What beer fests do you miss?

I miss our local small town beer fests the most:

• Klocktoberfest -- Grand Rapids, MN
• Harvest Moon Beer Fest -- Aitkin, MN
  
• Deer River BarBQue and Brew Fest -- Deer River, MN

The first two feature craft breweries. All three feature awesome homebrewers too.

My homebrew club does tastings at some community organizations fund raising events too. Those are the most intimate and personal events.

Luckily, Town Hall Brewery's Barrel Aged Release week happened just before everything went to sheet.

 

Frankly, I really miss the smaller local fests the most! As I have gotten older, as much as I have loved some larger feats in the past, I really appreciate the smaller feats that feature the regionals pulling out some top of the pops as well as their one offs. I feel like I miss the community that exists around craft beer more than the beer festivals.

I WILL say, for the larger ones, OBF is one of my faves. Not too overwhelming and plenty of room, and lots of great beers that are just great, not gimmicky.

In summary...
I really care about the people and the quality of the beer WAY more than just getting something rare or some beer with a whole mess of shit in like a milkshake beer !

 

For me, my home town festival, the Derby (U.K.) Winter Beer Festival will not take place in early 2021 - but the one that I was really looking forward to this year (2020) was the North Sea Beer Festival in Ostend. We went in 2019, staying in De Halve Maan suite in Hotel Botteltje, Ostend, just 100 yards from the festival site, and it was wonderful. Let's hope that we return to some semblance of normality next year.

 

Atlantic City Beer and Music Fest
Snallgaster DC

 

Cleveland.com’s Tremont Ale Fest is absolutely the highlight of the summer in Cleveland. I haven’t missed one in five years. I really missed that festival this year.

I really hope that the Winter Warmer Fest in January, and Buckeye Beer Engine’s Barleywine Festival don’t get cancelled. Those are the highlight of my winter season.

 

Extreme Beer Fest
FWIBF
Bruery Anniversary
Week of Logic
Monkish Anniversary

 

The only one I've attended in the last few years is the Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival, and this is the first year I missed it. Nice variety of brews from Sonoma County and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Maybe next year.

 

I live in Canada. Everyday is a beer festival

 

Yards Brewing in Philly used to host "Smoke 'em if you's got 'em" in Spetember. It was the best festival in the world, encouraging all Philly area breweries to submit smoked beers for the event. Held outside on the patch of scrubland outside the brewery, it also incorporated a full amateur barbecue competition, so your 50ish bucks got you all the smoked beer (there were some other unsmoked offerings too, if you couldn't get in the spirit of things) you could drink in 4 hours, and all the fantastically varied barbecue you could eat too. Just don't fart in an enclosed space the next day.

It gradually died a death as the city got more and more up their ass about "how are they storing the meat before they bring it on site"? and related nonsense and it just had to give up on the barbecue end.

I also like working at GBBF (London, roughly 100k attendees in a good year), but it's been hijacked by a totally beer unrelated LGBT agenda for the past couple of years.

 

I miss Brewfest for Hospice in Land O Lakes, Florida. Plenty of craft beers to try and all for a good cause!

 

I miss three in Chicago:
1) BeerHoptacular - Fall season. Extreme value and most reliable venue to sample an amazing variety of delicious beers
2) Chicago Ale Fest - summer and winter festivals
3) Delilah's Christmas and Winter Beer Tasting - December staple in one of the coolest venues in the city. Annual opportunity to sample over 100 different Xmas and winter beers -- my favorite seasonal style! -- including multiple years of the same beers. Damn I miss that fest!

 

Love Derby, one of the great Real Ale cities on the planet. Wish I could join you now for a pint. Cheers.

 

Loads! In London London Craft Beer Festival and GBBF hugely, although I did open and close this year's GBBF 'virtual fest' with tastings. Others include Day of the Oude Geuze in Halle, Zythos, Belgium, the upcoming Kerstbier fest, Bruges Beer Fest 2021 will be a miss for the first time in many years and I'm not sure if Toer de Geuze will take place. And its not just about the beer, its catching up with peers in the industry and making new friends

 

FOBAB (Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer) in Chicago that should’ve been held last weekend. What a celebration! And, what an opportunity to sample phenomenal beers and discover breweries from all around the country that I’d never have the opportunity to enjoy otherwise. Maybe next year (sigh)

 

I miss Fonta Flora’s “State of Origin” festival. It is in Morgantown NC and celebrates NC beers. All beers must contain NC ingredients. It is small, but a super event.

 

Of course the BA fests are missed, especially in Boston. I certainly miss Smells Like A Beer Fest hosted by Mikerphone Brewing. The line up they continue to bring in is unreal. Also, The Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison WI is amazing with a great venue and a Dynamite lineup.

