TLDR: Cancelled event 1 week out with no explanation and refunded tickets with Fever App vouchers that are only good for 6 months. I have attended a couple DTD events in the past (Cherry Blossom Beer Festival and Red White and Brew) with little to no problems, however my recent run in has left me disappointed. I bought tickets to the 2022 Clover Beer Festival with ticketing being handled through the Fever Ticket App. About a week before the event, out of the blue, Drink the District cancels the festival. No email explanation or apologies, only a notification on my Fever App that my tickets had been cancelled and the Facebook event vanished overnight. Adding insult to injury, Drink the District refunded my tickets with Fever App vouchers, which only can be used with Fever events and the value expires in 6 months. Finally, Fever kept their $16 worth of service fees. This is absolutely unacceptable on all fronts. read more

I attended one of these events and was definitely not happy. 1) There were only 5 foods carts--none of which was vegetarian friendly. Some did accept credit card. 2) Was a "beer fest" with only 12 stands and ~22 beers on tap. 3) There was sand/dirt in the ice mixed in for rails 4) Sound system was not so good; did not project well to half the venue 5) Speaking of the venue, it was tiny! Definitely had a much better time at the beer fest in National's Park. Furthermore, they are located a moderate hike from the metro station vs. the other venue is just 2 blocks away. The only positive part of this experience was there was a lot more seating near the food carts than competitors' venues. The venue they hold this event in is awkward, small vs. at the nationals park which offers much more privacy and space. The biggest let down is perhaps the "beer fest." This is a blatant lie. The other events I've been to have over 50 stands with over 100 (that's right, ONE HUNDRED) different tastings. I was so disappointed I left early. I tried to give their events a shot, but now I'm one very sad beer lover. :( read more

Its sad that I have to give it only three stars when Ive been here several times prior (and it was amazing). The difference between this time and the amazing times before is the capacity of tickets that were sold this time. There were two giant parking lots across from each (in which the event was held) other which made it difficult to get to everything because of the green mile you had to walk. The times before it was less large and more intimate. My suggestion is if your going to make it larger you should extend the event for another hour (for the green mile walk). Disclaimer: other DTD Ive been to are in different locations so maybe this is the location and not the event. None the less the time should still be extended. I will update once I attend the next one. read more

Drink The District - Always a great time - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I went to the Cherry Blossom Wine & Beer Festival on Saturday and was extremely surprised to see that on an 80+ degree day there was no free water and that small water bottles were being sold for $2. There was no shaded area except for the few vendor tents. The first aid tent had warm water bottles and hardly any sunscreen. I won't be attending any Drink the District events in the future. I'm not sure what makes this event cherry blossom related but it was one of the uglier event spaces I've been to. read more

Bought a ticket to an event held at the French Embassy. This event was total SHAM! It was advertised as having French wines, an executive chef giving cooking demonstrations, "roaming sommeliers", commemorative cup and live music. The reality of the event was: -ZERO French wines -Hardly any drinkable wines -a plain plastic cup...not what I'd call "commemorative" -NO cooking demonstrations -Random, cheap food -Not a single person working had any knowledge of the wines they were pouring. When we asked one women what her favorite out of the ones at her booth she said " I don't know, I'm not allowed to drink" -live music was just a DJ SO DISAPPOINTED! This was marketed as an upscale evening but it was anything but. We left after only 35 minutes. read more

Wanted to update this review since they commented on my Facebook comment. After emailing them specifically what happen as requested in the Facebook post. I still go no response. I did get a refund. But it still doesn't change that these tickets were a present for a birthday, that we spent hours looking for a canceled event, To spend more money to eat at a location which we paid in advance to eat. Poor costumer service. Poor event planning. read more

Went to the cherry blossom beer festival this weekend and was NOT impressed. We made a trip to DC for this festival and we could of done without. The beer festival was in a ugly parking lot with hardly any beer vendors. Not many of the vendors had kegs of the beer, meaning the bottles that the samples were coming from were sitting in the 80 degree sun. This is not the vendors fault, but Drink the District's, since they were the ones who purchased the beers. Also, when you think cherry blossom beer festival, shouldn't there be something pretty there? Rather than a parking lot next to on going construction. read more

