Archive for the ‘beer festivals’ Category
Back in Action – Now in the Food and Drink Festival Business!

DC Burger Bash which was held at the National Building Museum outside grassy area, August 24th, 2017
I’m Baaack!! OK, so some interesting changes – I now have organized/managed two festivals – The Virginia Wine Festival (R) and the Taco, Beer, Tequila Festival – the 1st event came to me seeking new management, the 2nd one I created from scratch. There have been many ups and downs since 2016 when I took over the Virginia Wine Festival Management and completed the Taco Festival – hopefully the learning curve will help me better manage the future!
1)Managing people is the hardest part of event management for an outdoor festival – I thought that by hiring outside “guns for hire” as the Logistics specialists for an event that I could handle all event issues. Although I think both Logistics teams did a better than average job, they weren’t personally invested in the event and it became obvious on event dates.
2)Event marketing can work 100% digital. I was told by the Association that holds the rights to the Virginia Wine Festival that I would probably have to use some traditional media such as radio, print, and ticket give-aways as a means to successfully selling enough tickets. Since I already have a substantial active email list with TasteUSA I decided to use that email list, Facebook and Google Adwords. The Results were overwhelming – most event consumers, especially younger Millennials use Google and online means to find events and purchase tickets. Eventbrite ticketing, Facebook and Adwords pixels and email marketing in general are the hot buttons for consumer ticket sales.
3)Generic Events make no sense in a competitive environment – Sure, I could have just taken over the Virginia Wine Festival and left everthing the same – but why not add Virginia Oysters – better yet, why not create “an event within an event” – the VA Oyster Pavilion? By adding a new marketing “twist” I took an existing event and made it a wine AND food festival. So I created a Taco Festival – but why not add the “Tequila Pavilion”? Generic beer and wine festivals with no interesting food or story line will in my opinion have to keep lowering their ticket prices in order to compete with more and more “me too” events.
Great to be in touch with my foodie readers again – keep on eating and drinking the good stuff!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
DC Beer Festivals Kick In – 2015 Fall Issue
DC Beer Festival season kicks in again – an amazing number of craft beer festivals – from 1-price all you can drink to the Mega Snallygaster “money is no obect” – there are festivals for the craft beer lover this Fall, 2015
As the head of TasteUSA, it’s my job to attend and cover as many food and drink festivals in the U.S. as possible – and since DC is my home base, here’s some upcoming events and maybe a recap or 2 to help you plan your Festival Season.
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ (September 19th, 2015 – Tyson’s Corner – but this festival visits many different cities during the season)- Trigger Agency’s series of over the top porkiness (?porkyness?) events that combine too much of what every hearty foodie wants: pigliciousness, Bourbon and of course craft brews! Expect more bacon too – it seems this is the current foodie draw to over-the-top events. Medium on the Beer Geek/Bourbon Geek scale, Trigger really specializes in a more laid-back vibe for the city slickers who want to just throw on some jeans and kick back a bit!
Arlington Backyard Beer Festival (September 19th, 2015 – Arlington Gateway, Rosslyn, VA) – although a first year event, the Organizers have put together multiple other local beer festivals including Drink the World Beer Festival and All-American Beer Festival . Expect a nice selection of craft beers and really great food trucks for food – the price is also right – you can save 30% off the ticket price at our site with promo code “tasteusa” and the VIP Tickets are only $45 before discount!
Das Best Oktoberfest (September 26th, 2015 – National Harbor, MD) – Hey, again you can get discounted tickets – only $29 for VIP all-you-can-drink – another Trigger Agency event that is very popular. You can do the German Oktoberfest thing, or simply enjoy lot’s of great beer – and since our discounted price is $29/per person (VIP) – you get a very affordable event to enjoy craft beers at!
Past Events (hey, they’ll be back next year!)
Snallygaster 2015 – Holy Smokes, this is one Great and expensive craft beer festival – Very High on the Beer Geek scale, maybe an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10! 300+ beers this year and many rare, cask, unique examples of hops, grain and yeast combined in an amazing array of choices. I actually tried a beer that
Annapolis Craft Beer & Music Festival – September 12th, 2015 – Outside the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, this event is always fun and has a nice selection of local beers including Jail Break, Oliver Breweries, and Heavy Seas.