 

The Holiday Ale Fest in Portland and Brews on the Bay in SF. Weather in Portland in December is cold and rainy but the festival is in a tent and all the holiday beers are great. Brews on the Bay is on a WW 2 Liberty Ship (Jeremiah O'Brian) and it's all the SF brewers.

 

"an Oregon festival..." That would be the Oregon Brewer's Festival (OBF) at the end of July and at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland. We've gone to that one 9 or 10 times over the years.Cheers!

 

As a consolation prize CBC still held a Fall Fest this year, with Oktoberfest beers and pumpkin beers, plus food following a similar theme.

I went and ate/drank outside in their tent. Not the same, but it was still cool to go.

Yup, NERAX is the first one that came to mind. There’s no replacing this. I can’t go to my local store or bar and get that many cask ales at once (can’t get them at the store at all obviously), and especially not ones from the UK, properly cared for in peak form.

 

Annafest, Forcheim, Franconia.

 

Never been to a "beer fest". The Philly area has a beer week in the spring in which a lot of Taverns & Restaurants....and ice cream shops(Franklin Fountain's Guinness swirl ice cream was awesome) participate- that was all wiped out due to take out only dining.
Really want to get to Munich for Oktoberfest eventually!

 

Two of the many great things about living in Grand Rapids is the abundance of stellar breweries and beerfests. the MBG winter beer festival is one of the larger, there are also soooo many small ones that happen during the summer months. Of them all, I miss Founders Fest the most, also their Harvest Fest. Both are huge traditions for me, for years i used to live a building away from Founders. From the first year they started i have attended any and every thing Founders.

 

The event/fest I missed the most this year is Club Night at Homebrew Con

 

COAST Brewvival.

 

We miss the Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival. It’s possible that it will take place in late January 2021. Of course, being able to attend an outdoor beer festival in January, while it’s warm and sunny, is part of the reason why it’s so much fun. Sending cheers from the Sunshine State!

 

Extreme Beer Fest
Big Brew Fest Morristown NJ Armory
USS Battleship NJ Beer Fest

 

I miss BeerAdvocates's Microbrew Invitational fest that ran in Boston for a couple years. There was a pretty wide variety of styles represented at this fest and it provided an opportunity to try beers from small breweries that I wouldn't otherwise get to try. This one hasn't been held for a few years but this one brings up fun memories.

 

Because Beer in my hometown of Hamilton. Being able to go down to Pier 4 in the beautiful summer weather and have a bit from everyone in Ontario I do miss.

 

Yup. My BXL pack is sitting down at Moeder Fontainas and I’m don’t know if, when I finally pick it up, I’m going to be happy I have it or more sad that we did t have the festival. BUT WE SHALL ENDURE. Quintessence is trickier because its already gotten to be such a tough ticket, and I just don’t think we’re going to be that close to “normal” here in 5 months plus a week, so even if something is held it will be a teeny crowd.

 

As others have already covered, FoBAB would have been earlier this month. It happens to nearly coincide with our birthdays - spouse and I share the day - it is our favorite style to consume, and we have fabulous friends, that we always love to spend the time together, there. So instead this year we opened a 2019 and 2017 GIBCBS. Drink what you like.

 

The Worthy Beer Fest here in Western Mass is so damn fun every year. I love that it's outside, love that there's a band playing all afternoon, love that you can get killer barbecue from Smith's and sit inside for a minute if you need a break from the heat, love that they have a huge section- close to half- devoted to a homebrew competition where the winner gets to brew their beer with one of the big locals. Love that brewers bring shockingly interesting and rare beer to a small little festival (extreme props to Allagash for all that Nancy I drank one year). love that it's low key enough that Tree House still shows up at this festival and after the first hour there's basically no line because people are busy with other things. Love everything about it.

 

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Snallygaster in DC. They block off part of Pennsylvania Ave between the White House and the Capitol. It's held mid-October and the weather is usually beautiful.

 

Alvinne Craft Beer Fest
Billie's
Kerstbierfestival
MBCC
and so many more....

 

The Corn Maze Beer Fest at 450 North
Brewery in. Columbus Indiana, in October in the cornfield! Always fun, last year over 80 Midwest breweries, food trucks, live music.
Sorry but didn't see Mike Pence there, probably home praying for all the drunks in the corn.

 

The Craft Beer Fest at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, VA. The Yorktown Wine Festival has also turned into a mini beer festival too.

 

This year I missed the Washington Crossing Brewfest for the first time in over 5 years. They have around 100 tents outdoors in a beautiful woodsy area, with the shooting of cannons, live music, and people walking around dressed like bluecoats and old British soldiers. So many fantastic beers to sample. So many people wearing pretzel necklaces wearing funny outfits. So many good laughs with responsible adults having a good time. It was greatly missed this year.

 

Shelton, Day of the Juice