This was my first time to Drink The District and I must say that for such a crowded event, the organizers did a surprisingly decent job keeping this potential hot mess under control. That said, there were quite a few very annoying moments during this festival, namely... 1. Not having nearly enough port-a-potties (the wait was 15 min toward the end) 2. The grounds turned into a huge mud pit later in the night. 3. Not nearly enough food trucks. I had to wait almost 30 min for just a grilled cheese sandwich! We did the $35 Living Social deal for the Saturday 6:00 - 10:00 pm session (I can't imagine how brutally hot the daytime session was). I thought $35 was a decent, but not great value. We arrived 10 min before start and proceeded in with no problem at all. It was nice to have a run of the house before the masses arrived, which took almost exactly one hour. I must say that it was nice having a table and seats for most of the night! Beer: Beer is the highlight of this event. Great selection, although I was disappointed that some breweries they advertised were not present (Sierra Nevada). That said, most of the breweries had 1-2 beers available, and more importantly did not run out. A few of the more popular breweries like Black Rhino did run out of beer, which was annoying. Wine: The wine selection appeared to come from the shelf below "two buck chuck" at Trader Joe's. Think of every mass produced wine under $5.00 a bottle, and you will have covered 90% of the list. I love wine, but did mot consume one drop last night because the wines were completely undrinkable. They did a great job with the food trucks; the lobster, grilled cheese and pizza were excellent. Some of the trucks did run out of more than one menu item not only half-way into the event, which again was somewhat annoying. That said, I'm sure people were drunk enough by that point not care as long as the remaining items contained meat and cheese. Overall we had a fun time, although it was not what I expected...like the "Two full pours of beer" they advertised was actually two cups of bud light or some nasty sangria. I think I'd go again next year just to make fun of the drunk fools at the end of the night. read more

What a huge waste of money!! They ripped off thousands of people this year. First off, they charge $50 online and when you get to the gates, you hear them telling people it's $30 entry. What?? Ok. Then you get in, and they give you 20 drink tickets... no big deal, at least that's what you think until you find out that a half cup of wine is 8 tickets!! 8!! Basically half your tickets for 3oz of wine!! As for the beer, the people giving you pours couldn't even tell you what kind of beer it was. Oh and by the way, you had to wait in each line for 20 minutes just to find that out when you got to the front. They also charged a few bucks per bottle of water when it was over 90 degrees outside and people were dying. They have tons of corporate sponsors for this event, as well as volunteers... all of whom should pull out next year in my opinion. I wouldn't want to be associated with that mess. But at least to make it all better, they're offering a $10 ticket so that we could waste more money and time at their next event! No thanks, I will not be back. read more

Meh, my experience could be better! Been to 2 events that were hosted by Drink the District. 1. 16& U St. snow & flake beer & wine event we got there late, most of the vendors ran out of wine already. It was hosted in a garage/warehouse setting. It was kind of crowded. There were only few high tables to stand with food. Overall, the vendors were friendly & fun. 2. Cherry Blossom Beer & Wine fest I am not impressed with this event. It was hosted near the end of Nat's ball park ( little sketchy neighborhood). There were more beers/cider than wine option. All the vendors were just POURING drinks, they don't associate or interact with guests. They don't give any background/info about the drink they are pouring. For beer & wine fest like this, it is important to keep people hydrated especially under a 80 degree weather. There was no free water. I am very disappointed. I would probably not attend another event hosted by Drink the District. read more

What a rip off! It's as though the organizers from years past took off and let a local halfway house put the event together. On a 90+ degree day they were forcing people to surrender water bottles so you could walk inside and buy a generic bottle of water for $2. The tickets are just bullshit. What is it with DC area beer festivals and f**king drink tix? I give you the entry fee, you give me a cup, end of transaction. None of the ridiculously few breweries there had proper signage. The signs would correspond to a cooler far away from said sign. None of the beers were labeled, and nearly none of those pouring were from the breweries so they had no idea what they were pouring or even how to pour properly. Speaking of beer, how do you have a beer festival and not invite any breweries? There was wine and cider, but barely any beer variety. There are finally a bunch of good breweries locally and NONE of them were there. The lines... 15-30 minutes for any pour. While standing in the baking sun. That they set up no cover or even umbrella'd standing tables for. And took your water away. C**nts. Oh yeah, and the event staff were full on d**ks. The second it was over they were aggressively screaming in people's faces to leave. There was more, but I'm getting aggravated with my sunburn as I type this. But I did just get an email saying that as an apology for not knowing how to run an event, I could get discount tickets to a cider festival. Because I'm a high school cheerleader in 1993? You would have to pay ME to get me to a cider festival. F**k cider. In conclusion, lesson learned. Never give these people your money. read more