Have fun at upcoming craft beer festivals – I’ll include an article soon on new food and drink events at TasteUSA – Cheer!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Bacon Festivals Are Back and TasteUSA Got ’em!
America Loves Bacon..and So Does Washington, D.C.!
It’s Bacon Festival Season again, and Washington, D.C. seems to be the Extreme Bacon Capitol! Coming up are 2 Bacon Festivals the same weekend in DC – First the amazing and popular Capitol Bacon Fest brought to you by America Loves Bacon. Believe it or not, TasteUSA now Feature more Bacon Festivals than any other website!
Capitol Bacon Festival, May 30, 2015, The Fairgrounds, Washington, D.C. (near the Yards Park)- 2nd Time in Washington, D.C. – Last year’s Bacon Eating Championship was a Feast for the Senses (not bad on the eyes either) and will again pit some of DC’s Best Bacon Eaters in a competitive format. I really enjoyed this event last year – Charm City Caterers, Food Trucks and some local food purveyors made the event a Smorgasbord of Bacon Goodness!
I attended last year’s DC Bacon and Beer Festival in DC and it’s Back this year on Sunday, May 31st, 2015 – the day after Capitol Bacon Festival!! This was held at Penn Social and was quite good – there were quite a few chefs/restaurants and it Sold Out in literally a matter of minutes.
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ is June 19 and 20th, 2015 – We promote so many of these Festivals that we almost forget – this event includes a Huge Bacon Tasting! There are over 10+ Bacon tasting stations and of course this event comes with a great selection of Bourbons and Beers. The Trigger people produce this event all over the U.S. so they have special relationships with Pork Vendors – it’s Porky and Foodie!
Beer & Bacon Festival comes to Woodbridge, VA for the 2nd year on Saturday, August 29, 2015 and is presented by Trigger Agency again. There’s a Special Price for VIP Tickets on our site – and you get VIP Beer and Bacon Admission will host over 10 restaurant tasting stations featuring the BEST restaurants in the DC Metro area. They will be on-hand vying for the $500 Best Bacon Dish Prize. (VIP Beer & Bacon Session food tastings included, regular beer tasting session food is ala carte.)
• 2 tons of gourmet bacons will be griddled on-site (until 3pm). Save a Few Dollars on Beer & Bacon Festival Here
Past: I attended Beer, Bacon & Music at the Frederick Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 – this was my first time visiting this event and location – the 2 Tons of Bacon made it really fun (you could literally eat your hearts content of bacon – the Jalapeno was awesome!!) and beers were a penny once you paid the very reasonable cover charge. I was impressed as much with the quality of the craft breweries represented as I was with the Bacon choices. I met a farm/brewery owner – Henry Ruhlman of Ruhlman Brewery in Hempstead, Maryland who told me the story of how he began growing Maryland Hops and went through all the regulatory hurdles to produce Farmhouse beers. Today, opening a brewery on a farm is much less of a struggle, but he said he would do it again!
Beer, Bacon, Booze..Festivals That Is!
We’ve hit the big Foodie Festival Season in Washington, D.C. now that it’s the first week in May..more Bacon Festivals, more Beer Festivals, more Booze Festivals..ohh, and a few wine festivals, food crawls, Big Charity high-ticket dinners..ohhand of course DC Lamb Jam .. here it goes, a fun rollick through the Washington, D.C. Foodie Festival Season..
Saturday, May 9th, 2015 – DC Craft Beer and Cider Festival – Hey, they added Ciders and more Speciality craft beers impossibly hard to find.. Did I mention that Mess Hall (the Food Incubator) is Catering the event?
VinoFest, May 9th, 2015 – More Music than Foodie, but with over 20 wines included and some awesome food, I can see getting my boogie on and sipping away at this one
Beer, Bacon & Music Festival , May 16th, 2015, Frederick Fairgrounds – C’mon you got all the good stuff – plenty of craft beers, bacon both in 2 Tons to eat right away, and a bevy of food trucks and Bacon purveyors..and frankly a bit away from the city..
