In September, I asked the question, “What do you think about beer festivals?” It's beer festival season in Maryland and around the world. Rumors suggest beer festivals are declining, but we don't want to believe it. What do you think about beer festivals? Care to share your thoughts?
While not a scientific poll or statistically significant response, the responses were interesting and telling about the state of beer, or at least large organized gatherings of beer drinkers and brewers.
Read on!
Beer consumption is declining overall. Good beer from good breweries is easier to get in distribution now. A lot of breweries that I’d need to travel to in order to get their beer in 2019 or so, I can now get it at Lighthouse or Perfect Pour or somewhere like that.
I think much of the craft beer drinking population that was constantly chasing new beers and ticks on Untappd 5-10 years ago has gotten over that, either because they’re drinking less entirely, or they’ve just settled into drinking beer from their favorite breweries that they know will be good, or both.
I go to Sapwood frequently, so I just don’t really feel the need to go to a festival to get small pours of beer from breweries that are worse than Sapwood. Even if Sapwood is there…I could just go to Sapwood. And if I want beer from other Maryland breweries, there are stores I can go to that will have beer from basically every regional brewery that’s worth a damn. The whole beer festival model just feels like something that has much less of an audience and purpose than it used to.
Personally, back in like 2014 when I started craft beer-ing and list checking, the list of beers to try was always seemingly within reach. Fewer breweries making fewer kinds of beer. A couple compounding factors of just oversaturation, a million breweries, a million styles, a billion individual beers .... and tack on that I've had 12 years to try literally every beer I want ...
I'm just worn out by it. I want a flagship beer or a macro beer. I want cheaper. I want simpler. I don't want a $25 four pack of tall boys, i want a $10 six pack of some sort of smash beer with no frills. I just want a citra IPA. I want a Guinness. I'll take a Loose Cannon. A Bud Heavy to mow my grass.
Beer Festival prices have rocketed like never before. Also, some of these festivals not only charge you to get in the door but you have a limited amount of tickets to use. GFY on that one!
Beer fests are fun when you are first getting into beer. Its a good way to learn who is who so you can decide on what taprooms you want to visit.
Once you have been around for a while, going to a beer fest where every brewery has their flagship and one other commonly produced beer on tap is lame because you have already tried most of those.
I’m a brewer and can confirm that festivals as well as consumption in general is on the decline."
Snallygaster in DC seems to have stayed wildly popular. Ticket prices go up and up and they still seem to sell out. I’m not mad about it or surprised—it’s a really great festival
I think alcohol consumption in general is on a decline, that coupled with the economy right now, aren't positives for beer festivals
Most of these festivals have volunteers pouring the beers for the breweries. So when you go up and ask like hey, what hops are in this beer, or even - I had the best tour at your brewery etc, etc - the volunteers look at you like you have three heads, and simply answer oh, I don't know or I'm just a volunteer... Again... why am I paying $90 just to enter this event for no one to know nothing?
I haven't gone to one in a while since most of the breweries that attend I've tried and rarely do they have unique offerings for the festival. I feel like breweries used to brew special batches for these things before.
The other part is that I've noticed the breweries that consistently attend festival are mid to just plain bad. Check out the ones for the MD Microbrewery Fest this weekend. Personally based on past experiences with their beer, I likely wouldn't visit any of those breweries on their own. Throwing them all together so I can drink mid beer all day isn't much of a draw.
It all went downhill when they canceled the Baltimore Craft Beer Festival