I was also one of the many that bought tickets (through Eventbrite) to the Vinofest at the Waterfront scheduled for the "first session" on September 9th. I was looking forward to this as I am new to the neighborhood. I wandered around for a good hour asking several people where the event was. No one knew about it. No notice given AND no refund? Thanks assholes. They did put up on the website at one point that it was being rescheduled for Spring of 2018 and that refunds would be given. Uh, that's missing now and have been told no refunds. F*ckers! read more

I went to the recent wine event at "The Block," which is just a parking lot at 6th & K NW. We were promised unlimited tastings of more than 100 wines, and full pours of certain wines. Overall, this event was a huge letdown. First, they didn't provide a printed map, and the map that was available online (only if you knew the address, because you couldn't find it by doing a search) told you which wineries were in which booths, but not which "Table," and each booth had 8 tables. No information was provided about which *wines* were at each table. You basically just had to pick a line and stand in it, hoping that what they had at the front was something that you wanted, or at least something that you didn't hate. Because ALL of the lines for everything were insanely long, we didn't get samples of hundreds of wines, we tried maybe a dozen wines. For $30, it was definitely not worth it at all. It was also not a wine aficionado's wine tasting. This is a wine event for people who really don't give a $*!% about wine. Most of the wines were not very good, and even though each table had at least a couple of wines, most folks would just get a 1oz pour, down it like a shot and move on, or take it with them to go stand in another line for another 1oz pour. It was an attempt to get as many 1oz pours in 3 hours as you could. We went to the second session, and some of the wineries ran out of wines more than an hour before the event ended. Their excuse was that they had filled the glasses of the folks at the early session, but we paid the same price that they did, so we should get the same opportunity to sample wine. The only saving grace was that people were generally friendly, and when a good song was played by the DJ, we all had a blast doing a little Cupid Shuffle. We had a good time despite the wine. read more

The event itself was fine, However, I won a prize at the event, it was NOT at all what was advertised. "Beer-for-a-year" we will send you a case every month for an entire year! 1) A case a month is not beer for a year, that is not even a beer a day 2) considering how much they made selling the bingo tickets, they could've easily paid for the 12 cases. 3) it took them almost 2 months to tell me, that they were giving me 6 cases now, and 6 cases later, (not 1 per month) and that I had to drive into D.C. to pick them up. They were not delivered 4) I never received the 2nd set of 6 cases. I have been emailing 3 times a month for the last 4 months, and no-one through drink the district has contacted me. The events are fine, the prizes are a sham. read more

I went to Drink the District during the sweltering 12-4 session, and generally had a blast! THE GOOD: Massive regional beer selection, and vendors were pouring generous samples! Tons of food trucks (YAY RED HOOK!!!) and a great selection throughout. I thought the space fit the number of attendees--not too small/crowded, but small enough that the space was filled and the atmosphere was exciting. THE BAD: Um, why would someone sample Barefoot wine, or Two Buck Chuck?! I get that the event was geared toward beer, but I came to try new things, not to get the cheapest wine possible that I probably wouldn't even get from the store. It also would have been nice to have some shaded areas and more tables. When my friends and I left it was because we were about to die of heat stroke, NOT because we were done drinking. THE BOTTOM LINE: Great event! I think every 20-something was at the Navy Yards that day. In the future, I hope they provide more shade and seating! read more

Attended the Saturday, June 25, 2016 Beerfest at the Navy Yard from 1pm - 4pm. Do not go to this beerfest if you are interested in trying a wide variety of beer types. It was predominately IPAs and Pale Ales with maybe 2 dark beers and a smattering of ciders. The wine selection is as awful as everyone says it is. There is also no freely available water despite the fact that it takes place on a completely exposed parking lot. The water bottles you had to pay for were on a pallet in the direct sunlight. There is no shaded areas beyond tents for the vendors. The check-in/ticket taking areas were well organized in terms of amount of staff but they had no signs up regarding the low curb and I misstepped and badly rolled my ankle at the very beginning of the event. The staff member mentioned that "people have been doing that all day" in a weak attempt to make me feel better. Their follow up event on Sunday morning, Taste on Wheels - DC's Largest Outdoor Brunch!, was not much better in terms of shade/seating. I would much rather have multiple high high-top tables under the tents instead of long, low tables with seating because one person will camp out an entire table for their group. At least you get some turnover with the standing high-tops. At least they sold semi-chilled water during the 2nd event. read more

