Where should BeerAdvocate host a fest?

I will also second Nashville...they have a very cool downtown and some decent breweries also...and it is only 3 1/2 hours south of me! and just for the record KC in MO is a very cool town!

 

Some quick thoughts:

I eliminated any East Coast choices simply because the event has already been on the East Coast.

Immediately thought of San Diego. Every day in SD is practically a beer fest already. It's as far away from Boston as you can get, and it's very beer-friendly. But- it's expensive and doesn't really need any more fests/conventions/etc.

I thought about Chicago or MSP- both are centrally located, easy to get to, and easy to get around (although Chicago traffic ain't no picnic).

How about Milwaukee? It's a beautiful city in the summertime, close enough to all the MW breweries, and it embraces tourism.

 

"Homicide Hunter (also known as Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda) is an American documentary television series on Investigation Discovery which debuted on October 25, 2011. The series has been renewed for a fourth season that will include 13 episodes and is set to air in August.

"The series showcases retired Colorado Springs police detective Lt. Joseph Kenda. In each episode, he recounts a murder investigation on which he worked, going from the 911 call to the final resolution of the case. Through re-enactments of the cases, discussions with investigation teams, and interviews with victims' families, the show highlights Kenda's successes with his 400 homicide case history and 92 percent solution rate."

Colorado Springs population: 431,834.
Denver population: 634,265
Chicago Population: 2.72 million.

Between Colorado Springs and Denver, I think you have Chicago covered. 'Course, you do have Kenda.

 

When will this event take place. If winter then, not speaking for everyone, but this southern guy won't be in Chicago or anywhere up north rather for any such event. South or west I will go. Even NW in the winter I can hang.

 

Every point you make is valid. But if it's anytime near winter I'd pick Las Vegas for the same reasons PLUS Vegas doesn't have a huge craft beer scene so a festival there would certainly create a good bump for craft beer that just by Vegas's personality might spread far further than any other city out there. It is an international playground.

 

Yup, I'll go to Vegas for sure.

 

Richmond, VA. RVA is the home of the nation's #1 brew bar, is the home of several brewery's, has a fairly new convention center that can accommodate thousands of people, or the festival could be held on Brown's Island (located on the riverfront), and Richmond was just rated one of the top 7 beer destinations by the Travel Channel.

 

Ok... my first choice is Raleigh... So, I will go with my second choice... Durham

Edited: but seriously Charleston.

 

1) San Diego 2) LA 3) San Francisco 4) Denver

 

I think this thread could have been titled "What major city do you live nearest to?"

 

Denver,absolute great beer scene,day and night.Cheers

 

I would imagine it'd be wise to have a fest in an area that already has a lot of craft fans around. I know many people here think they have a large craft beer fan base in their area (likely because you and your friends like craft beer) but the reality is that you're probably not as big as you think. Walk into a random bar/restaurant in your town. If you're best bets for beer are Blue Moon and Shocktop, then you're location, in my opinion, doesn't have the craft interest to support a BA fest. When you hit a random bar or restaurant in Boston, while they are not all craft beer mecas, they mostly have some solid options available. In random bars/restaurants in Philly and San Francisco (from my experience) or Portland, OR and San Diego (from what I've been told), have even more impressive choices.

Bottom line, if there's going to be a huge fest they need attendees. While some will fly-in and make a vacation out of it, the majority of attendees have to be from the area. Relying on people flying-in seems like a huge leap of faith. Go where there's already a beer culture (again, San Fran, Philly, San Diego, Portland, OR are all spots with a built in love for craft).

All of this is just my two cents on the issue of course.

 

Philadelphia. Population not to crazy. Lots of hotels of all price ranges. Pretty open minded city for Craft Beer. Great food and pretty good bars. A city that is a city, but not too large to be exhuasting to go to and our sports teams aren't doing so great right now, so what else is there to do besides craft beer day drinking?


Not being too bias: lived in Montreal, NYC, Toronto, etc. etc.

 

For people who are legitimately scared of being murdered in a city like Chicago, its actually quite easy to stay alive. What you need to do is avoid the areas that you probably had absolutely no intentions of going to in the first place. Should be a non-issue for most BAs, unless someone had intentions of trying to score some dope or illegal guns or something?

 

Or, "What Major City Gives You the Willies?"

 

Yakima, WA, at the Bale Breaker Brewery. It's right in the middle of a hop field, ffs!

 

Richmond, VA!

 

It's prob ablready been mentioned...but something on the beach in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale would be AWESOME!

 

Ah, I was sure you were going to go with Chapel Hill.