http://www.ixbeerfest.com/ Did you hear the news yet? I want to say I'm holding out hope that this can be salvageable, but I don't have a good feeling about this. Not because the beer/food pairing is a bad one, but because of the line about "less is more". I understand the quality vs. quantity thing, but I'm just wondering if this is an excuse to pare down the beer aspect of things. I guess I'll wait for more news before I completely judge, but I'm certainly not excited about this news. (And I think the time-of-year change absolutely sucks as well.) Anyone have any opinions, or better yet, any "insider" news? (Thanks to redrocker for the heads up on this. Well, thanks in terms of credit; the news sucks!)
I have no insider news, but I did read this today and was not quite sure what to think. I have never been to the IX Beerfest, and quite frankly never wanted to go. I have been to the Fabulous Food Show a few times, and each time they had a wine tasting area that never interested me much. Maybe this switch is a way for the beer fest to get guys like me there that are dragged to the food show by their wife. not sure, but it is definitely more likely I will be there now that it is not a stand alone event. I am also interested to know how they will turn this into a single ticket event. I guess there will be different priced tickets, or maybe just pay as you go sampling?
The IX fest was headed in a good direction IMO, but the people throwing the event were NOT beer people and really didn't get it. They are show people, so they started with a show model (pay to play) and the first year almost didn't happen b/c breweries like Great Lakes said "FU" when asked to pay 10K for an end-cap. The only beer person on the staff, the same person who organizes and does publicity for Cleveland beer week, is no longer working on the IX fest. In my opinion, the only quality issue was the presence of the big brewers. Bud was pouring 10 or so beers and nothing was "interesting" - and Bud Light Platinum was in the VIP. To say that the variety was an issue or caused a lack of quality is completely BS, in my opinion, and is borderline insulting to craft beer in general. GABF has how many beers? 4,000? Imagine if the BA said "we're going to cut the variety to make this a higher quality event". The biggest problem they'll be facing here is that, in order to get anything unique that would be a draw to the beer aficionados, they'll need breweries to send reps and participate. That isn't going to happen with Cleveland Beer Week a mere month before. While Mike has a point - this could get people on the fence about the food show to go, I for one wouldn't want to pay for Paula Deen and Guy Fieri's cooking demos when I really want to sample beer. Let alone the additional crowd and the lack of similarities between food show goers and beer fest people.... My prediction - they'll have 200 or so beers, local breweries will participate, and there will be NOTHING unique or worth a ticket price unless you value the Food show. In the past, they've given me free tix to help promote with online contests. If that happens again, I may attend, but I've been urging everyone I know to spend their money at a local brewery or beer bar instead and support those truly invested in our beer scene.
I was incredibly disappointed when I got the email and Facebook notes on this. I like both shows but there isn't enough room for both. This means fewer brewers, and while they can talk all they want about quality over quantity, InBev will still get a quarter of the (now smaller) area available to push the various Bud varieties no one cares about. The IX show was expensive but going in the right direction. With it gone, what's the next closest show of comparable size? Michigan Brewer's Guild's 2 fests?
