"I keep drinking because I don't quit. Quitters are losers." Woah! World Beer Festival. Where to start?! Well, for me, it's the corner of Person St and Martin St. I am a stickler of order and rules, so I started out at table #1 and trek my way across the all the brewery. While everyone flipping through their big book of Beer Guide, generously produced and provided by ALL ABOUT BEER MAGAZINE for this year's festivity, I however had done my study. Days before I have compiled and made a checklist of all the confirmed breweries, in Evernote, for easy checking in later in UNTAPPD app. I enjoyed all the national and international breweries, and even though the NC brewery tent was packed from beginning to end, I somehow made it through twice, when there was literally no moving foot traffic. Half way through the evening, feeling the waves of lethargy overcoming me, I wisely hopped over to the food tents, and got myself some stomach padding. The Sloppy Goats with Tots was quite interesting. Helping out at the Yelp booth also gave me some new perspectives, had I kept drinking, how much of a blabbering fool would I look to others. In the end it was a tremendously fun event, which I would most likely return in the coming years. (UPDATE: the final count was 96 check-ins in Untappd) read more

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This was the first year I got a ticket and went to the World Beer Festival in Moore Square. All in all, I enjoyed it. I didn't stay the whole 6p-10p second session of the day but got to enjoy a lot of the flavor, both festival and beer, in what I did stay. Beer, beer, beer...it's a lot of beer. Greeted with your little clear plastic cup as you walk in, you get to have 2 oz. pours of whatever beers you choose to taste all during your session. And there had to be hundreds. Ciders as well, and actually they surprised me, I had a few I liked! Again, it cemented that I am just not an IPA kinda guy, but at least I got to try and see what I may like if any (just didn't happen with IPAs). From the serious beer tasters to those that were out to enjoy a downtown event to the sloppy drunken frat boy/wannabe frat boys and screeching drunk girls, and all in between, all types were definitely represented at this event. Great people watching event, that was some of the best fun. It was a decent setup, pretty spaced out tents but a bit (no, sometimes a lot) crowded in the actual tents where the beers were. I have low tolerance for claustrophobic situations but in the wide open space of Moore Square, you can get quick relief. The food is more along fair food type of stuff, I had the corn dogs and they were awesome actually! The live music was a good touch as well. I even ran into some fellow Yelpers and even old buds I haven't seen in years...good times. Bottom line: Will I go back again if I have the chance? Probably so. It was fun, and a welcome event to get everyone out and about in the downtown Raleigh area. read more

World Beer Festival - Festivals Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

The Raleigh World Beer festival was sold as an awesome event with 110 different breweries showing up for the occassion. The ticket price of $45 seemed a bit steep compared to other beer festivals that I have been to; however, the location and the number of breweries, in combination with the musical acts and the "beer education" series made the price more reasonable. We did the evening session from 6 to 10 and the first two hours went by pretty well. Overall, the organizers seemed to have made some mistakes by placing all of the brewers into two very long series of tents that were in an L formation. Additionally, the music stage was placed rather far away from the tents so that you could not hear the music unless you went out to the stage. The tents were relatively crowded and at some points you could barely move; however, even with all the long lines you could typically find at least one table that you could walk right up to. My friends that went to the 12-4 session expressed similarly mild frustration with the crowds and set-up. The larger problems began around 8pm when the torrential downpour started. We got through the first part of the "L" formation and did not even realize that there was another series of breweres in the second part of the formation. Part of this was due to the rain and the other part was due to poor lighting across Moore Square. Another problem was that there were sections in the series of tents where the rain flowed through openly so that you got soaked as you strolled through what was supposed to be a fully covered area. The beer variety was extensive and showed an impressive crowd of brewers from across the US. However, I noticed at least ten brewers that had already packed up and left for the day. Additionally, many of the more interesting and rare beers were gone and us evening drinkers were left with mostly IPA's, pale ales, and other "regular" beers. Obviously this was not a problem for many except for those that enjoy trying the more rare and unknown beers. Overall, I would suggest this event to those considering attending next year. The company that booked the music chose some stellar acts (thank you Viavant Productions) and there was an extensive attendance of some really great breweries, many of which us Raleigh-ites don't typically see. I would, however, suggest buying tickets in advance (they tend to always sell out early), going for the first session, and bringing an umbrella. read more

