Which VT beer fest?

I was very disappointed in Hop Jam last year. Beer tent was a total cluster especially if you wanted any of the rare offerings. Food was limited and overpriced, music acts local and forgettable. Bailed super early and went to the Waterbury bars instead. YMMV.

 

The ones I can think of are: Vt Brewers fest: lottery system that sells out in minutes. lots of great Quebec Brewers Mas the big three
Hop jam; never been but heard mixed reviews
siptemberfeat: great time less hype than Vt Brewers fest
Stowe Brewers fest: think last year was the first, not sure how it was

hF= busy in any summer weekend, the festivals only add to this.

 

VT brewers fest is pretty awesome, getting a hotel close by can be tricky (might be worth reserving before you even get tickets, you can always cancel) and everything beer related is pretty nuts up there that weekend. Bev warehouse does a cellar sale that weekend, they sell cantillon and a bunch of rare stuff (http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cave-sale.314580/. Fiddlehead did their first mastermind release that weekend, which was pretty busy, alot of people got shut out. If I do it again this year I will probably try to go up early, like wednesday or thursday to make a HF trip easier, and easier to find stuff like heady. Really fun festival though. I got tickets pretty easily last year, they do a lottery system first, but they don't sell out. After the lottery they put the rest of the tickets up for sale at a set time. IIRC a few sessions did not sell out to fast, like friday afternoon session was available for a few days i think. I have never been to hop jam, but one of the benefits of VT brewers fest is it is only a few blocks from church street. So there is plenty of stuff to do after the festival and you don't have to worry about driving. I think hop jam is at bolton, so going to bars in waterbury after would require driving.

 

New fest last fall on the waterfront in BTV: Vermont Oktoberfest. Held in September. Great food, reasonably priced, tix easy to acquire, same venue. Lots of fun games, prizes. All VT brewers, but none of the Big 3. Also featured some classic German imports on draft. No lines. Ooompah band under a tent. I went to this and the VT Brewers Fest in July. The former is more tourist-oriented; the latter remains beer-geek-centric. So you can decide which to attend on how much of a beer-drinking vs. beer - ticking tourist you feel like being. I enjoy both for their unique personalities.

 

Vt brew fest has been my favorite so far. Not sure how I feel about the new lottery ticket system but I always have a great time. 2nd booking a hotel early so you don't have to worry about driving. Great spot for it!

 

Forgot about Brewhaha at Oakledge park. Nice small fest with no lines great location on the lake.

 

As VTcraft said brewhaha is an awesome event that oddly enough doesn't gather as many people as the others. That being said VT brew fest is probably my top choice if you are looking to just come up for one. You do need to be lucky enough to get on of the tickets for the event but if you do make a weekend out of it, it's a great time. Plenty of beer quite a few out of state brewers show up as well. Also being by the waterfront in Burlington is great, and if you are around the whole weekend you can pick up Heady on Saturday at the Bevi in the town over (Winooski).

As far as HF goes, as people have noted previously, it gets pretty busy over weekends, however now with their tasting room open, it's a lot easier/more comfortable to get bottles, growlers, and not feel like you are just waiting in line the whole time, I'd highly recommend stopping by

 

Hop jam is definitely more chill, both are fun though.

 

Does Hop Jam have more than just hoppy brews?

Trying to make the decision myself an my husband hates pale ales and IPAs so would want there to be enough other stuff for it to be worth it.

 

Want to go to VT Brewers Fest but not really loving the super limited hard to get tickets. Seems like its next to impossible to go with friends.

 

Hop Jam had unreal tap list list but as mentioned above, the tent was a mess. Seemed like a ton of line cutting and a lot of ppl were lining up well before they tapped certain kegs (Uppercase, good Morning)

That said, I had a blast. The vip pass was worth it to get to some beers early.

 

My girlfriend did the pre-sale last year, she bought us tickets for my birthday, and her friend also entered the lottery, both of them won. We might have just gotten lucky, but i was under the impression it was pretty easy to get tickets from my experience and looking at last years threads:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/burlington-vt-beer-festival.279382/

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/vermont-brewers-festival-july-17-18.288114/

 

Everyone I talked to that went to HopJam couldn't stand it and said it was run terribly. This was from multiple people at different times. Not influencing each others thoughts.

 

I had two beer-friends house-sitting for me that weekend who go to a lot of fests, and said they would not go again due to poor organization. I was in Maine, so cannot speak to it.

 

For people who have done Hop Jam... How much is a beer ticket? If it's in like $5-6 the BIP doesn't seem worth it unless you really want the early admission and lounge/bathrooms.

 

Anyone attend the Brattleboro Beerfest? Mount Snow has a great, smaller one. Some great brewers, short lines and reasonably priced.

 

what did they have off top of your head? or can you link me a list? can't find complete one. me and a buddy thinkin about it this yr.