I have been wanting to write this article for a long time. Across 20 years I have been involved with scores of beer festivals in six states. It has corresponded with my education of craft beer, and I have enjoyed the transition from mostly distributors to independent craft breweries at festivals. My first experience happened way back in 2001 when I visited my friend Todd in Atlanta, and we attended the Great Decatur Beer Festival. It was a very special experience, and I remember trying a lot of beer, although back then a lot of it was imported from Europe. Still I remember a handful of breweries from the Atlanta area at this festival, and this would spark my interest into attending them when I got back to Indiana.
It was only a few years after this that I began attending festivals biannually here in Indianapolis. I wrote earlier in the summer about the Brew Ha-Ha, and the FestivAle was a beer festival put on by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation various places around the city. Over the years I would attend festivals in multiple states until I got involved with Indiana On Tap, and would work a handful every year. By 2016, the number of breweries in existence would made it possible a lot more festivals. More people into craft beer made a lot more choices. It was the beginning of the environment that that I feel we have today!
So when this year started, I, like many people was tired of this pandemic, and was looking to a time when things would get back to normal. I had attended several festivals at the end of last year, and enjoyed Anderson On Tap especially! Nothing is more anti-pandemic than a beer festival, and this years’ crop has been especially festive, and well attended. Here in Indiana, there seemed to be at least one weekly across the summer!
I wrote last week about the record attendance at Hops and Coaster drops. I also saw huge crowds at Pax Verum’s Way Out, as well as this years Anderson On Tap. Both festivals I attended at 2Tom’s had great crowds, and Centerpoint’s Not So Frigid Digits was nicely crowded on a very hot Saturday in June. All across the state, I have heard similar stories. As I write this article, amazing fests are taking place. Vincennes Brewing is hosting Pints at the Pavillion, and the Sinkhole in Bloomington is hosting Lager Fest. It continues, and no matter where you are, there is an upcoming beer event near you!
Why I think beer festivals are amazing is because you get a chance to try beer from so many different breweries. As someone who has visited every brewery in Indiana, I see how valuable this experience is. And for people like me, I often get the urge to visit a brewery after excellent experience at a festival. As a writer and volunteer, I know so many people involved in craft beer, and festivals are a great place to meet up with them. There’s something for everyone at a beer festival, and right now there are more of them than ever!
When I first started attending beer festivals 20 years ago, I wasn’t writing about beer or volunteering in the industry. I enjoyed the experience, and got to attend beer festivals in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and a plethora in Indiana. Memorable fests include one at the Penn Brewery, and one in Independence we hit before a baseball game. I even remember a mini one at the Riverbend Center before a concert! I have had a lot of fun, and used to be a little more crazy, but I still get to attend festivals regularly, and enjoy seeing my friends as much as I enjoy trying beer. There are good festivals everywhere, and now that craft beer is as popular as ever, odds are there’s something happening near you almost every weekend!
As I look at the calendar, October will be a busy month for beer festivals. There will be dozens in Pennsylvania including King of Prussia‘s Beer Fest Royale, and Bethlehem’s Oktoberfest at Steelstacks. Cincinnati has a full month which includes a Zoo Brew, and a Helloween Beer and Donuts Festival on the 26th. Across the river in Newport on the same day, there will be an Oktoberfest. And here in Indiana, there will be over 40 festivals all over the state next month. There will be a Zoofari, cider fests, and lots of lager fests. You can find more information about everything I’ve mentioned in this paragraph and more on the Internet.
So as craft beer seems to be as popular as ever, we have more beer festivals than I can remember. I mentioned some events from this weekend, and my buddy Rob just told me 3300 people were at a festival in Valparaiso! It’s a great time to drink craft beer, and no matter where you live, there will be an event near you. I will continue to attend craft beer events, and look forward to next year as well! If we meet at an event, hopefully we can taste some good beer together!
So Much Beer So Little Time 