How to Enjoy a Beer Festival

Beer festivals celebrate that favorite alcoholic beverage made from hops known as beer. But the festivals do more than that. They offer visitors a way to try the dozens of different beers and discover new favorites. You can learn a lot from beer festivals, where brewmasters long to educate you. Follow these steps to enjoy a beer festival.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Find a beer festival to sample. The majority of US beer festivals come in the summer in places like New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina. If you happen to get the urge to enjoy a beer festival as summer ends, don't despair. The largest US beer festival is Denver's Great American Beer Festival, held in late September and early October.
2. Remember to check Oktoberfest celebrations for beer festivals as well. These famed fall festivals celebrate everything German, particularly beer. For an adventure to the palate, attend the largest Oktoberfest in Munich where people consume more than a million gallons of beer. A slightly smaller Oktoberfest that draws only half a million visitors is the Cincinnati Oktoberfest that includes a keg-tapping ceremony.
3. Take your time to enjoy a beer festival. You want to sample many different beers before drunkenness sets in. Try things you've never tasted before rather than old favorites.
4. Drink small. Some festivals provide small glasses. With others, you have to ask for half a glass.
5. Sip your beer. After two sips, decide whether you like the flavor or not. Make note of the style of beer. Empty your glass into a dump bucket if you don't enjoy it. If you discover that a certain style of beer (Pale Ale, Extra Special Bitters, Stout) makes your "no, thanks" list more than twice, stay away from that style of beer.
6. Move from the lightest shade of beers to darker beers. Dark beers and ales come with a strong taste that can keep you from appreciating a lighter tasting beer like fruit beers or Hefe-weizens (wheat beers). Start with light and move to copper-color beers, and then to brown colors. The strongest beers tend to the Porters and the Stouts.

Tips & Warnings

• The Great British Beer Festival (also referred to as the World's Largest Pub) originated the modern beer festival, and it continues today in London after more than 30 years.
• Arrange for a designated driver before sampling at a beer festival. You'll likely forget later.