"Good" is subjective but.. https://beerfests.com/us/massachusetts-beer-festivals https://massbrewbros.com/events/list/
The Spirit of Hudson while not mind blown great, it's run very well and the perks included apart from the beers makes it worth it. I went last year and had a surprisingly good time and there were many first time breweries in attendance. I also believe some breweries will collab for a fest only release. Really miss when MA used to throw great beer fest like EBF and TH and Trillium threw awesome anniversary parties. I'll miss all CBC fests too.
Brew fests are just cash grabs now (the promoters will tell you differently) I doubt I'll ever go to another. Back in the day, it was all on draft. Super local. Little guy stuff. Now it's almost all distributors pushing canned offerings that you can get in any store.
there should be a law that if you are participating in a festival, you MUST brew at least 1 exclusive beer. a lot of these fests now are pretty much along the lines of those liquor store beer tastings where it's the flagship and whatever seasonal they have out. do they even do these anymore? i used to go to these all the time before NEIPA was a thing. the only festival i bother with these days is the schilling oktoberfest but it pales in comparison to something like extreme beer fest. i can't remember which brewery it is, but they're at the schilling fest every year and have the same exact beers...fuck outta here lol
Notch Lager Fest (they’re doing it again next summer) and NERAX are the only one’s I fuck with these days. Both are excellent. I’m done with others for the reasons stated. But I’m also over pounding 2 oz. samples all afternoon. Scratch that. I do also go to Pemberfest at Pemberton Farms every year. You can sample a ton of local fall beers and it’s essentially free. The price of your ticket counts as a credit to buy beer in the store. Really well run event.
Yeah, kinda sucks that no MA brewery has stepped up post-covid to fill in the void left by BA's Boston fests. Trillium has shown they CAN host one, but their market/demo has changed so much that they must feel it's not worth it anymore. Seems to me like Mast Landing's Wavy Days is the biggest annual fest in New England at this point. Schilling's Oktoberfest and Tilted Barn's Raise the Barn are also worth a look, if you're willing to travel.
Beervana in Providence has been running every October since 2009, not quite the same since they had to leave Rhodes on the Pawtuxet for the warehouse-style space. But the organizers who own Nikki's Liquors and Julians/Pizza J respectively still try to keep it fun and weird as per usual. There are also a number of festival-exclusive beers which is a good sign. It is still a thing for me to buy discount tickets the day they go on sale if my calendar is open. I am a little concerned about the state of this year's fest, however, because searching my old emails the ticket sales typically start in June.
I hate to break it to you guys. Most breweries dont like beer fests. There is almost no benefit to pouring free samples to a bunch of drunks with pretzels around their necks.
No IPA fest in 2023 was such a fantastic event. it felt very tight navigating around at times since they moved to Waterfire, but fun fest regardless.
Haha one of the best Chris Farley skits ever, nice pull. That GIF also works for telling parents your kids aren't allowed at the brewery.
EBF 2014 The calm before the storm setting things up and then I believe we ID’d and wrist banded like 3,000 people in under 20 minutes. Had so much Juice Machine and maybe good morning that year as well? Toppling pouring single citra and double ipa citra, later becoming the Sue’s. Morning delight I believe as well. Funky Buddha was awesome Edit: Found the Googledoc list https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...pn2O2BJ00Tkp5pSF-XAuIChUuKJbk/pub?output=html
Also, Going to throw this out there. Craft beer certainly is an interesting and typically well behaved group of people. Sure, there are outliers. Imagine selling just your average schmo tickets and telling them that you can have as much bud, Coors, seltzers, mixed and whatever else for 3-4 hours with minimal eating happening. And no, you can’t compare this to a wedding or open bar. And this doesn’t really apply to concerts, games, etc. Those all have a purpose and the booze is secondary. We also can’t truly compare Oktoberfest as that is across the pound and steeped in local culture. Buts is closer I guess. I’ve known enough idiots over the years. If you did this for a crowd who just wants drinks. 3000+ of them. It would just become fights, poisoning and a horror show. I guess that’s why whenever I’ve met a BA, or craft beer folks in general. It’s usually a nice conversation and pleasant atmosphere. Maybe it’s boring and nerdy to most.
They had definitely run their course by the time they ended, but damn would it be a lot of fun to do one of these again. That list looks good even now!
Used to love Night of the Barrels. Unlimited pours of Utopias for the ~$40 ticket was well worth the price of admission alone. Also was the first time I tried CBS, blew my mind. The landscape is so different now. A beer fest where you could get some of the beers in the bucket list thread would be killer. Unpasteurized/unfiltered Pilsner Urquell, cask of Timothy Landlord, Stichfass of Schlenkerla anything...obviously this would be incredibly hard to pull off. This would also be way more interesting than slamming back 2 oz. pours of highly rated Untappd beers...
Yeah I can see that and now the saturation of craft and big beers being accessible. Any fest is almost an EBF. But back then, the list Todd, Jason and crew would put together was untouchable in this region. Outside of maybe the OG Hopjam. Not to mention Belgium beer fests at the cyclorama and any other. Many breweries in the region owe some thanks for their product popularity and marketing to those fests. What a great job they did with those.
I still say that the EBF after(day after) party at OG Lord Hobo was an epic time as well. Draining kegs of Funky Buddha and such. I was certainly first in line for 2014. Hung around with a coffee until the dude working the door came in for his shift looking at me funny. Was a dude into hardcore in a Converge shirt so we just chatted music and beer and it made my day before they opened. They filled to capacity in about a minute. I was holding a seat for my lady leaving work at the time and they were more than gracious to let her walk to the front of the line politely saying someone had a seat for her and they walked her over. The small things make a difference. I also remember thinking not everyone can get there early as I did and someone is waiting in line hoping things don’t kick and we had our wants and split to open the table. It was nice to see tables and seats turn over. I honestly miss those somewhat simpler times of craft. I truly miss my time with it in the Aughts. BA was paramount to that time. Anyone ever talk to Sudsdog? I remember meeting him and finding out we live close to each other for a time. And mentioning I had won a $300 gift certificate to Julio’s. He was happy for me but so bummed he didn’t win! Ha. I was young so he just said, put that to good use and learn. I only bought single bottles with it for mixed 6rs.
Not MA, but I’m heading to Hill Farmstead’s farmhouse ale fest this weekend (Greensboro, VT) - it’s always a fantastic time.