The concept is fabulous, the actual event was not. A real disconnect from what was advertised. Etsy shopping was direct marketing, not local artists. No real information on the wines offered. Food was few and far between. It would have been nice to at least have a listing of wines so I could have marked wines I liked. read more

It's rather sad how this panned out. I think DTD events are a blast normally, but for this St Patrick's Day beer fest, they sold tickets for 2 sessions, 1-4 or 6-9. I had other obligations until 5, so I selected the 6-9 option, and then they changed the event out of nowhere so that there was "mega session" from 1 to 5. I contacted customer service since this happened after I bought the ticket for a refund, and they refused?! Event planning 101 people. You don't sell tickets for something and then completely change the details, I wouldn't have bought them in the first place. Thanks for nothing. read more

Went to this event while visiting DC this year. It was a pretty good event, it consisted of about 30 wine vendors scattered throughout a parking lot that you could try as many times as you would like. They also had some live music playing and food trucks where you could purchase some food. I was able to have plenty to drink but it seemed like they sold too many tickets for the events because the lines were very long and since the booths were close together it got very crowded. If you are looking for something different I would give this event a shot. If you have a choice, choose the later session. It is a parking lot and until the sun went down it was super hot and there was very little shade. read more

I don't understand how these people can still operate. It's a total sham. I went to the first one and I just can't believe the organizer could do another. This was my experience. We were inside for about 15-30 minutes before they shut it down due to lightning. They blamed it on the police. The police told us they didn't shut it down as they moved in to kick people out. One of the servers said it was their insurance, which actually makes sense. The final literal middle finger was the organizer flipping everyone off when the police created a line between him and the porta potty he was hiding in as to avoid answering any questions. Eventbrite, where you buy tickets, basically told me to pound sand when I tried to get a refund. They did call me after I alleged they allow people to scam with impunity on Twitter, but just basically explained why that is. The whole thing was insane. read more

Dangerous! Do not attend. It is worth noting that this is the first time I have written a lengthy yelp review... I am doing so only because the event was so unbearable that I believe it my civic duty to inform potential customers of my experience. Arrived on July 2nd for my first drink the district event, and was looking forward to a great day with friends. The event was advertised as being at Yard's Park (on the waterfront), but it was actually held in a baking hot parking lot surrounded by construction. It was unappealing on arrival, and immediately noticeably disorganized. The day was scorching hot and the event did not accommodate for that at all. Heat radiated from the asphalt parking lot and there was no shade or fans to offer guests. We noticed people sitting underneath the cocktail tables in an attempt to find relief. The portable toilets contained heat. I felt breathless and light-headed inside and when I stepped out, the natural heat felt more bearable, which is absurd. If someone were to faint inside one, no one would know. This, paired with the easy access to alcohol available created a very dangerous situation. We witnessed a woman who collapsed due to heat and dehydration in the middle of the event space. She could not stand on her own and once someone sat her in a chair, she began to vomit all over herself and was in and out of consciousness. We could not find any event staff readily available to help, and some staff at the entrance disregarded us completely. When we finally did find help, they claimed they would tell the medics near the ambulance. Nobody came. So two of us had to run to the other end of the space where the ambulance was to tell them medics ourselves. The medics had no sense of urgency and took their time to get to the woman and to attend to her. This is absolutely unacceptable. What was most infuriating, however, was the fact that in order to get water and prevent situations like these, we had to wait in an enormously long and slow line to a small tent where we had to PAY for bottled water. How is it that for a $50 ticket, you can offer full pours of various types of alcohol but no water? Plus, the emcee announcing bingo and doing the contests onstage was incredibly sexist and offensive. He said insensitive phrases like "women volunteers only, we won't tell you what you're doing but come here." As a group of women in attendance, listening to that kind of language made us very uncomfortable. Finally, the event staff were unprofessional, aggressive, and entirely lacking in empathy on such a hot day. I will never attend a drink the district event again, and encourage others not to lest serious changes be made. read more

