Best Beer Festivals

All that I can say is that if you want to do festivals like this, you're going to have to travel and pay a premium. If you're OK with those things then FOBAB in Chicago is one of the best, as are many of the festivals that happen at the breweries in Denver surrounding GABF like Crooked Stave's What the Funk!? Invitational. If you aren't keen on the crowds and availability of beers at festivals like GABF or The Great Taste (of the Midwest), the big festivals usually have "connoisseur" tickets that guarantee you better access, but, again, those tickets will cost you more.

 

I can't really speak to best in the US, since I only go to festivals I can drive to.

All though one of these days, I may try the Great American Beer festival in Denver.

As for those that are striking distance from Los Angeles, here are four I try to do every year.

1. Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival - Paso Roblos

This really is the standard in my mind for a beer festival. Great lineup of breweries. Everyone brings something good to pour. Good food, reasonable lines, many are very short, shade areas, yes lots of people, but also lots of room. Its just well ran all the way around.

Throw in the fact, that you have beer enthusiasts and brewers stuck in the same small town and hotels for an entire weekend, which results in bottle shares erupting all over town.

2. The Bruery Anniversary - Anaheim

This is for Society Members and thier guests only. Its another festival where brewery line up is really good and everyone brings something good knowing who the audience is: The Bruery Society members ( customers that buy lots of high end beer ). I always enjoy this, though there are long lines for some pours and the food last year wasn't a big hit.

3. Stone Anniversary - San Marcos

Been going to this one for years. The rare beer ticket pretty much guarantees you are going to get good pours. The new format of unlimited pours in the main festival I think is an improvement over the 10 to 15 tickets they use to give.

I also enjoy the Friday night Brewers reception

4. LA Beer Week Kick off - Los Angeles

This is a great festival for Los Angelenos. All the local breweries are there, pouring some of their best stuff. Guest breweries from the wider southern California are there, along with others who distribute here or would like to..

Its a great way to see what's going on in the Los Angeles brewing scene.
Which has really come of age in recent years.


And let's not forget BA is holding an Extreme Beer Festival in Los Angeles this year, looking for to that.

 

They are all crowded.

 

As much as I love Fobab, it's the exact opposite of what the OP is looking for. After attending both Huna and Firestone this year, I'd go back to Firestone in a heartbeat.

 

It's a festival dedicated to rare and one-off beers that isn't that terribly crowded. At least compared to many other festivals. Sure, you're going to miss some beers because they are in limited quantities and you can't be everywhere at once, but you can't drink every beer at every festival anyway.

 

Is not terribly crowded? Have you been on the stage side of the barrel aged stout section and tried to walk through to the sour room? No lines, you got to try EVERYTHING, nothing kicked early, and you got to relax and enjoy the beer instead of stressing about missing out on all the rare/highly rated beers and chugging the ones you do get to be able to get in line for the next pour. This is what the OP asked for and I'm sure I'm not the only one that will say Fobab is not this. I'm going again this year but if the above is what you expect, you're in for a rude awakening.

 

May not really answer your question, but the best thing to do is not attend the festival. I’d recommend finding out what’s going on in the breweries, tap rooms and bars leading up to or during the event. I gave up GABF years ago even though I’m 15 minutes away.

I do enjoy the plethora of activities leading up to it:
http://www.westword.com/restaurants...-week-2016-calendar-of-amazing-events-8246507

 

I see you are in New York. I always consider TAP NY the festival I judge others by for quality and ease of availability of food, quality of beer available, and size of lines to get pours.

 

No festival is like what he asked for, but there are certainly ones that are better than others. If you want a festival where you have a high percentage of great beers, then FOBAB is probably one that you should hit up. Show me a festival with no lines and with every beer available to every attendee and I'll show you a festival that sucks and isn't worth going to.

 

So, you prefer smaller fests with less diversity over larger fests with more selection but that are more crowded?

 

So you're saying Huna and Firestone are smaller and less diverse then Fobab? Have you been to all 3?

 

Now you're putting words in my mouth. The OP said that he really liked the festivals that he's been to that The Veil put on. Those are smaller festivals. He said that he didn't like crowded festivals. My response was in reference to that and had nothing to do with FOBAB, Huna, or Firestone.

 

The Oregon Brewer's Festival (OBF) is always a blast, and if you go on a weekday or Sunday it never gets obscenely crowded. Just went to a Hazy IPA festival here in Portland that was also pretty great and not ridiculously crowded.

 

If you have to choose one, Firestone is definitely the way to go.

 

From Washington, the Washington Beer Festival in June is the biggest in the state. Happens on Father's day weekend with family friendly area on Saturday and Sunday, while Friday is 21+ only. Also enjoy Belgianfest in late January or early February. More expensive and one day with two shifts but probably my favorite fest of the year. WABL does a good job only selling tickets to a certain number and usually good amount of space to get around. They are both token style festivals.

I quite enjoyed the Great Vegas Festival of Beer in April that I went to a couple years ago. Not too hot yet and has food available and a few talks you can go to. Plenty of beers at a decent price really. Not sure if it was a token/ticket style fest or if it was unlimited. Drink water!

Last would be GABF. It might be cliche to suggest but I think a serious beer connoisseur should go at least once. Lines are fast, vendors have some neat things, try beers from all over the country, and all at unlimited pours (thought small, deal with it). PACE YOURSELF and you will be fine. Bring comfy shoes too. Local bars get crazy after the fest too so it is a fun time by all.