World Beer Fest - Durham NC 10/06/12

IMHO, it has really fallen off in recent years. Fewer and fewer breweries are bringing anything other than shelf beers. The few that do get so much attention, you're fighting in line with a hundred drunken frat boys for a 2 oz pour you can barely enjoy. I miss the days Kuehhnenn (sp?) would show up with several fantastic brews (creme brulee stout, blueberry pancake ale).

That said, if you're planning to go, I did think that the VIP tickets were worth the extra. There were out-of-market beers in the area, plenty of them and never more than 2-3 people in front of you. The food quality varied from mediocre to above average, but again it beat standing in line at the vendors. Finally, the real bathrooms were worth quite a bit to me and the missus. Sure beats the awful stench of a well-(ab)used porta-potty on a 80 degree afternoon.

 

Asheville is a great stop and I've heard good things coming out of Charlotte, but have not been there in ages and never been for the beer scene. Search these forums for lots of great info on both areas.

 

You mean like last year? Where they brought the Creme Brulee alongside DRIPA and about 5-6 others? Yeah, I miss the good old days of almost 1 year ago, too.

To OP, there are a lot of shelf beers there but also a lot of non-shelf beers. Besides the Kuhnhenn stuff, there are other out of market beers like New Glarus (none of the fruit beers made it last year but a couple others did) or Great Lakes before they hit the market, and more limited ones like BA Siberian Night, but you have to plan out where to go ahead of time.

 

I'll admit that I didn't go to either of the last two (Raleigh 2012 or Durham 2011), but I went on VIP tickets to the two before that and have been to around a dozen in all, including one of the first two years (1996 or 1997, can't remember which, but remember being married and living in Cary at the time) and the first three in Raleigh (07-09?). Glad to hear some of these breweries are showing up or coming back. The last one I went to in Raleigh, the best stuff was some special casks/kegs that Foothills and Duck-Rabbit broke out. I don't need to go to a beer fest for that.

Durham in 2010 is becoming a hazy memory ... I recall going to a seminar on sours, but there weren't any mind-blowing beers in that. I think I recall Natty Greene's had a Flanders-style sour red that was solid, but not much from out of market that blew me away. Before that, the best ones I can remember were 2006-2008 time frame when Kuehnenn seemed to show up every time with outstanding beers. Then there was the year Jolly Pumpkin was just starting out and Ron Jeffries showed up with some funky stuff. Too bad I didn't like sour beers back then!

Maybe my perspective is skewed by the price increases around that time. I recall the tickets went from $30 - $45 in pretty short order (compared to the $18 ticket for my first WBF in the 90s). Each time I've bought the VIP ticket, I thought the upcharge was worth it, but I didn't feel like the quality was there to justify the base price of GA tickets. I'd rather drop that kind of coin on good shelf beers, get together with a handful of other people doing the same and have our own beer fest.

 

Last year Thirsty Dog had a sixtel of BA Siberian Night for the day session. No one knew it was coming, and I (the guy that works the table for Bull City Homebrew) had a few pours of it. Also, last year in the VIP section there was New Glarus Black Top.

 

anyone come visit me at the Bull City Homebrew stand. Just mention my SN, I should be wearing a michigan hat.

 

I'll stop by and combat your evil in an Ohio St. hat. Not sure which session yet though, probably afternoon.

 

please do. Id love to walk around and drink with you.