«Beer is normally taken internally.» Die Hard with a Vengeance(1995) Kudos to Duluth for their 1st Beerfest! The area where the festival took place was beautiful. The tents were laid out well(not too crowded) with a great selection of booths. Most of the major Atlanta/Georgia breweries were well-represented(Red Hare, Monday Night, Sweetwater, Terrapin, to name a few). The VIP area was well sponsored by Unilocal with fun games/activities(cards, cornhole and a giant Jenga set) and free schwag! Plus, there were some fancier beers and free food to be had. Plus, a free Woodchuck backpack and cool 48oz beer stein. VIP also allowed you into the event 1 hour early to get your beer on before the masses arrived. Also, we had some food trucks for lining the stomach(much needed with all that beer) — Tex’s Tacos, a frozen custard truck(forgot the name), and Slope’s BBQ. Plus, the Frozen Pints team was out with beer ice cream as well as Happy Hour Confections(boozy cupcakes and brownies). Unlike other beerfests, this was a tamer(less sauced) crowd. It was quite enjoyable despite the humidity and threat of rain. Very well done, Duluth.
Jennifer L.
Place rating: 4 Marietta, GA
Duluth has a pleasant downtown area with some cute shops, restaurants, and a nice outdoor green. The Duluth Beerfest(held the first Saturday of every June, I’ve been told) is a really nice way to enjoy this area. There were over 100 different types of beer available for tasting, far too many to try them all! Because of this, I decided to focus just on comparing the dark beers and ciders; my boyfriend was more adventurous(or less focused?) and tried them randomly. I found the people pouring to be very pleasant and informative, whether they were volunteers or representing their own brewing companies. There were also booths for non-beer places, like Costco, the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Roller Derby team, or Dave & Busters. And Unilocal,too, of course, which had the best booth of all with a variety of free swag, cornhole, and life-size Jenga! The festival had some fun, festival-appropriate bands playing, too. My only criticism would be the at-the-gate price of $ 45. Even with 8-ounce pours, it’d be hard to drink anywhere near that amount of beer, so make sure to purchase tickets ahead of time and save $ 10. The price did ensure that there were never long lines at any of the booths. VIP tickets got you some premium beers(with high ABV and/or high prices), food like veggie platters and chicken fingers, and a wicked cool monstrous glass beer stein, as well as an hour to enjoy the festival before the general admission crowd. It was a beautiful day and a happy(but not sloppy) crowd, as you would expect for a beer festival!
