Which US beer festivals should I attend?

A true 'once in life time' beer festival is Just Brew It in Asheville, NC. It's all homebrew so it is beer you will never have again. Don't let the idea of homebrew scare you off, I have been going for the last six years and brewing for it the last four, and all the brewers know what they're doing. It's understandable that you probably wouldn't fly to the US for a homebrew festival but if by chance you're ever in the area when it's happening then Just Brew It is definitely worth the experience

 

If you get to California The Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico California is a Willy Wonka playhouse of Beer. Easily takes all day to see it all.

 

Shelton Brothers has a good festival as well. Looks like it just recently happened. They do a good mix of beer from all over the world as well as beers from the US. Plus, the festival is held in a different location every year. I hit it when it was held in St. Petersburg, FL a couple of years ago. Had a great time.

Here's a link to their site: https://www.sheltonbrothers.com/festival/

 

There was an 'interesting' BA thread discussion about this recent beer festival:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/shelton-brothers-the-festival-2019-buffalo-ny.609412/

Cheers!

 

That's a shame. After reading that thread it sounds like it was a shit show in Buffalo. When I went to it a few years ago in St. Petersburg it was run smoothly. Didn't encounter any of the problems that occurred in Buffalo. Actually, when it was in St.Pete we had plenty of room to navigate around. Can't remember a line being longer than a few minutes before being served too. Had plenty of space to hang around inside the venue to talk to my friends. They even had food trucks outside in a fenced off area where people hang out, so there was plenty of space.

 

I concur FOBAB, a festival I attend and volunteer, is awesome. There are over 200 brewers involved, featuring over 400 different offerings. Many different beer styles are represented, in addition to the mead, cider and perry offerings. Like the GABF and other top festivals, there are various events and special offerings held at many breweries, bars and beer stores throughout the city and surrounding suburbs by participating brewers leading up to the FOBAB weekend.

I definitely want to hit a GABF at some point, but I am glad to participate in FOBAB each year in my hometown. This is an important fund raiser for the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. The event is staffed mainly by volunteers, and the pours are donated by various brewers across the country. Proceeds help promote development and expansion of the craft beer industry in Illinois.

 

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your festival days are done: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/03/health/dads-trying-to-conceive-stop-drinking-wellness/index.html

If you've hit up the local scenes in the cities you've stated in may get old coming here just for a fest and then re-exploring those cities' beer scenes so Colorado may be a good choice. That being said, I can vouch for the following:

-FOBAB (tickets still available for festival coming up in a few weeks)- if you like barrel aged beers this is a great festival for sheer variety and quality . Atmosphere sucks as it is indoors and packed to the gills. Basically a load up on whatever you can in 3 hours before the next session comes in. And lots of good beer events pop up in Chicago around that time.

-Great Taste of the Midwest- This festival could be one of the coolest things out there. Unfortunately, getting tickets is dicey as you have to send in a self addressed envelope with a check postmarked on a specific date so this may be tough to get mailed in time. The fest has a great breadth of decent beer options, but is outdoors (if the weather sucks this must be a miserable fest) in a beautiful park along a lake with plenty of open air for strolling around grabbing samples. It almost like a beer fest in an enchanted forest and it is kid friendly (really kid friendly if your kid is 18 and you give them samples which is legal for a parent to do in Wisconsin). You could also do this after you have a kid. Throw the little one in the stroller, bring the wife and make her responsible

-Dark Lord Day- Lots of lines, outdoors, great beer, long hours, metal bands if you are into that. People speak of the epic bottle shares. It's basically in an industrial parking lot, but the beer and all day fest makes it worthwhile.

 

There are a lot of detractors to GABF but I've been 4 times now. There is a massive variety of beers, tons of brewers and brewery employees there, and a bunch of interesting diversions. Throughout beer week, there are tons of rare/limited "drops" of beer both to-go and on tap. Many of the local breweries do special events and special releases during beer week. There are also a bunch of "tap-takeovers" from distant breweries.

The biggest downside to GABF is the crowds. It's a big event. It gets pretty loud and crowded. But there's tons of fantastic beers worthy of seeking out. I think about 15,000 per session?
I recommend any of the sessions except Saturday night. I would plan on coming 1 hour early to wait in line - you'll be one of the first inside. They

Also, you should plan on bringing back a 12-shipper of beers if you come out for "beer week". Also from Denver you are only an hour away from being in the middle of some huge beautiful mountains, thousands of hikes, and a bunch of interesting stuff to see.

Shelton Fest was incredible and worthy of seeking out. Different feel, different vibe. I would highly recommend VIP if you go.

 

I'm not sure where you got that idea but that's definitely not the case. GABF has not sold out the last 2 years. You were able to buy Thursday night and Sunday night tickets at face value the day before the festival. Friday sold out a couple days after the tickets dropped. There were ample tickets available on the resale market at or below cost.

 

Good to know. I went back in 2013 and they were gone pretty fast when I tried to buy them that year. Sounds like I'll be able to go again in the coming years.

 

To clarify my statement- the scarcity of tickets is not currently a big problem as it was in the past- likely due to decreasing demand*. I also mistakenly said Sunday when I meant Saturday (corrected above)

*I think the decreasing demand is probably due to the wealth of other activities during beer week. I know at least 1/2 dozen people a year that fly into Denver and DON'T go to GABF

 

Oh lawwwwwd I just looked and it appears GABF 2020 is the week of my birthday, when I'll be in Denver anyway for a friend's wedding

This wedding just got 150% more anticipated

 

To play counterpoint, I'd say nothing is going to beat MBCC. Hands down the best fest I've done. Best fests in the US I've been to... Were the 2 MBCC events held in Boston... My suggestion would be Shelton The Festival.

 

What is that?

 

Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen.

 

Dark Lord Day has my vote!!

 

This years Saturday members session wasn't as crowded as the past two. The few lines I stood in took me about 2 minutes tops to get through. I didnt bother waiting in the two longest lines, weldwerks and liquid mechanics, mostly because modern times was right there with modem tones. Nobody I talk to ever feels like they miss out, and if you pick your top beers to try right away you won't miss them.

 

I ended up going through the WW line 3 times because you can only drink so fast when you have 4 hours to play. I have never been good about systematically working through my list. I end up walking several miles by the end of the fest- not that it's a bad thing.

Yes, we ended up getting there late and still the crowd was handled smoothly and effectively. When the event begins, just about everyone already has been scanned, ID'd, banded, and has a glass. Just walk 25-50 yards and you're in.