Michigan Winter Beerfest

I'm pretty sure that the U.P. Fall Beer Fest didn't sell out for the first time in several years. If it did, it was the day before or day of the event. With that one they kept increasing the number of attendees every year, and likely hit the limit of locals and people wanting to travel. Also with the continued increase in attendees more people seem turned off by it, so there's definitely a balance.

 

Last few years at least, Friday tickets were available the day of. FWIW.

 

Craft beer in general has hit a saturation point, to an extent. There are 10x the amount of festivals these days than there were 5-7 years ago.

 

Everyone is standing in line for some hyped beer release. No time and no money.

 

It’s also possible they’re simply selling more tickets. The summer beer fest has gotten bigger and bigger each year. They’re just letting more people in. More breweries, more attendees, more tickets.

 

I really hope they aren't selling more tickets. I stopped going to the summer fest years ago because of the giant cluster it has become on Saturday. Winter fest has always seemed a little different, but has certainly been getting bigger and bigger.

 

Is the Winter fest in a different place this year? If not, can the location accommodate more people?

 

It's a large space with plenty of parking (it's the parking lot of the local minor league baseball team), so all they'd have to do is add more tent(s) space.

 

I enjoy wbf, but I also enjoy drinking beer when it has the chance to warm up. Some years have had excellent weather, some have been body numbing. Going to play it by ear and wait until closer to the fest.


But I agree completely on the saturation. I prefer Fobab and the Shorts Anny Party for my schedule, and I'm fine if I don't make it to anything else each year.

 

Been to the summerfest at least 3xs but never made it to winterfest. I think the weather for that one turns a lot of people off accompanied with the ever increasing number of brewery specific festivals(4 elf, shorts anniversary, etc.) and many smaller festivals throughout the state increasing at a growing clip. I live in Hillsdale which is small and they had a festival this year. I think people don't feel the need to travel for great beer anymore because so many local places and festivals offer the same or similar beers that larger festivals offer without the hastle of travel or lodging

 

Yeah, kind of surprised by this too. There wasn't a whole lot of chatter on the local FB beer groups either. Usually this one sells out quick. I think it's my favorite of the fests.

 

I stopped going to the Michigan Winter Beer Fest due to the location - a parking lot in the middle of nowhere. OK, it's the parking lot of a minor league baseball stadium, but my point is that they could host this event somewhere downtown so that folks could walk to their favorite bars and restaurants before and after. With the price of admission they can afford to have it in a more centralized location. I don't know if others are not going for this reason, but I thought I would weigh in.

 

I do think it's a much worse experience than some of the others for that reason; I much prefer drinking in a nice park near the water (Summer + UP) than in a chilly parking lot (Winter +Detroit).

And as you say, Winter is the only Fest that isn't walkable to bars/restaurants. Very few people should be driving home right after any of these fests, but I think at Winter the majority of people do.

 

Went once 5 years ago, the wife said she is never going to another because she doesn't like the cold and snow, so I don't have a DD. We have been going to the summer for 10 years and the Detroit one since inception.

 

I would say it's the number of fests that have exploded over the years, including local hometown ones. Seems like every week one city or another is has a festival that, whether or not it's beer-centric, has at least 10 to 12 breweries represented.

I finally got to my first Fall festival in Detroit last year and I can say I most likely won't be returning. Parking was a bitch, it was too crowded for my tastes, and at the end of the day I didn't feel the time and money spent was worth it.

I will, however, be going back to the World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth again this year. Less -and seemingly more chill- crowds, plenty of parking, great bang for the buck, most of my favorites will be there.

 

Going to my first winter beer fest next week. Any tips or suggestions?

 

I'm honestly surprised people would avoid this beer fest for this reason. It's a 10 minute drive to hop cat, which is pretty central to other breweries and restaurants. That's what, an 8 dollar Uber? I went last year and did the Uber thing and barely noticed or remembered anything difficult about it.

 

I found the beer list for the fest. Usually it’s posted the second it comes out on all the local FB groups.
Now the fun starts!
http://www.mbgmash.org/

 

You usually hit pretty big surge pricing at the end of the Fest - last time I went I shared an Uber downtown for like $55.