Gone are the days of heading east to the vineyard in order to experience this large and fun event. This one has always drawn a bit of a more ... "diverse" crowd so to speak, being that they have ciders, wines, and spiked seltzers all mingling with the normal beer guys; it definitely can add to the unique dynamic of the event. Also altering this event is the rather large area you're spread out in as well as the one and only real food vendor being Bobbique of Patchogue. All of the reps at these things are friendly and this one was no different, walk up and ask any and all questions you have and they'll be happy to talk to you about their product. I wasn't as much of a fan of the beers this year, though winning tickets took a whole lot of the pressure off to get everywhere as fast as possible. (also I was a bit hung over from the day before so take this with a grain of salt... like a Gose) The addition of the home-brewers at festivals is quite nice because they try some pretty out of the box recipes, yes they are usually a bit less carbonated and a bit less... well executed in my opinion but I appreciate them so much for their dedication to creativity and explorations. The VIP session affords you an extra hour to start before they open the gates to the masses, it also includes a meal voucher which saves you 10 bux, as well as certain exclusive beers not available to general admission ticket holders, plus how badass is it to roll up and skip those losers waiting on line? The events good to say hi to all my rock-star brewer and owner friends and family as well as my fellow drinkers, it's always fun trying new things and socializing a bit so I've got no major complaints about the day. I enjoyed getting to mix things up with Cider and wine and was stoked to get the opportunity to have some VIP barley wine over at Goose Island as well as a triple by... I forget who. All the local guys were in full swing and the freebies from certain breweries were a cool bonus. If you were nice enough and cool enough... and managed a bit of good timing there were goodies all over. If you're a negative-nancy, maybe you overlooked some of the fun and perks of the festival; noting all your complaints about the generally loved free-spirit that these things usually take on. All in all I'm glad I got to go thanks to Yelp and their promotional giveaway. read more

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2nd year attending and always a great time. Awesome beer selection both local and from around the world. All brewers are super friendly and love to share all about their beers. Big shout out to LIBME for some pretty excellent home Brews. Barrage, 1940's, Hopwins, st. James, spider bite all representing. Great Long Island beer! read more

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What more could you ask for. Hundreds of great beer's, lots of space to move around, and an awesome atmosphere in general. Staff were great and kept the lines moving. Had an amazing time will be back next year for sure ! GSB FTW! read more

The element of people was without a doubt the worst thing about the event. It was an open field of drunken toddlers. Even before GA was allowed in people were pregaming in the parking lot and on the line. They were obnoxious and loud. The behavior still permitted as everyone enjoyed UNLIMITED beer. I've never been to a beer fest that didn't hand out tokens and this certainly attracted the children looking to get smashed. People were rowdy, rude, and discarded unwanted beer on my shoes twice. I would expect (and allow) that behavior at a bar or concert The actual beer selection was also disappointing. Nothing but IPAs. It works for season, but most of them were either so watery, a total hoppy mess, or citric beyond belief. Very few tents had brown ales, lagers, or some sort of seasonal beer for the fall. Most of those were solid (even in the summer) like Greenport Harbor's Leaf Pile which stood out to me amongst a few others. Everything else about it was fairly minor. Brewery reps were friendly. Food was bad considering all of the great things I've heard about Bobbique. Band was subpar. Seating was limited. Admission price was fair keeping in mind there were unlimited drinks and a food voucher. At the end of it I barely stayed for an hour in an attempt to make the best of the situation. I don't recommend this event to anyone who wants to genuinely sample beer. read more