The last beer festival you went to was….When and where?

This would be a great day to find one nearby – either where you are or for a short travel trip for the weekend.

Supporting local (or not so local) beer festivals does a few things.

• It supports the brewers and breweries that are present. Many of them flat our donate beer, some are recouped some cost.
• It exposes you to new breweries to try.
• You get to try new beers and maybe enjoy familiar ones as well.
• You get to meet all kinds of colorful people (look in the mirror – there’s one!) and get some moderate exercise walking around.

There are lots of ways to find out where and when - here’s one site, here’s another, and you can find more events here too.

There are umpteen beer festivals every year. And each of them is deserving in their own place, context, reason & season. Many are fundraisers – like the one I just

Enthusiasts at the 2008 GABF

attended in Stillwater MN (Ala Rotary). All are great opportunities.

The Great American Beer Festival is one of my personal favorites. Why?

Well, I first went with my boyfriend to the 2003 festival. It was a HUGE eye opener. I had started dating him several months before, he’s a professional brewer so it was a very fun, slightly overwhelming indoctrination of beer. Wow.

Since then, I have attended just about every year, with my Husband (aforementioned boyfriend) and friends. Every time it’s fun, educational, and a terrific place to people watch. The souvenir tasting glasses you receive when you attend are a great reminder when you’re back home, thinking about good beers.

I’d encourage you to attend a variety of festivals this year. The people who put them on are in earnest, the brewers who attend (usually donate their beers) are eager to tell you more about them, and you’ll meet some great folks. Who you’ll most likely see at another festival again.

So if you go, look me up – we’ll enjoy a good beer together. (I’ll also be at the PBS meeting.)

Cheers!

p.s. LOVE the Madison WI festival too…then there’s…