I’m thinking about attending the Chicago Craft Beer Festival, although I’m looking for general advice that could apply to any of the numerous beer festivals that are held. Chicago even has one in the winter that I would have gone to this year except I was sick.
Are there usually a wide variety of beers? It is summer, so that generally means lighter beers. While I can’t imagine having a stout in 90 degree weather, I don’t also want to drink 30 varieties of summer shandy either. Are the people serving the beer volunteers or do they have some knowledge of the beers? If I find a new one I like, will they know which bars have it on tap? Is it common for them to have a card you can take to remember the beers you’ve tried and liked? Any other tips or advice?
I’ve been to a few. Each brewery/brewer will be different, some staffed by minimum wage pourers, others staffed by the brewmaster who is eager to discuss his offerings. Bring a notebook to keep track of what you like. Consider wearing a pretzel necklace; you’ll look stupid, but so will everyone else.
Pace yourself. Seriously. Take a timeout every so often to plot your strategy. I usually hit the sours hard, then try the best of the IPAs. Consider bringing a backpack to help carry your swag. Have fun!!
ETA: My gf is a beer lover and my drinking partner, so I do not remember any girls in low cut tops!
We were at a beer festival in Pittsburgh a few months ago. An adult man tried sitting down in a big, stuffed, easy chair and he fell to the ground somehow. His adult woman companion tried to help him up, but she fell on top of him, and her skirt got yanked up to her waist. She thought it was hysterical; she just laid on top of him laughing, her thonged ass in the air.
A small crowd gathered and watched them eventually compose themselves, stand up, and stumble off toward the parking structure.
But, they were the only really fucked up people we saw, and it was a huge crowd.
The following only applies to Chicago Craft Beer Festival:
There will be a huge variety of beers. I wouldn’t expect a lot of shandy,but definitely a lot of other popular summer brews like kolsch, pils, various wheat beers etc., as well as lots of hoppy pale ales and just about anything a brewer can think of.
You’ll get a list of all the available samples with a short description. And a souvenir tasting glass.
I second pretty much everything kayaker says. Plot a strategy and aim low. You’ll want to leave room for seconds on your favorites.
Do bring something to take notes on.
This one isn’t heavy on shwag, low cut tops or bros. It is very heavy on men with overgrown beards.
Most breweries will have someone available who is very knowledgeable, either the brewmaster or assistant but a few will just be volunteer run. Considering the nature of the fest, try to ask your questions early in the day!
I try to go to the Spring and Autumn Keyaki Craft Beer Festivals every year. Most of the beers there are Japanese brews, so there probably aren’t any specific ones I can recommend, but I can give some tips.
Go with at least one friend. The buddy system will help keep you out of trouble if you overdo it, but even moreso, having people to hang out and talk with will make it easier to pace yourself and prevent you from overdoing it in the first place. It’s also just a lot more fun than going alone. A group also lets you stake out a table, which, depending on the event, can be a rare commodity.
Your appetite / tolerance for alcohol will run out long before the event does. You don’t need to rush.
That said, if there are any booths offering some limited edition beers you really want to try, hit them first. They’re usually the first to run out, and you’ll appreciate them more when you’re more sober.
I like to try tasting sets rather than get large single cups, but that’s just me.
At the ones I’ve gone to, most of the booths were manned by the brewers themselves, so there’s usually someone there who knows all there is to know about their beer, and is probably happy to share. Probably better to ask when there isn’t a line of people behind you, though.
Some festivals offer VIP tickets for an extra fee. I was comped VIP tickets once and it was so worth the extra $$, that I always go that route now. The perks are small, but meaningful; nicer bathrooms, closer parking, early entry, etc.
Most larger festivals out here are staffed by volunteers doing the pouring, not the brewers. They usually know nothing more than whatever description the brewer has written.
You should find a wide selection of beer styles. I like to plan ahead and review the beer list in advance to note which beers I want to be sure to try - unique beers, beers from breweries I like, etc. But I get into these things a little more than most people. You can also have a great time just showing up and trying whatever is close by.
Remember, there are lots of beers to try. No law says you have to finish one you don’t like. Pour that crap out and find one you do like. It is, however, bad form to pour it out in front of the guy who brewed it. Walk away first. Try some styles that are not familiar to you. You may find something you like. Take breaks, eat something, drink some water and have fun.
As the day wears on, try a cider. It will cut the lingering beer aftertaste. Then you can go back to beer.
So it’s a rather small festival, this one. There probably won’t be any earth-shakingly rare stuff, but a lot of flagship beers from the participating breweries. As it’s a ticketed event (not all-you-can-drink for the admission price), you’ll likely see fewer people there just to get super drunk in the afternoon, since they would have to buy more tickets to drink that amount of beer. Or know the pourers who might “forget” to take their drink tickets.
On that point, as it’s a small and local event, it’s quite possible you’ll get brewery reps and distribution reps instead of volunteers or people hired by the event coordinator. Maybe not actual brewers, but people who know the beer. Feel free to ask questions, unobtrusively, once you’ve got a sample. Reps dig that sort of thing as long as you don’t monopolize their time.
Bring water, though there undoubtedly will be water coolers on the festival grounds, bring food (if you don’t look as dumb as I do in cargo shorts, they are a good idea), bring a pen to mark off what you liked and didn’t like if you want to remember for your future bar/brewery visits. Chicago has an impressive array of breweries these days, many of which are expanding nationwide at a fairly good clip, and surely quite a few will have beer you enjoy and want to revisit.
As noted, this is a rather small festival, and they aren’t saying who is going to be there. Could be good, could be crap. Until they publish a list of brewers, you’ll be taking your chances. I’ve worked any number of these things as a volunteer and as a content provider. They are almost always fun, especially if they take steps to limit the “cheap drunk in the afternoon” assholes that always seem to show up.
In Portland, what you expect is a beer fest almost every week, so if you don’t see(or taste) something you like this time, just wait a few days and go to the next one. Semi complete list of Portland Beer Fests.
All good comments. I used to hit a few festivals I could walk to.
Go at opening, taste and enjoy.
Come back through in the afternoon to evening - it is a frat party with cleavage and dudes.
I liked both, but adjusted accordingly. I would go in the morning to taste and talk, and my afternoon return was very dependent on my tolerance for crowded frat party shenanigans.
So, I’m back. I have very mixed feelings about the afternoon. It didn’t start off well due to a clueless Uber driver and extremely heavy traffic due to the Cubs/Cardinals playing a Saturday afternoon game. The festival was held inside another music festival. I know Chicago has tried to reduce the number of festivals by combining some of the smaller ones, but I walked around for a while before learning that I need to first enter the music festival, then enter the beer festival separately.
It was an absolute mob scene. Absolutely no chance to ask questions about the beers or even snap a quick photo of what I was drinking. The crowd certainly skewed towards 20 something males, admittedly that demographic dominates in the Lincoln Park area at DePaul University where this festival was held.
The beers I tried were excellent and I only got to a small sample of them. I mainly stuck to IPAs, although had an excellent Kolsch. They didn’t seem concerned at all about the tickets for each beer. I’ll assume most of the people serving the beer were volunteers as they seemed interested in serving their beers quickly and then getting out once their supply was exhausted.
I’m not sure if I’ll go again. I probably will, but it will have to be on a Groupon or another discount. I’ll make sure I’m there right as the gates open. And, let’s hope it won’t coincide with a big Cubs game and a clueless Uber driver who is dedicated to the GPS even though it’s obvious there’s massive traffic on that road.
