Beer fests need more variety of brews

[Waynep005]

I was at a brew fest that had 50 to 60 brewers on Friday night. It seemed like every company brought an IPA and many brought an IIPA as there second beer. While I like IPA's it seems like brew fests should have a greater variety of beer to taste. Non craft beer fans need to now craf beer is not all highly hopped beers. That said I had a great time and tasted a lot of good beer.

 

[Hammy71]

I agree to a point. Several years ago I went to a cask brew fest. A lot of good brews. But, a local brew-pub brought two casks. A Blonde (that was basically Coors lite), and a English Pale Ale. I'd be willing to bet they took some beer home that day. Having said that, there is plenty of room for Pale ales, stouts, lagers etc. at a beer fest. Especially if there is that many brewers. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[duboman]

I was at a brew fest that had 50 to 60 brewers on Friday night. It seemed like every company brought an IPA and many brought an IIPA as there second beer. While I like IPA's it seems like brew fests should have a greater variety of beer to taste. Non craft beer fans need to now craf beer is not all highly hopped beers. That said I had a great time and tasted a lot of good beer.

I agree for the most part. I too have seen and tasted way too many of the "standards" and would like to try more of the "lab" style beers.

Honestly, I have a great time at the fests but try to search out the special beers and skip the standards. If I ask what else they brought and there isn't anything I get some weird looks sometimes as I walk away and they ask why-I simply tell them that I can get a pale or IPA anywhere, I'm looking for the more original offerings, hopefully they get the hint for next time!

 

[Phunhog]

That's why most beer festivals aren't that great. Most don't serve very interesting beers...you can buy the same beers at your liquor store and save the money. My "local" beer fest had PBR, Guinness, and Bass??? There were a few interesting beers from the better craft breweries but nothing that you can't find elsewhere. My buddy has started a local "underground" beer fest that is a mix of commercial and homebrew breweries......now that's a fun one!! Drinking beers that you can't find anywhere else.

 

[brewsnthelou]

I agree, I started volunteering to pour at the big STL heritage feat last year cause the beers were the same as usual. Supposedly this year all new offerings.. Hoping so, although I'm still volunteering to pour also, that's 4 hours of people watching fun! lol

 

[roger617]

Beer fests for me are a great time, regardless the variety. I like to see a lot of different beers, but if they just are there, I still enjoy comparing all the different 'common' beers. I also agree to seek out the experimental beers first, they will go the quickest! The last fest I went to, a handful of the breweries there had a special beer behind the stand that you had to ask for. Always worth asking if there's something else there!

 

[ktblunden]

That's actually my issue with a lot of smaller breweries I've been to (CA has a massive amount of craft breweries). Most of them have a Pale, an IPA, a Wit or Hefe, and MAYBE a porter or stout (though those tend to be fairly rare). It gets boring. When I go to a new place I want to try something out of the ordinary, not just the same tap list everyone else has.

 

[Mongrel]

Head up to Portland in July or Bend in August. OBF usually has a big variety. Beer List. Still a little early, so the list will grow. If you go, hit it on Thurs/Fri and get out early. OBF is a mess on the weekend. Bend Brewfest in mid-August is a lot smaller, but the crowds are also a lot smaller. Beer List

 

[ObsidianJester]

While I would agree so far my beer fests have been somewhat open to many different things.

However you need to look at it from a commercial aspect for these guys, transporting things increases time invested, with the risk that only a few samples of an experimental beer is going to be given out. Beer fests are for show casing your flagships as well as your secondary beers. The general public gets to go to these things too and most people are going to be able to try a pale ale, hefewizen with out being scared away.

I do agree it would be nice to see more of the smaller craft brewers in general as well as different sorts but they also have to bring what is going to potentially draw the most people overall to one of their beer lines.