If you’re a craft beer fan, there’s no better time to enjoy a beer festival than the summertime! Finding a fun beer event can be a great addition to your travel plans, since it gives you a different kind of taste of the area that you’re visiting.
There are many beer festivals happening this summer, but here are some of the best ones that you should try to get to if you can:
Summer's Best Beer Festivals
1. National Homebrewers Conference
When and where: Baltimore, June 9-11
Every year, passionate homebrewers from all over the country descend on a city to talk all things beer for three days. To attend, you have to be a member of the American Homebrewers Association. Even if you’re not a homebrewer, it’s totally worth joining for this conference, where you can try beers made with experimental hops, recipes that you’ve never seen before anywhere, and learn tons about beer. Local professional breweries are also on site. The best part is an evening costume party where homebrewers pour their best creations.
2. Southern Brewers Festival
When and where: Chattanooga, August 20
Combine great live music with beer from 40 East and West Coast breweries and you’ve got the Southern Brewers Festival. This has been a tradition in Chattanooga for the last 22 years and the event takes places along the beautiful Tennessee River. You can’t beat watching the sunset along the water and listening to music on a picnic blanket on a warm night!
3. Beerfest Asia 2016
When and where: Singapore, June 16-19
If you’re headed to Asia this summer, make sure to go to the biggest beer event on the continent. Beerfest Asia is a celebration with 500 beers, live music, and standup comedy under the Singapore skyline. From Sweden to New Zealand, exhibitors come from all over the world to showcase their unique brews.
4. Mondial de la Biere
When and where: Montreal, June 8-12
Summer is a great time to visit charming Montreal, especially if you can combine it with a fantastic celebration of over 600 beers and 100,000 beer drinkers. It is held in the largest auditorium in Montreal, and you can take a class on beer and food pairing or learn more about brewing with the MBeer school of brewology.
5. Oregon Brewers Festival
When and where: Portland, July 23-27
They don’t call Portland “Brewvana” for nothing. This is one of the longest-running craft beer festivals in the United States, celebrating its 29th year this summer. This festival draws 80,000 people annually to try beer from 84 different breweries on the banks of the Willamette River. The fact that it’s five days long means that you don’t have to drink all the beers from all the breweries as quickly as possible!
6. The Great British Beer Festival
When and where: London, August 9-13
Try more than 900 beers at the UK’s biggest beer festival this summer! Held in the Olympia Exhibition Centre, the festival is ready to open its doors to 50,000 people. You can try beers from the UK as well as bottles from all over the world. The event is put on by the Campaign for Real Ale, an organization that promotes real ales, ciders, and the traditional British pub!
7. Berlin International Beer Festival
When and where: Germany, August 5-7
2016 is a big year for the Berlin International Beer Festival as it celebrates its 20th year in existence. The festival takes place on Karl-Marx-Allee and draws 800,000 visitors. With over 300 breweries from 87 different countries, you can find 2,400 unique brews to try here. Come for the beer and stay for the great food and music from international bands.
8. Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America 2016
When and where: June 4-25
From June 4th to June 25th, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company will travel across the United States to put on six different beer festivals on the East and West Coast. Known as “the largest craft beer celebration in history,” Beer Camp features hundreds of breweries in the events and offers a special variety pack made by 31 collaborating brewers for the occasion.
This article was written by Cathy Trainor.