JuicyBrews West Fest Brought Out the Rarities Over 420 Weekend

April 20th started out overcast and gloomy in Oakland, CA. With a chilly wind blowing off the Bay, it didn’t seem like the sun was going to come out to play for this cheerful 420 fest. But as the first … Read More

2019 Craft Brewers Conference External Events Guide

While the Craft Brewers Conference is an amazing opportunity to gain valuable education from the multitude of sessions and seminars, as brewers we know the real fun comes with the after-parties surrounding the conference. To help you navigate the week-long schedule of tap takeovers, beer dinners, special releases and more surrounding CBC we put together a day-by-day external events guide. Use the menu below to quickly navigate to the corresponding day.

Additionally we will be updating this guide throughout the week, so if we missed an event be sure to shoot us a message.

Special thanks to our friends at OnTap Credit Union, who have been crafting banking solutions for breweries, brewery employees and beer lovers for the past 64 years in Golden and Arvada. Their support in underwriting PorchDrinking allows us to continue to research and present in-depth pieces like the the 2019 CBC External Events Writeup

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Event Recap | Executing the “Craft-Plus” Festival Model: Ballpark Brew Fest

The ubiquitous nature of craft beer fests suggests that the novelty of simply offering nothing but an array of craft beer has diminished; a lively competition among fests exists. As a result, festivals routinely engage in the “craft-plus” strategy, such as a “craft + a theme” or “craft + an appealing venue.” One such craft-plus fest occurred on May 5 in the Chicago area at the Schaumburg Boomers’ minor league baseball stadium — the 6th Annual Ballpark Brew Fest (co-hosted by Bigby’s Pour House).bot

The alluring venue coupled with breweries who brought A-game brews, mostly served by its all-star staffers, made for a successful fest and one for which has the potential to maintain its year-to-year viability.

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Event Recap | Welles Park Beer Fest

The third leg of the Illinois Craft Beer Guild Festival Grand Slam occurred on Aug 5, 2017 at Welles Park on the north side of Chicago. Festival goers enjoyed sun, 78-degree temperatures, terrific beer and a venue that was tough to beat. Sadly, though, for various reasons, attendance seemed a tad lackluster for Welles. It’s unlikely that will be the case at the next one; the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers (FoBAB) is the Wimbledon or Masters of Illinois beer fests.

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