just returned from Albq last week but considering driving back for this. anyone attended in the past?
I attended the first and second year they did this. I want to say 4 years back now. Currently, you can look on their website for a current list of breweries who have/will attend. By my count, there is less than a dozen local breweries, even though our state has much more than that. By and large, I want to call this a distributor run sort of event. You will see lots of cans/bottles. Every year there seems to be less and less local breweries. Here's an event program from 2014: http://www.abqbluesandbrews.com/s/ABQ-Blues-and-Brews_2014_program_5-5x8-5.pdf If you're new to craft, or lived under a rock as a local patron to many of these places, you may not be trying any new, rare, or limited beers. Think of it like going to a beer store and buying 100 singles. Now over the course of many years, I have tried most of what is supposedly offered. So I see no point. Most patrons seem to get their moneys worth. I know I did. It's definitely not a NM or ABQ showcase for craft beers though. So be forewarned
thanks for the info. went through the list of breweries and there are a 5-6 we haven't run into at other festivals.
Agree with @Oktoberfiesta 's assessment. Very little reason for a beer geek to go to this fest as there are no rarities, one-offs, or other hard-to-get beers. Definitely caters to the craft newbie learning about craft beer. If you were going to return, I'd suggest these are all better bets (and bangs) for your buck: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/tart-at-heart-2-albuquerque.391848/ http://www.chocolateandcoffeefest.com/ http://www.boxingbearbrewing.com/news/
boxing bear deal sounds nice. I checked 'ABQ BEER WEEK' for other breweries doing something, didn't see much. tractor has something but that will be the day before we get there.