DC Lamb Jam , May 17th, 2015 – This is a Serious Chefstravaganza – 17 chefs, tons of food, wine, craft beer and Foodie Heaven – Chefs competing to win your tastebuds over .. and only $60.. c’mon, I’ve spent more than that at a Food Truck Festivals (well, I promote them!)
St. Michael’s BrewFest, May 30th, 2015 – hey sometimes you gotta get away and visit the Eastern Shore..I mean this could be a whole weekend, especially if you visit Lyon Distillery and other distilleries and breweries around the corner..I mean, that’s travelling for food and drink!
DCIST List Here – Hey, check out this short list from DCist..there are actually more Bacon Festivals coming, more beer, wine, cocktail festivals..and well..this just forces me to drink on the Job – Cheers!
Eater DC Added some events like Edible DC’s Cocktail Derby ..
And of course Fritz Hahn’s Going Out Guide Washington Post Article for 2015 Beer Festivals
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Washington, D.C. 2014 Fall Craft Beer Festival Guide
TasteUSA has the Beer Festival List.. The Fall Season in Washington, D.C. is kicking in with an amazing number and quality selection of Craft Beer Festivals. I saw the Washington Post Article: Drink up: A guide to local fall beer festivals and decided that TasteUSA simply had a more comprehensive list – then again we specialize in promoting, marketing and communicating on craft beer festivals, but wine festivals and foodie events too!
3rd Annual Brew & Bourbon Classic Laurel Park RT 198 & Racetrack Road 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
ChessieFest Grapeseed 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
Bands, Brews & BBQ Manassas Museum Lawn 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
Annapolis Craft Beer & Music Festival Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 550 Taylor Ave 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
Snallygaster Beer Festival Yards Park 355 Water St SE 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
Taste of Georgetown K Street NW between Wisconsin Avenue and Thomas Jefferson Street 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
Beer and Bacon Festival Heavy Seas Brewery, 4615 Hollins Ferry Rd 09/13/2014 – 12:00pm
District Oktoberfest Special Price VIP Tickets RFD 810 7th St., NW 09/20/2014 – 11:00am
Virginia Cider Festival Fredericksburg Fairgrounds 2400 Airport Avenue 09/20/2014 – 11:00am
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ -VIP Whole Hog Pig Pickin and Tasting Glass Lerner Town Square at Tysons II 09/20/2014 – 11:00am
Capitol Bacon Festival Fairgrounds 09/20/2014 – 11:30am
DC International Beer Festival (New Date and Location) Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW 09/20/2014 – 12:00pm
Maryland Brewer’s Harvest Bond Street Wharf 09/20/2014 – 12:00pm
Oktoberfest at Heurich House Heurich House Museum 09/20/2014 – 1:00pm
Du Claw Real Ale Fest DuClaw Brewing Company of BelAir 09/20/2014 – 2:00pm
Top of the Hops Charlottesville nTelos Wireless Pavilion 09/20/2014 – 3:00pm
Sterling Volunteer Fire Company Oktoberfest Patton Hall, 46700 Middlefield Dr. Sterling, VA 09/20/2014 – 5:00pm
Blues and Brews 2121 Crystal Drive Courtyard 09/24/2014 – 4:00pm
Maryland Microbrewery Festival Union Mills Homestead 09/27/2014 – 11:00am
Frederick Oktoberfest e-ventplex at the Frederick Fairgrounds 797 E Patrick St 09/27/2014 – 11:00am
Hoppy Oktoberfest Mad Fox Brewing Company, 444 West Broad Street 09/27/2014 – 12:00pm
Lovettsville Oktoberfest Town of Lovettsville 09/27/2014 – 12:00pm
Das Best Oktoberfest DC Armory 09/27/2014 – 1:00pm
Cambridge Firkin Festival Stoked 09/27/2014 – 2:00pm
Frederick Oktoberfest e-ventplex at the Frederick Fairgrounds 797 E Patrick St 09/28/2014 – 11:00am
Cap City Oktoberfest The Village at Shirlington 4001 Campbell Avenue 10/04/2014 – 12:00pm
Oktoberfest Reston Reston Town Center 10/11/2014 and 10/12/2014 – 12:00pm
8th Annual Northern Virginia Fall BrewFest Bull Run Regional Park 10/18/2014 – 11:00am
Fredericksburg BrewFest Fredericksburg Fairgrounds 2400 Airport Avenue 10/18/2014 – 11:00am
Shuckeroo Oyster and Beer Festival Fairgrounds 10/18/2014 – 11:00am
Tysons Fall Harvest Wine and Beer Festival Lerner Town Square at Tysons II 10/18/2014 – 11:00am
Real Ale Festival Pratt Street Ale House 10/18/2014 – 12:00pm
Shuck It! Beer & Oyster Festival Tony and Joe’s 10/18/2014 – 2:00pm
8th Annual Northern Virginia Fall BrewFest Bull Run Regional Park 10/19/2014 – 11:00am
DC Beer Festival Nationals Ballpark 11/08/2014 – 12:00pm
DC Craft Beer Festival – Winter Harvest Walter E. Washington Convention Center 11/22/2014 – 1:00pm
Beer & Bacon Fest = Fun..