See all

About 90% of the wines we tried were so cloyingly sweet, I half-expected a big anthropomorphic pitcher to burst through a wall somewhere. Ooooooh, noooooooo. These were "wines" --wine blends, ewww-- that should have had names like "Berry Blast" and "Rockin' Riesling" and we could feel the diabetes developing with every sip. I hope the next wine tasting I go to has some more grown-up wine available and not so many Mad Dog or Boone's Farm equivalents. Also, while the weather was gorgeous, with such a large group of people drinking a fair to high amount, it might be smart to have tents set up for shade, and more food and non-alcoholic beverage choices. I am honestly surprised more people didn't end up with sun stroke. read more

If I could give a zero I would. I purchased by accident two sets of tickets and they refused to credit me for one set after I notified them immediately. The event itself lacked a variety of good vendors for the Beer event in October. It was subpar at most - hardly worth one set of tickets yet alone two. read more

Very disappointed with this company. After buying ticket for an event then them cancelling and moving the event to another week, I was still not able to get a full refund, although others have. Also, as a wine event there is no water offered and they've continued to sell tickets for the event that was supposed to be last week. I feel as many others, a full refund is in order. I do not want to go to any other events offered. I just want my money back. Willing to change this review if I get a refund.... waiting... read more

This is a review for the Drink the District Cocktail Countdown - A New Year's Eve Spirit Celebration. This event did not deliver on what was advertised: "6 hours of open bar featuring beer, wine and a bourbon punch bar." There was a limited selection of beer and wine, but not a drop of bourbon or punch in sight. "Signature cocktails featured every hour on the hour." Nope. Not unless you count flavored stoli and soda water a "signature cocktail." There was no other liquor or mixers there. They didn't even seem to have regular, un-flavored vodka. "Countdown to midnight with a champagne toast." We asked two different bar tenders where to get the champagne prior to midnight, and neither one of them had any idea what we were talking about. There was no bubbly to be seen. Anywhere. This annoyed me the most-how do you ring in the New Year with no champagne?! "Access to awesome noshes from area favorites all night long." The only food offered was from DC Slices. No other "area favorites" were available. If you didn't want pizza, you were SOL. And, finally, the coat check was a joke. They charged $5 to throw your coat in a pile. They gave you a ticket, but they didn't bother to put the coats in any logical order. It was such chaos at the end of the evening that we were told we had to go look for our own coats. Four of us checked our coats together, and after 30 minutes of rifling through heaps of jackets, we only found three coats, (one was on the floor). As we continued to search for the fourth coat, an employee got very belligerent and told my friend she would have to leave without her coat. It was 16 degrees out at the time. We ignored her, despite her threats to "make us leave," and continued to search until we found the coat. TLDR: This was overall the worst experience I've had with Drink the District. I live in the neighborhood, and I was excited to see that they would be taking over the Park View warehouse. But if this is how they operate, I won't be patronizing them again. read more

This company truly takes its refund policy seriously. Be aware, all sales are final. There will be no refunds issued for any event, even if the company decides to alter the date/time 24 hours prior to the original date. read more

Would never buy tickets from them again. I bought tickets through their event page on Facebook for an event on 4/8. I got my confirmation and e tickets which confirmed the event was on 4/8. I later got an email with my paper copy emailed to me that stated 4/15. They had changed the date days ago and didn't update anything on Facebook. They were falsely advertising the wrong date and scamming people into buying non refundable tickets. Horrible customer service and they don't have a number for you to even call. read more

This is such a rip off. We purchased our tickets to Vinofest, which was originally supposed to be Friday night in Canal Park in Navy Yard, my neighborhood. Then one week before the event, they canceled the Friday night portion and moved everything to Saturday at the French Embassy on the other side of town. Luckily we had a flexible schedule and could make it work, but it was annoying since we originally bought the tickets since it was a neighborhood event. When we got there, the wine was all poured by volunteers and was just random bottles at a small number of stations with big lines. Basically in the room, all the reds were on one side and all the whites on the other at a total of about 12 stations along those tables. Each station was a different category of wine, i.e., they put all their "juicy" red wines at one table. The volunteers didn't know a thing about the wine they were pouring or much about wine or wine in general (the last table I asked questions of, they were referring to a Syrah as "the Australian wine" and the Pinot as the "Californian wine"). I didn't recognize a single winery name except Madria Sangria, which is nasty cheap stuff, and based on the taste of everything else, none of it was nice wine, and most of it was fairly sweet. It honestly seemed to all be really cheap wine they had just gotten big boxes off. The serving size was one shot of wine (they were literally using the liquor pourers on top of the bottles), so by the time you got a pour, you had to get in a long line again for another one. I didn't have a single one I liked. The other weird thing was there were a couple little shops set up inside--one with liquor bottles, one with junky leather goods, and one with a catering service. There were a number of smaller issues, too, like not telling us til the night before that our names on our tickets had to match our names on our IDs for security purposes (since it was at the embassy), so we had to go in and change those with just a couple hours' notice. We also initially purchased tickets through a third-party (Gilt) and had huge issues getting the Drink the District website to work and to be able to access our tickets through the page. It all just seemed like a big scam. I would not purchase tickets again for any Drink the District event. read more

Absolutely awful event. Too many people coupled with ridiculously loud club style music in the background.

