An overdue review, but a good one none-the-less. I was able to snag a couple of tickets to this event and was not disappointed. The venue had a quick and efficient way of dealing with the long lines to get people inside timely. Once inside the big room of beer, you never felt like it was overly crowded. The place was big enough to accommodate the large crowds without every feeling overwhelmed with chaos. The beer selections were fantastic The vendors were very knowledgeable about their product and happy to discuss everything that went into making them. They also had a couple spots set up for merchandise purchasing, and a small selection of food. I will say that's where the vent dropped the ball. No real pairings with food and beer, just a random set up and some merchandise spots as well. You could spend hours here just trying all different kinds of beers, meeting new friends, and just all around having a good time. Great experience, great people. read more

This event met its promise of hosting "20+ Countries/100+ International Brewers/150+ Beers." No, I didn't count. I tried way too many different beers to keep track, but there were easily 100 different tables here. Of the 150+ beers, I expected to find the usual suspects (the Buds, Millers, Coors, etc.) but I was surprised they weren't there. Instead what you got were more local and international brews you wouldn't otherwise try. Not all of them distribute to the local liquor depots, so some of my favorites may be difficult to find. My tickets were free, but I would have paid the $42 for admission in advance of the event. I'm not so sure I would have left satisfied if I had paid $55 on the day of the event. Other than the beer, the food selection is the only thing dragging the review down to 4 stars. They had your typical overpriced basic concession, which is a shame considering all the things that go well with beer, like bratwurst, or even something as simple as pretzels. I had seen people posting pictures of pretzel necklaces from the afternoon session, which I thought would be available for purchase. Nope. Turns out it was BYOPN. :( Other things: - The silent auction is worth checking out, and participating in, if you have the money. I think the cheapest framed picture we saw started at $275. - The coat check is $2. read more

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This is my second attendance of an Event sponsored by "The International Great Beer Expo" in the last 4 months; here at The Meadowlands Expo Center and Belmont Park in Queens. While I had a good time at this Event last Saturday; it was just OK. You may think I am crazy, what is there not to like: "drink multiple 2 oz beer samples for 3.5 hours", but there was something missing. The Beer Expo had about 50 plus brewers with 200 plus brews. Awesome. Tons of options. How can you have something missing with all this delicious beer. The Beer Expo is set up so you step up, grab a beer sample and step aside. Repeat with next vendor. Again and again. Nothing wrong with multiple beers and having a good time, but after a couple of dozen samples, some tasty bites from restaurants would have hit the spot. If you were looking for a full experience with food pairings; this is not the place. Food compliments beer and beer compliments food. This was my missing element: food. Not the end of the world. I knew what my expectations would be from the get go. I was here to sample beer and I did. Nothing more. The various vendors provided an excellent experience. Many were knowledgeable, but some were just hired for the day or volunteers. No biggie. The vendors that engaged the consumer in their product, I found most enjoyable and would considered their product for future purchase. During my beer quest I tasted pretty much every IPA and double IPA at the Beer Expo. I found critiquing beer should be left to each consumer to decide, but I must say there is a lot of good IPAs and double IPAs out there. I am a beer lover and tend to like a certain style of beer or category of beer. The options here did not disappoint. The event space was able to accommodate a couple of thousand beer fans comfortably. There were plenty of clean bathrooms. You had basic food options from the facility: hot dogs, fries, pizza, etc. Nothing special. Overall, this was a very good event and nice experience with plenty of beer options within a clean and safe facility. Everyone had enough elbow room to enjoy wonderful beers and experience the event. What you need to remember is that after one Beer Expo attendance it is all the same. The same product is serve from one event to another. While you may notice new options, most are regional or local brands. I highly encourage a visit to a International Great Beer Expo event. It is a lot of fun, but remember after a few visits the fun is not new any more. Cheers......... read more

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Awesome time at the Beer Expo! I was one of the lucky few to have won free tickets. I went to session 1 which started around 12:00ish. The line to get into the place went really fast. In fact all the lines went fast, even the beer lines. The only long line I saw was for the men's room! Lol. Clearly that did not affect me. My friend and I had a blast walking around trying different brews, some much better than others. I loved Anchor Steam Beer and all the fun cider beers. My favorite was definitely the one by Ciderboys, it tasted like cinnamon apple sauce. Weaved throughout the beer stands they also had other vendors; for example hot sauce, jams, jerky, chocolate, nuts, etc. We didn't get to attend any of the featured classes because we were having too much fun just tasting the beers. The Negative: The event had crappy school cafeteria style food for sale. We ordered the fries and literally tossed them in the garbage, that's how bad they were. Also as Adam D. mentioned in his review is IT IS a shame they have such bad food considering the great options they could be serving. Overall this event is cool, fun and close to home, so I would definitely come again! read more

