What's your general take on beer festivals?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by bubseymour, Jun 9, 2016.

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  1. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,656) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
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    I generally hate crowds and loudness but the small festival out on a local farm I've been to a few times is perfect. Just enough brewers that bring new beers to sample, get to talk with lots of reps. in a sane setting. Bands play and its very crowded around that area, but I've always set up lawn chairs with friends in a remote nuk and we basically have our own little quiet party. 50yds from porta-johns and 50yds from the beer tents. Missed it this year however.

    Next weekend, Americana festival in Leesburg VA sounds pretty awesome. Lots of great brewers going to be there. $45 a ticket, all you can drink, and one of my favorite new bands (i.e. last 10 years or so) Trampled by Turtles goes on at 8pm. If they played at a concert pavilion, it would be at least that cost + $10 per warm Bud Light, so this would be a financial no brainer for someone who likes that band and also likes better beer.
     
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  2. Zaxilla2

    Zaxilla2 Initiate (0) Jul 30, 2014 Illinois

    When I first came onto the scene, about 15 years ago, they were free or relatively cheap and a nice treat. These days, especially living in the Chicago Suburbs, they are a dime a dozen and upwards of $45-65 for a General Admission ticket.

    My wife and I used to go to the 'for the love of hops' festival at Two Brothers, but now it's just a huge summer concert.
    Granted, it's still cheaper than most and is for charity, it's just a little too big now and not focused on beer.

    Also, after going to the first few Naperville Ale Fests, all great by the way, they begin to start to all feel the same.

    Nowadays I'm more apt to go to a more unique offering or bottle release. Something a little more under the radar, doesn't cost nearly as much as the 3-4 beer/ale festivals you see every weekend, and way more fun.
     
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  3. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    Never been to one and probably never will. Many reasons, one of which is Domingo's post above - overselling. And I do not embrace pay one price events since I never know if I will be able to get my moneys' worth. I don't like waiting on line for any amount of time, especially for a 2-3 oz pour. I dislike crowds, especially when drinking, which is why my preferred bar time is anytime when it's not crowded. I guess I'm part hermit, part Scrooge. And oh yeah, with more and more festivals being held every year, it's impossible to ascertain which ones will be good and which ones will be bad, notwithstanding people's opinions about them or their previous incarnations.
     
  4. DrMindbender

    DrMindbender Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2014 South Carolina

    I'm a fan of pay-by-the-sample beer festivals, but most festivals in my neck of the woods are a flat rate...and they have been getting more and more expensive over the years! Shelling out $80+ bucks for 4 hours of samples is absurd when I can brew 20 gallons of great beer for that same price and drink for a couple of months! Being a homebrewer makes it really hard to spend too much on beer out at a bar, brewery or festival though, because I've always got around 6 beers on tap and I can't help thinking how much better they are compared to some of the available beers in my area.

    I have been to 4 festivals in the past year, and I guess thats my average yearly haul. The Tamassee Craft Beer Festival in upstate SC is only a few miles down the road from me and sells tickets for $20 if you enter the homebrew comp...so that has become a regular for me because its cost effective and features some of the best up and coming breweries in the upstate of SC and nearby area. Burial Brewery in Asheville has a great beer fest around harvest time, Burn Pile Harvest Festival, that is a pay per sample festival that I like to hit as well. Almost all other local SC and western NC festivals are at least $60, and some as much as $110, and just don't deliver that in value to me, especially after factoring in gas and hotel, so I happily skip them. I'm usually in Portland around the time of the Oregon Brewers Festival, the North American Organic Beer Festival and/or Puckerfest and all of those are multi-day pay as you drink festivals, so I hit all of those for as many days as I can stand it or until I get bored with what beers they have. Last year I tried 35 samples at the OBF and paid only $42 over 3 days...that's power shopping for me :wink:
     
    #44 DrMindbender, Jun 9, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2016
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  5. SteveSexton203

    SteveSexton203 Initiate (0) Feb 19, 2014 Connecticut

    Pretzel Necklace, Please!

    I dotn care how many Pretzel necklaces you eat. You are not gointo reclense your palette after a big Dipa or soemthing liek lolita.
     
  6. DrMindbender

    DrMindbender Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2014 South Carolina

    Are you at a beer fest right now? :wink:
     
  7. jageraholic

    jageraholic Maven (1,378) Sep 16, 2009 Massachusetts
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  8. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,081) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
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    Coupla decades back I'd say Hell yeah, let's get a group together. Older and wiser(?) now the higher price of admission isn't worth standing in line for samples of beer that may or may not be in optimal condition. The concept of tasting new to me beers after my taster has been dulled is not appealing either.

