Welcome to the Session, June's topic is Beer Festivals. Expect a wrap up of post of all the bloggers posts on Beer Festivals tomorrow morning, but it looks like we will have a sold group of participants this month.

When I first thought of this topic I figured would write about my recent favorite event Arizona Strong Beer festival. Instead though this week it struck me I was far more interested in writing about what I want to see in beer festivals rather than a specific event.

Over the years I have gotten to experience a number of beer festivals on both coasts. From a mini-GABF held back in Baltimore about a decade ago to the Made in the Shade events in Arizona. Preparation and thoughtfulness seem to be the key to a good festival so here are my thoughts what makes a great beer festivals.

The Line – The line to get in often it seems sets the tone and mood for the entire event. Those that are managed well get people in to the festival grounds in a quick manner with little hassle. One of the better examples of this is for Flagstaff’s Made in the Shade event they actually send the ID check people out in advance of the line to provide wristbands so that all need one do when you get to the door is hand your ticket over and grab your glass then you are off to enjoy the event. One of the mistakes I have witnessed is when festivals will have the entrance person check the ticket and age check together. This invariable causes the line to slow to a crawl leaving impatient people outside looking into an event fowling their mood at the very beginning.

Glass – As I just mentioned you are through the line and now is time for the glass. Now normally you have forked over a fair amount of money to get into this event and my mood immediately sours when I face a cheap plastic cup. Beer tastes best served in a glass. It also serves as a nice souvenir to boot for attendees. Using a cheap glass shows the organizers are more interested in the quick buck rather than an event to remember.

Food – Hot dogs, hamburgers and the same old state fair carnie concession stands are ok, but not very inventive or interesting frankly. SAVOR just showed that beer can be paired in unique and unexpected ways. So while that carnie fair is expected I think it’s time organizers try to stretch and grow the food choices. A perfect example of this was at the Arizona Strong Ale festival. This year they had a pan-fried Chinese fried noodle stand. The noodles were the perfect fair to match to the strong beers and helped attendees keep an even keel among the heavyweight beers. There needs to be more options food wise at festivals.

Space – We need to have enough room to have fun. Far too often I have seen festivals grow into mass mobs of mindless drunks and lose the fun of a festival. Having plenty of room and shade for people to relax and interact is a key part of any good festival. Look at Oktoberfest for example, while it is the largest beer festival held it also is most a series of dedicated tents, tables, and benches to ensure people have room to relax and socialize. Crowded festivals also mean you can’t really interact with the breweries staff because they are too busy trying to pour their wares as fast as possible than actually pausing for a minute and talking about the beers. I’d rather attend a festival that I can have a conversation with the brewer, then a mindless drunkfest. These events are ultimately as much a social experience as they are a beer experience.

I realize that many of my suggestions could cause the cost of events to increase, but to have a more positive festival experience it’s a price I am willing to pay. As I have started to see the incoming Session posts of other people it sounds like many are burned out on the experience and perhaps the above suggestions could help draw these people back to such events.