Gee wiz..after seeing this Video, I Gotta go to Bacon & Beer Festival – Must be Fun Video – Save some money out of your Piggy Bank by purchasing Discount Tickets at TasteUSA’s Site – Beer & Bacon Festival All-Inclusive VIP Tickets (Save $10 Ticket)
Ohh, and if you can’t make it, the same people who organize this – the Trigger Agency – we also have discounted tickets to Beer, Bourbon & BBQ – Tysons VIP Tickets on Saturday, Sept. 20th, 2014..Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Crazy Spring DC Beer Fests!
Stay on Top of DC’s Beer Festivals..
Fritz Hahn over at Going Out Guide posted 4 upcoming 2014 Spring DC Beer Festivals, but there are many more:
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ – Regular Admission,$35 (Timonium, MD)
Saturday March 22nd (Friday Session as well)
Burgers and Brews Festival (Heavy Seas Brewery, Baltimore),$39
Saturday April 5th
Cherry Blossom Wine & Beer Festival, $40
Saturday April 5th
National Harbor Food and Wine Festival – VIP Tickets (National Harbor),$89
Saturday May 3rd and Sunday May 4th
DC Craft Beer Festival – DC Is Now a Craft Beer Festival Mecca
DC Is Now a Craft Beer Festival Mecca..
March 8th, 2014 saw a new craft beer festival – DC Craft Beer Festival – Spring Seasonals Although a first year event, it was from the organizers of the New York Craft Beer Festival and they had plenty of experience organizing events – they also put together music festivals!
150+ beers and ciders to taste and a slightly new wrinkle – rather than a mini-beer glass, we tasted with a beer shot glass – smaller pours, but way more efficiency in pour management which made for quicker lines and the ability to actually sample 60+ beers without getting drunk and losing focus!
Breweries and Beers:
Breweries Beers
Alewerks Springhouse
Alewerks Shorty Time
Anthem Cherry
Anthem Hops
Bells Smitten
Bells WO Hearted
Duck Rabbit Milk Stout
Duck Rabbit Hoppy BUNNY
Founders All Day IPA
Great Lakes Conways
Great Lakes Commodore
Jacks Hele sns
Jacks Jacks
Lagunitas IPA
Lagunitas Lil Sumpin
Mad River Steelhead Extra Pale
Mad River Stellhead Double IPA
New Holland Poet
New Holland mONKEY KING
New Hollanndd Full circle
North Coast Brother THELONIUS
North Coast Le Melrle
port City Wit
Port City Collosal 3
port City manaical
Speakeasy Big Daddy
Speakeasy Prohibition
Wild Wolf Alpha Ale
Wild Wolf Blonde HONEY
Yards Brawler
Yards Tj
Atlas Rowdy
Atlas District
Boulevard pop up
Boulevard 80 acre
terrapin Lager
Brooklyyn Brown
Foothills Hoppyum IPA
Foothills Torch Pilsner
Ommegang Rare Vos
Ommegang Hennepin
Sam Adams Cold snap
Sam Adams Rebel IPA
Saranac Prism
Saranac Pale Ale
Shiner White Wing
Shiner FM 966
Starr Hill Bandstand
Starr Hill Grateful Pale Ale
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Terrapin Hopsecutioner
Angry Orchard Crisp
Angry Orchard Ginger
Woodchuck 802
Woodchuck Reserve Pink
Abita Andygator
Abita Turbodog
Anchor California Lager
Anchor Anchor Bock
Harpoon IPA
Harpoon Long Thaw
New Belgium Fat Tire
New Belgium Snapshot
Dogfish Midas Touch
DogFISH 90 Minute IPA
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Firestone Walker Union Jack