    Frankly, I'd rather sit at home listening to the opposing party candidate give an acceptance speech. At least I can drink a beer I know I'll like while yelling at the tv.
     
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  9. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,771) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
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    Was contemplating going to one in KC a few months back and then I happened to wander into Union Station as it was going on. In the moment, I regretted not going, but truth be told, they look too crowded for me. Plus, I like sipping and savoring my beer. Beer festivals just seem like a place to get drunk on really good beer. I don't have the most exceptional impulse control.

    That said, if I had someone or two to go and wander booths with, I'd be down to get drunk on good beer.
     
  10. cryptichead

    cryptichead Grand Pooh-Bah (3,813) Jul 3, 2014 Illinois
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    Agree. It's a good time to get samples and get tipsy, but hard to gauge quality from small samples, especially when mixing styles.
     
  11. Chcshammonde

    Chcshammonde Initiate (0) Sep 20, 2014 California

    I've only been to the SF Ski and snowboard festivals, which offer a beer festival with about 30-40 brewers pouring.

    Been at least 4 times, but really I wasn't there for the beer, it was just a validation to go and get buzzed and buy snowboard gear.

    The selection was generally good but they never had any marquee names such as Russian River, FiftyFifty, SARA, Cellarmaker, etc.

    They were fun but got old after awhile, plus I'm stocked on snowboar gear now lol.
     
  12. MistaRyte

    MistaRyte Pooh-Bah (2,397) Jan 14, 2008 Virginia
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    Like the old Yogi Berra expression: No one goes there anymore - it's too crowded
     
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  13. corew

    corew Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2015 Pennsylvania

    Really don't understand the long lines problem (except when it comes to bathrooms and at that point that is the only thing that matters in your life) I was only to one beerfest that felt like it was oversold. I generally never wait more than 30 sec in line for a pour. And the wait to get in is fine...unless you have VIP which is generally a good idea!
     
  14. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
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  15. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,282) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
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    FWIW, most fests around my area do 4-5oz pours, which is enough to tell if I like the beer/brewery enough to check it out later. Admission for a "basic" fest is generally in the $25-35 range, which gives you admission, a taster glass, and X number (usually 6-8) tokens. You can then buy more tokens if you want. Breweries will generally bring 2-4 beers, usually a couple flagships, and maybe something seasonal/special. You can often pay an extra $10-15 for a V.I.P. ticket, which gets in an hour earlier, a few more tokens, and more elbow room before the unwashed masses roll in.

    The "Speciality" (Caskfest, Belgianfest, etc) fests seem to run a bit more expensive, say in the $50 range. But the beer are generally bigger, and may be something the brewery doesn't do much of otherwise, so it's fun to see what they come with.
     
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  16. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado



    I am somewhat aware of some of these facts thanx but old opinions are hard to shake, especially when you get older.
     
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  17. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,282) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
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    No worries. A lot of the stuff I'm reading in this thread is alien to me as well.
     
  18. michman

    michman Initiate (0) Oct 14, 2005 Illinois

    generally overpriced, overcrowded and things i want to try are few and far between. i can sit at my local and try 4-5 samples of new beer every few days as they rotate kegs.
     
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  19. bbtkd

    bbtkd Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,326) Sep 20, 2015 South Dakota
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    I've been to only two fests in the 10 months I've been into craft. I approached both scientifically - researching which beers to try based on my preferences. Fat lot of good that did. As others observed, the first few you can assess. Next few you might remember remember. After that it's a blur, and you'll try anything and everything. Prune and cabbage beer - bring it on! At both of them I had 150-200 ounces of beer, probably averaging 7% ABV, so at least the equivalent of 21 12oz 4.2% ABV beers, in about 2-2.5 hours. Amazingly I had no hangover either time, and did not just go home and sleep. I had been told that at beer fests they sell huge soft pretzels, but no such luck. Eating is a good idea. At the second fest I got drenched early on when someone walked into me in a crowd.
     
  20. GrumpyGas

    GrumpyGas Grand Pooh-Bah (4,393) Apr 7, 2009 Illinois
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    I have to get there!

    I used to go in thinking I could not get enough beer (new, volume, or one-off) to get my money's worth, but ultimately I was not disappointed. Now it's almost impossible. I only go when I know and respect the company I am with. Every once in a while there is a good cause/charity that becomes the draw.
     
    #60 GrumpyGas, Jun 10, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2016
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