Told 45 food trucks, 7. No one knew what wine they were offering. Only one wine did we not pour out after a drink. Location by the new soccer stadium had poor parking, sketchy streets to walk through to get from parking. Will not make the trek again. read more

I went to the Drink the District President's Day Beer Bash this past weekend. Honestly, it was not what I expected at all and I probably would not attend another one of these events again. CONS: 1. I was instantly irritated when I walked in the door due to the fact that the coat check was full. It was freezing cold that day, so obviously most would be wearing winter jackets. They knew the event was sold-out, so you would think that they would ensure they had enough room for coats. Well, they didn't. I had to walk around for 3 hours with my heavy winter jacket. 2. The layout was horrible, so it was almost impossible to move around the venue. Lines were extremely long, so eventually I just stopped trying the beers. 3. They closed the restrooms before the event even ended. I was told I could not use the restroom inside, and had to go outside (in the snow) to use a portable toilet. After two sessions, you could imagine how gross they were. I don't mind that they closed the restrooms early; however, I feel that they should inform guests so we can plan accordingly. PROS: 1. Other than the company I was with, the only pro would be the DJ. He played current music and a ton of throwbacks, so it got people dancing and having a good time. Basically, I paid $50 to get free pours of bud light all night and dance to music. I would of much rather spent $50 at a club, at least they would've had room for my coat and bathrooms I could use. Most likely won't attend another event by Drink the District. read more

Red, white and #fail? I purchased tickets for an event by Drink the District through Gilt in May. However, when I went to redeem my voucher for the actual event, I was unable to do so. They closed down that option even though the voucher itself says to redeem the day of to print your tickets. There is no number for customer service and no response to email or Facebook messages. I cannot be the only person who has this problem. read more

Drink The District - The voucher instructions - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

I recently went to Drink the District's Red, White, and Brew wine and beer festival in DC and though it was fun basking around in the sun and drinking alcohol, we felt like the event was very overpriced, considering the wines and beers were very, very cheap. I know there is something to be said about the social aspect of it all and we had a fun time socializing, but we seriously could have picked up bottles of alcohol for much cheaper (and of comparable or greater quality) at Trader Joe's or Harris Teeter. I don't regret attending this event, as I think it's fun to do once if you haven't done it before, but I probably wouldn't go again. If you're into day drinking cheap alcohol and playing beer pong with random strangers on a concrete yard, then this event may be more up your alley. Overall, my fiancé and I don't regret that we went, but we would likely skip it for an actual wine festival or visit to a winery in the future. The one plus side is that they have some decent food trucks at the event. We made sure to pick up some yummy cookies from the Captain Cookie and the Milkman food truck (which I'd visited twice before). read more

Drink The District - Wine at Red, White, and Brew event (June 2015) - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

Terrible, terrible Red White and Brew festival. NO way to even attempt to use all 20 tickets and went back and forth with Drink the District via email and the only thing they would give was tickets to a future festival. Don't go to one of their events. They're overpriced and underwhelming. read more

I went to the Shamrock Beer Fest event with a Groupon. The minus star is mostly for the lines at the entrance. If you were attending with a Living Social or Eventbrite deal, you were able to go to this crazy short line and get in immediately. If you come with a groupon, the line literally wrapped around the block. Why can't all of the ticket takers accept all types of tickets? However, my grumbles about the wait quickly changed to total gladness about how fun and well-run the event was once we got inside. Awesome selection of beers, lines moved very quickly - definitely got out money's worth. Great live music and good selection of food trucks, overall great event! read more

