First time beer fest goer

Every fest is different, but beers being poured are usually revealed a few weeks to a few days in advance. Otherwise you usually get a program at the door, or at the very least, a big board listing beers available. That fest is pretty far out, so some breweries may not even have decided what they are going to send. For the most part, breweries also don’t want to pour beer that you can get in the supermarket, so they’ll usually send some special stuff.

General advice is to drink a lot of water, don’t forget to eat, and try not to get too drunk.

Some fests are very specific or have some super rare beer with a giant line, this one looks like a chill, old school fest so you shouldn’t have to worry about ‘missing out’ on something. Tasting limitations kinda vary. Here you need to have a set limit, so most fests have like 20 ‘tickets’ printed on the last page. But it’s just a formality. No one actually takes the tickets.

Also, I’ve never gone to a beer fest in a casino before, but drinking definitely makes me a braver gambler, so drinking a gallon of beer worth of samplers, then stumbling over to the blackjack table sounds like a good way to blow a paycheck. Maybe leave the credit card at home and bring some cash for food?

Also. Don’t drive.

 

Good advice from @JohnnyChicago . Often fests provide a small glass that will hold around 3 ounces, but fills will vary. Don't expect to do any reviews on what you have since the pours are pretty small, and due to tongue fatigue and inebriation you won't be in any shape to really review. The best you can hope for is to note which you'd like to have again sometime when more sober.

I usually can get ahold of the list ahead of time, and scope out on BA and Google which I really want to try. Some can be eliminated based on your preferences, and some can be eliminated based on having had them before. I concentrate on trying things new to me that I'm likely not to hate. That said, after a few, all bets are off and you may find yourself trying everything. Some folks can be seen walking around with a necklace of pretzels, but a venue that sells food may not allow that in the door.

And to reiterate good advice, do not plan to drive for many hours after you stop drinking. This probably won't be like going out for a beer or two. Quite often the special beers breweries bring are high to very high ABV, so even if you limit yourself to 20 samples averaging 3oz and 8% ABV, that 60+ ounces would be the equivalent of 8 Buds. But ounces and ABV are likely to be higher.

Breweries often give away stickers and other paraphernalia. Sometimes you can even score glassware.

 

Sounds like it's a local event that's not (necessarily) meant to attract people to travel to it as a destination, so my experience with those are that the taplists aren't shown beforehand at all.

Which is not a big deal. Just go to a station and ask what the beers are.

In fact... now that I think about it... since I've never been to a large festival like GABF or Firestone Invitational... all the beerfests I've attended have been like what I described above, where brewers are announced but not beers. Just show up and chat 'em up.

 

I know for all the beer events I have attended they typically post a list of confirmed breweries on the event website. So I would check that prior to going to get an idea of who is locked in, etc. If there are guys who you really want to try I would go to them first to ensure you get a taster before they may run out, then hit the guys lower down the list etc. I have noticed that any of the big names run out very fast so get to them first. Usually its done on a ticket system, you get so many and give 1-2 in order to get a sample again varies event to event so I cannot say for certain how they will do this. Lastly pace yourself and drink water and eat some food. Nothing worse than attending a fun event and not remembering it the next day lol. Most important plan out a ride home for you and your friends, never think you can drive back after, it never happens least from the group I go with ha ha.
Have fun and enjoy, these things are a great time and great way to sample tons of good stuff.
Cheers

 

If you have good willpower you might remember some of it.

 

Drink a lot of water during the day of the festival. Have a designated driver. The tasting glasses provided will probably be 4 oz or less and the pours will probably be around 2oz. If you hit it off with any of the servers you may get a little more. Walk around and scout out whats there and pick what you want to try. Don't try to drink everything there. If they offer VIP tickets you may be able to get in early and have the opportunity to try special beers. The main thing is to take it easy. If you sample a lot of high % beer and drink them too fast, well lets say it can sneak up on you. Have fun and good luck.

There are some recommendations about beer festivals someplace here on the site. Maybe under the beer heading at the top of the page. They are worth reading.

 

After about 3 beers your taste buds are shot. Drink the good stuff first! Otherwise you won't really experience the subtleties.

 

Don't forget to have some drunk munchies ready for when you get home. Nothing worse than going to bed drunk and hungry... have fun man!

 

Even with snacks during the festivals, I'm ravenous afterwards, and drunk munchies don't cut it. I eat afterwards.

 

Uber there, no one should have to visit a beer fest as a DD. That's just downright torture!

 

1 thing I've learned over the years is that if you get a pour of something and don't like it, it's okay to dump it out. Don't take a drink, curl up your face in disgust right in front of the booth and throw it over your shoulder, but don't think you have to finish every pour you get. Most booths will have a bucket by them to dump unwanted beer into.

It's also very important to eat a large meal ahead of time, at least for me. Like mentioned several times above, water intake is key.

 

Even though most beer fests use 3 oz glasses, one 3 oz pour of every beer being poured will put you under the table. It's no problem if you ask the server for just a half a glassful if you're not sure if you'll like it. If you do like it, they'll gladly pour you a full glass. This assumes that the line isn't too long. If the line is only a few people deep, it's a very short wait for your full glass.

Also, make sure to frequently rinse out your glass. Mixing the remnants of 6 different beers in a glass can make the 7th beer pretty weird-tasting.

 

This made me think of something else that is important, etiquette-wise. When you get your pour, move out of the way rather than remaining in front of the table, drinking your pour because you want to get another. If you want multiple from one brewery, get one, got to the back of the line, then repeat as needed. No doubt someone will remind you of this process if not followed.

 

All the above posts are good advice, but I can't stress hydration enough. Lots of water beforehand, and #2 above is crucial for both continued hydration and controlling your pace of beer consumption. I've found it's harder to keep track of how much I've had when measuring in lots of small samples vs. pints. You may pee more frequently, but that helps pacing too.

 

In case you do drink too much and have to puke (obviously try not to get to this point), do it as far from the crowd and especially the serving area as possible. I know this is common sense, but I can't imagine the fury of a brewer having to clean up puke near their area.

 

Drink water and pace yourself. If it's a good festival you'll never be able to try everything you want and that's okay. Making yourself sick isn't fun at all. Eat intelligently beforehand and if possible, have a light snack during. Try to have a balanced meal that's slow digesting but not too filling before hand. It will absorb some of the alcohol and keep you satiated for a while until you're drunk and need a massive gyro platter with fries.

 

Every festival has it's own quirks. My buddy went to his first ever festival with me last year at FW Invitational, aka the deep end. Here's what I coached him on:

1. 2oz samples add up. Hydrate, don't underestimate
2. If you don't like it, don't drink it. Don't pour it out in front of the brewer, have more respect than that.
3. If there are hot ticket breweries, get in the long lines and yo-yo out of line with a buddy to get stuff from less busy booths while you wait
4. Look at the breweries, beers, and whatever information is available ahead of time and set some "wants" so you can have a plan of attack
5. Eat food
6. Drink water
7. Have a good time, its just beer.