This is the ultimate craft beer festival in the United States. I'm glad I finally got to complete…read morethis three-day pilgrimage. There were some 500 breweries pouring at this year's event. Initially, this volume was discouraging, because it didn't seem like I would be able to make a dent in it. However, this feeling soon gave way to the joy of adventure. No matter where I happened to land, I could find plenty of styles that interested me. Strong ales, in particular.
The size of the convention floor is immense, so you can only go back and forth, from one end to the other, so many times. It helps to follow some sort of strategy. Early on, I completed a series of small missions. I tasted everything that interested me from the section featuring collaboration beers, followed by the section with medal-winning brews from previous years. Next, the section with international beers.
From there, I treated my favorites from the most well-known regional brewers like an aircraft carrier. These included the likes of AleSmith, Dogfish Head, Firestone Walker, Pizza Port, Russian River, and Sierra Nevada. I sampled at random from the rest of the lot. I made sure not to overexert myself during the day, and to get adequate sleep each night. Also, to be well-fed and hydrated before, during, and after each of the three, four-day sessions.
The entire convention floor is concrete, so my feet progressively tired from walking on it over the course of three days. This makes it important to wear shoes with optimal cushioning.
The Thursday evening session is great, because it's not too crowded. The Friday and Saturday sessions, on the other hand, are dense with people. However, this is easily absorbed by the vast array of tasting stations. For certain breweries, the lines are ridiculous, so I never bothered with those.
There is no re-entry after you leave the event. However, the four hours go by fast, and there are plenty of areas with seating to rest from walking.
The food selection was nearly devoid of vegan options. I was able to get a vegan noodle and rice bowl from Cupbop, but they didn't have tofu or other plant-based protein to put in it.