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Over a 100 types of beer and it was only $43?! what a steal. I had so much fun and plan on coming back next year. It wasn't too crowded, but there were deff some characters here. Every booth was filled with something different, from something super dark and chocolately to something really sweet and light and pear-flavored. There were even other vendors here--jerky, choc covered bacon...oh and wait..GINGER BEER. probably my second favourite here. I instantly became obsessed with a certain pumpkin beer..still trying got figure out who made it..i will post the brewers name when i do. if you've never come--i think you should. it was a lot of fun and totally worth it! not to mention you will get extremely trashed within an hour of being here! read more

I am writing this review for the Jan. 25, 2014 expo. In 4 hours you get to taste some great beers represented here from local and int'l brewers. Got to try some new and delish brews such as local Jersey brewer Boaks Two Blind Monks, some good ales from Yards of Philly. Old standbys such as Blue Moon, Newcastle and Anchor Steam were there to be sampled. The Expo Center was clean and pleasant and the crowd of beer lovers were a nice crew. Wore my Smuttynose Brewery tee and got some love from that New Hampshire brewer's table! There was a great sampling of European breweries as well. You get to drink 2 oz. samples and I found some good new favs such as San Francisco Speakeasy's Prohibition ale, a delicious red beer. Can't wait to go to another one of their expos. read more

Thank you to Yelp, I was able to attend. I also got a third ticket for a friend (Save $10 when you buy online prior to event). There was plenty of free beer flowing, silent auction happening, few hot sauce stands, cigar stands and more. It wasn't just beer. The vendors were all really nice and friendly. Would definitely go back again! read more

Another year, another International Great Beer Expo. Fun times, the New Jersey Craft Beer Club was here and I signed myself up for an annual membership. It gets you discounts at restaurants, breweries, and certain packaged goods stores. I think I might have already offset the cost of the membership!! Anyways, most of my favorite breweries were here and I enjoyed myself again. I will most certainly try to get into the seminars next year!! read more

Lots of beer selections from Germany, Scotland, NJ, etc. They give you plastic 2 oz samplers; don't drop them otherwise you'll have to pay $5 for a replacement. Get a sticker or tape if you get a crack. 3 favs: Benediktiner, Schofferhofer grapefruit, and Alba scots pine ale. Food court is cash only. Pace yourself and bring pretzels. read more

The International Great Beer Expo was an excellent opportunity not only to try new beers from breweries all over the country/world but to also learn about different styles of beer and, in many cases, speak directly to the people who make them. In one case, we got to talk to the brewer/founder/everything of 961 Beer. On one hand, having a 2 oz. tasting glass was awesome. But if I had drank the complete 2 oz. of every beer I sampled, I would've been WASTED. So it was good they had buckets to dump the excess beer, even though I felt like I was insulting the brewers when dumping the beer. Sorry, I had like 50 other beers to try! In addition, I had to learn about many upcoming beer events and networking groups. I also got to browse some beer-related merchandise. The only downside was all the drunk people toward the end. I mean, I know that's to be expected, and I won't deny people their right to get drink, but they're all standing around getting in the way of people who actually want to sample and learn. I would come back in the future. read more

Every year ive been, ive had a really good time with the fellas. plenty of beer, they sell snacks to keep the belly full and the beer coming. for the price you pay and the amount of beer you can have, any beer fan would enjoy this place. PLENTY of restaurants to go to afteward within walking(stumbling) distance to sober up before the DD comes pick you up. :) read more

If you're an avid beer drinker, then the International Great Beer Expo is the perfect opportunity to try all types of beers from around the world. Many of the beers they serve are ones that you may not have ever heard of or are so rare that you might not find another opportunity to try it until the next beer expo. $40 (online ticket) or $55 (at the door), admits you to this event. You get to enjoy 4 hours worth of unlimited beers from a souvenir 2 oz. glass that they provide. The glass is plastic though (as they don't want any broken glass casualties). They line the walls and the middle area of the expo center with various booths where you get in line to sample the different beers. Although a lot of people come out to this event, the lines are not bad and go fast. The variety of beers is vast and the abv, flavors, and style of the beers range. Regardless of your tolerance, expect to get buzzed or tipsy after about 1 hour (unless you had a large steak before coming here). You can go through a 2 oz. glass of beer in a second, get in line, have another, and then another, and just lose count of how many beers you had within 15 minutes. Enjoy at your own pace, fast or slow, but definitely try to take note of the beers you liked while you indulge in each beer. I have tried a share of really awesome and really terrible beers, but the whole point of this event is to explore and find out about beers you have never tried before. At this type of event, you'd expect a lot of people to get rowdy and/or obnoxious, but I have been to this event the past 2 years, and everyone seems to act responsibly. I have not seen any fights break out or people yelling/cursing. Come here with a group of friends, and you'll just have a good time. Or, you might even make new friends here since everyone is just feeling happy. All in all, a great opportunity to try all types of beers, and I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good beer. read more

Awesome beer and very cool people. We even met one of my lovely Yelp friends there. I was a great time.

Great beers, Great people and a great time. A real value for the price if you start early and pace yourself , i learn a few great beers to start buying every year! read more