Firestone Walker Wookey Jack
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
Heavy Seas Black Cannon
Flying Dog Doggie Style
Flying Dog In Heat Wheat
Magic Hat Pistol
Magic Hat Dream Machine
allagash Black
allagash White
Legend Brown Ale
Legend Hopfest
Aviator Frost Nipper
Aviator Mad Beach American Wheat
Mother Earth Dunkel
Mother Earth Weeping Willow Witt
Blue Mountain Dark Hollow
Blue Mountain Local Species
Breckenridge Agave Wheat
Breckenridge Vesper French Saison
Brewers Art Ressurection
Brewers Art St. Festivus
Burley Oak Aboriginal Gangster
Burley Oak Bulletproof Tiger
Oliver Ales Watermelon Honey Wine
Oliver Ales Strawberry Hard Cider
Peak Organic King Crimson
Peak organic Pomegranite Wheat
Union Craft Old Pro Gose
Union Craft DuckPin
Stillwater Artisanal Folklore
Stillwater Artisanal As Follows
Fordham Rt 1 Session IPA
Fordham Gypsy Lager
Dominion Candi Belgian Triple
Dominion Oak Barrel Stout
Goose Island Sofie
Goose Island Illinois
Kona Big Wave
Kona KoKo
Redhook Longhammer
Redhook Audible
Widmer Upheaval
Widmer Columbia Common
Victory Swing Saison
Victory Dirt Wolf
Troegs Perpetual IPA
Troegs Dreamweaver
Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA
Smuttynose Robust Porter
Sweetwater Blue
Sweetwater Sweetwater 420
Omission IPA
Omission Lager
Omission Pale Ale
Devils Backbone Eightpoint IPA
Devils Backbone Pear Lager
Bold Rock Cider Apple
Bold Rock Cider VA
Natty Greenes Red Nose
Natty Greenes Old Town Brown
Natty Greenes Buckshot
Ace Cider Perry
Ace Cider Berry
Lone Rider Peacemaker pale ale
Lone Rider Sweet Josie Brown
Lone Rider Shotgun Betty Hefe
Hop Chef Opening Competition for DC Beer Week 2013..And the Winner Is..
Had a fun time at the Hop Chef opening event for DC Beer Week at Longview Gallery on Sunday, August 11th, 2013 – Hopchef.
Brewery Ommegang and the Washington City Paper have invited 8 of the area’s most talented chefs to cook with and pair a unique dish with beers of Brewery Ommegang to earn the title of Hop Chef DC.
Ommegang Brewery was the sponsor for this event and the concept was for 8 chef’s to use a bit of each various beer in their dishes and obviously to win the tasting competition – a Foodie group of judges including K Street Kate, Mel Gold, Tammy Tuck with the City Paper, and Lauren DeSantos, Capital Cooking.
The Event was designed so that each Restaurant had it’s own dish that included the beer in the dish, but attendees could also pair the beer with the dish. Since there was only one beer line (but it moved pretty quickly – I mean I got about 8 beer “tastes” in under 2 1/2 hours!).
The crowd was quite a mix of industry people and DC Beer Lovers – I would call it DC Eclectic – but alot of new faces which is what makes DC such a unique Foodie market – we just seem to keep getting new people to our burgeoning beer and restaurant scenes – Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Upcoming DC Beer Week Events of Note:
4th Annual Chesapeake Crab and Beer Festival (2 Sessions), Saturday, August 17th, 2013
DC BRAU’s Genuine 2nd Annual DC Beer Week Crab Fest at the Quarterdeck, Wednesday, August 14th, 2013
NoMA BeerFest, Saturday, August 17th, 2013