Another Winter Beer Festival has come to a close and Trisha and I are back home counting down the days until next year. When I tell those who haven’t been what we were up to this weekend, drinking beer outside in frigid temps for several hours, they told me I was crazy. However there is something magical and ridiculously fun when you get 7,500 plus people together to sample over 750 beers, from 89 different Michigan breweries.
There were over 12,000 people that tried to get tickets to the festival back on December, 1st of 2013, however because of the limited number of tickets, and traffic that was put on the servers trying to sell the tickets, there were several thousand disappointed Michigan beer drinkers. It’s a bummer that not everyone who wanted to go was able to, but it’s also great to see that there are so many crazy people willing to brave the cold in order to enjoy the beer that the hard working Michigan brewers produce.
This year’s festival was held in the parking lot of the Fifth Third Ballpark in Grand Rapids. The fire that damaged some of the stadium suites earlier in the year did not have an effect on the festival. The facilities were great and the beer flowed as usual. There was a bit of a traffic jam getting to the festival, so those that prepared and left early were able to get in somewhat quickly to start sampling the best of what Michigan craft brewers have to offer.
Staying warm never seems to be an issue once inside the festival grounds. This year the sun was shinning, and although there was a brisk wind, it died down from Friday allowing festival tents to go up, and the beer fest to go on. The beer was plentiful, the crowd was enthusiastic, shouting “Social,” and raising their glasses every so often, and there were plenty of portable toilets, 146 to be exact, so lines were never a big issue.
Getting to see the festival goers in their crazy get-ups is almost as fun as drinking amazing Michigan craft beer. Pretzelaces were everywhere, as were funny hats, and silly costumes. Those in attendance this year wandered from tent to tent, sampling beers such as Ghost Pepper Stout from Brewery Ferment, Wine Barrel Aged Imperial Saison from Brewery Vivant, Blackbeerd’s Sweet Potato Stout from New Holland Brewing Company, and Peanut Butter Porter from B.O.B.’s Brewery. There were 19 new breweries new to the festival this year! I wish I was physically able to try all the beers that were available, but I guess there’s always next year?
A big thanks goes out to the Michigan Brewer’s Guild for putting together another amazing event, and also to all the volunteers, breweries, bands, food makers and anyone else who helped put it all together. For those who were able to make it this year, we’d love to hear what your favorite beers were! Please share below, and perhaps we’ll have to make some trips this summer to the breweries to check them out!