Bought a ticket through eventbright for the event "50 shades of Rose" for $75 a ticket. Talk about waste of money! Maybe 50 wines, very few rose, and of the selections a lot of cheap high fructose, artificially flavored poor choices- a wine that was even blue, hah! If you're a real wine connoisseur, prepare for disappointment. Not to mention the majority of them are not even French or an import, I think I saw a Hob Nob red blend- is this a wine tasting at Giant? The only thing French about this experience was the over priced "French" food. Also, prepare to stand in line for the majority of your time. The venue was too small and you'll be standing in a line amongst hundreds of people standing in line- your line will be bumping up in to other lines and you'll be trying to cut through more lines than I can count on both hands just to get to the bathroom. Fun complimentary wine glass? Cheap plastic. 100+ wines? Maybe 50. Sultry Tunes? Latest hits DJ. Entertainment? Three women dressed as "burlesque dancers" came out 20 mins before 9 PM (end of session) and did a pretty boring dance for about 10 minutes. Roaming sommeliers? If they told you anything about the wine making process it couldn't be heard over the noise of the people and that DJ. Also roaming? I think not. Just two women in the very last hour had the brains to start pouring out tastings to everyone standing in line for whatever booth they were at. Culinary Stage? More like a buffet table. Executive Chef teaching you how to cook & sip? Didn't see that. Oysters? Didn't see that. Specialty cheese and charcuterie packages? Get ready to pay the price. There is absolutely no free food or hors d'oeuvres of any kind included with this ticket. Even the coat check costs money. Artisan market- Etsy "in real life"? Don't get your hopes up- it's the same array of vendors you would find at any wine festival with the exception of a cheap lingerie booth. Borderline false advertisement! Thanks a lot Drink the District, won't be coming to another one of your events any time soon. read more

This wasn't my least, nor was it my favorite Drink the District events. I was apart of the 12 pm crowd, got there at 11:30 and the line wrapped around 2 blocks. I loved the location, right off the metro.. but I hated the porta potta situation!!! There was a MASSIVE line 1 hr in, at least 50 deep.. They have to figure out the peeing logistics of 600 people chugging as much beer as possible over 3 hrs! The space was a little small for the amount of people b/c the games, silent disco and beer stations took up a lot of space-- lots of bumping. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the silent disco! The selections were pretty generic, nothing out of the ordinary. The food trucks weren't my favorite either, and once again with 600 people, you need more than 5 to feed the drunkies! I'd give The Yards a 5/10 for a beerfest-- only b/c it's right off metro. read more

I attended Drink the Districts Red White & Brew Fest. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY it was a COMPLETE RIP OFF! I waited 30 minutes in line for a small pour of beer. I received 20 tickets and was only able to use 7 of them due to long lines and terribly slow staff. When I spoke with someone at the event about how I could refund because I paid a lot of money to drink the equivalency of 2 beers she explained the some events they do better because they have an idea of how many people purchased tickets but this one they continued to sell at the door. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on drink the district go to a bar where you can try full pours for a fraction of the cost. read more

Nice event! It was not what I expected (good and bad), but overall a good event and with some minor tweaks, it can be a great event. Good: Printed map telling you what's what and where. Very helpful. Large variety of beers. Some variety of wines. Lines moved very fast for both which was awesome! I was very surprised. I expected long lines and being able to try 5-8 different things max. So wrong - barely any lines (despite event being very well attended) and I was able to try multiple wines and beers. The tents were a good distance away from each other, so it never felt crowded or packed. The live bands were great, especially the cover bands. The obnoxious jenga was perfect and great ice breaker. I saw bean bag toss - people seemed to like that too. There was also a pie eating contest - oh boy! By the end of the session, hunger pangs set in, which is perfect since there were at least 6 or 7 food trucks and lines moved pretty fast. There was even a DJ for a little bit and some "very shy" dancers did their thing and the crowd went wild! It was great... Bad: Wish there had been more wines. I also wish it weren't in a parking lot?! The even is titled "Drink the District", so you would have thought perhaps you'd be gazing at a DC landmark as you are sampling libations. Nope. I even brought a mini-blanket to sit on the grass. Doh! What grass? Again, it was literally in a parking lot. SO HOT so I'm glad we got evening tickets. Daytime must have been blazin'! At least they had tables and chairs near the food trucks, which was welcomed Would I go again? Yes. Do I really wish it was at a different location? YES! read more

It was probably 110+ yesterday on that blacktop, and I witnessed more than one patron fall out because of the heat. At the same time, I had to wait in a line for 15 minutes at the one apparent station to buy $2 bottles of water. That should be a crime. You host a beer festival in a wide open parking lot in July, you give out water for free. Period. read more