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    I'm starting to see what you meant in your first post, BigDog - there are festivals EVERYWHERE these days...

    I bought a ticket to a PA Microbrewery Festival right here in Pittsburgh - they've got I believe 25 PA-only breweries signed up. Then literally 2 days later I learn about a festival in Millvale PA (NE corner of Pittsburgh) that has over 100 breweries signed up... I'm about to buy tickets for it, when "Beer on the Bay" festival in Erie is announced... Holy crap!

    I really wanted to go up to Boston for the American Craft Beer Festival, but just can't justify a 10+ hour drive AND a hotel stay (which I KNOW would be necessary!) given my current economic status. I'm going to try for next year though.
  • artratt
    artratt Posts: 7 Member
    Up here the trick to getting into all the local beer festivals is having a TAPs card... then you pour for a bit, then get to take part for the rest of the day. The GAB&BF (Great Alaskan Beer and Barley-wine Festival) gives you free tickets to one session for every two you volunteer for.

    Unfortunately, going to festivals in the lower 48 gets harder, you have to have a better reason to fly outside, even to Seattle, than just being a Beer-Nerd. Fortunately I have family in Colorado... a few of our visits have been suspiciously close to GABF.
  • dcr5452WECHANGED
    dcr5452WECHANGED Posts: 121 Member
    I used to go to all the Beer Advocate beer festivals here in Boston. However, after several years of attending all of them, I have kind of grown uniniterested. They were always fun but I just cant drink high octane beers for 4 hours straight anymore. We have a big one coming up in June-- the ACBF but it is unlikely I will attend unless someone offers me free tickets.
  • EponaBlue
    EponaBlue Posts: 96 Member
    I went to my first one back in February, the Arizona Strong Beer Festival. It was freaking amazing. Just wish I had the fortitude to taste all of the options available!

Categories