This is an event that Josh and I look forward to now after going for the first time to the afternoon session last year. There is a very long line every year to get in, so we learned our lesson and got there an hour early this go-round. They started letting people in to walk around about 15 minutes early, so when the clock hit 12:00 PM, we headed straight into the NC beers tent. This tent was filled with a lot of familiar breweries but also gave us the chance to try a few new breweries we hadn't tried yet, like Mystery Brewing out of Hillsborough. My favorites in this tent, however, were Beasley's Honey White and Working Man's Lunch from Fullsteam. The mini moon pies at Full Steam were a nice touch too! From there, we headed to the other two long tents, which included a lot of unique beers including beers from Poland and Russia. My only disappoint was that one of the brewery tables was out of Wells Banana Bread, which is one of my all-time favorites. However, with such a wide variety of beers (including lots of ciders and fruit beers), there is little room to be disappointed here and I really enjoyed trying a lot of new beers from a lot of breweries I had never heard of. Not to mention, with an event of this size, it is always fun to people-watch and you're bound to run into some people you know! Even for people who don't like beer, I am pretty sure you could find something you like here with the huge number of choices! The weather was perfect for the event and there is live music all day with a number of food choices when you need a break from drinking and you realize you forgot to bring your pretzel necklace. Personally, Josh and I split a corn dog and mini tacos at the end of the afternoon session, which was a nice way to top off all of the beer we had consumed! read more

World Beer Festival was another hit this year! I truly enjoyed that there were less people... I'll keep paying more for tickets for less bodies to be there. It is always so much fun running around Moore Square and trying out new brews! I think the layout flowed well, but felt bad for the vendors 80-92~...They were put down the street with an exit but not an entrance, so a lot of people I feel like were never down there..unless they had to go to the bathroom, which was across from their booths. Overall, fabulous time! Thanks for hosting All About Beer Magazine!! read more

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I have never had so much of a variety of beer available to me at one time in my life. The organizers of this event did a great job. We were processed thru quickly and drinking before we knew it. The decision to limit ticket sales resulted in short or no wait times at the stations/tables. The selection of beer was incredible. The brewers were very pleasant and egar to discuss their beer varieties. The Belgium beer garden was a delicious addition. The food truck rodeo however could have had better choices. what a great event on a beautiful afternoon in DTR. read more

I can't believe I never actually reviewed BeerFest. I went for 6 consecutive years when it was held in downtown Raleigh. I went with my brother, it was our annual sibling bonding & we always had a blast. We went to the afternoon exhibition & then stumbled over to Tir Na Nog to sit & watch the evening folks have fun while we tied a few more on & had some grub. A few years back (2016?) they moved the whole kit & caboodle over to the fair grounds, we went but somehow a lot of the fun got lost in the venue change. The vendors were super spread out both outdoors & in. We missed the camaraderie of the close quarters & bumping into joyously drink strangers who would talk to you about random things like your t-shirt or your tattoo or their beer or just wanna give you a sloppy high five & a cheers. We stopped going after that year. You do get to try a bunch of great beers & ciders (or cidres if yo fancy) but if you're in it for the experience as much as the drink, then the fair grounds venue is lacking. Cheers & high five ;) read more

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Hundreds of beers. Beautiful weather. Live music. It's no wonder WBF sells out every year. The Triangle is truly lucky to have two versions of this event (Durham and Raleigh) annually. I usually find myself working the entire event, and was very lucky to recruit awesome helpers to chip in at my table and give me time to explore this spectacular event for a couple of hours, this time around! If I were to rate them side-by-side, WBF-Durham would get my 5 stars... maybe it has something to do with the more set-aside location. Or the fall weather and the abundance of pumpkin ale. WBF-Raleigh -- set up in Moore Square -- has ample space, convenient parking, and loads of after-party spots. But every time the wind blew just so, you'd get a heavy whiff of urine... I'm guessing from the downtown homeless contingent and the wall of outhouses. I was both impressed and surprised to find that the NC Beer tent was constantly packed -- with so many unique breweries on hand, I find myself more curious to experience new beers. But I also felt proud to see locals excitedly supporting the NC Beer scene! And I did learn a new NC brewery -- Rocky Mount. This event does a great job showcasing diversity. And the program even has a checklist to help you keep track and take notes of what you fall in love with. Full disclosure: Yelp was a media sponsor of this event in 2012. From a vendor perspective, I felt they handled the event expertly. Great communication leading up to the event, detailed maps, and facility set up and ready to go on arrival. There's also a solid team of Volunteers helping to empty spit buckets, refill ice, pour, and manage other aspects. read more

Had a GREAT TIME at the afternoon session. Make sure to drink a lot of water along the way and take snacks. Many folks wear homemade pretzel necklaces while I also took some nuts. One of our favorite pass times at the event was people watching... to see the very happy folks, those that were skipping, others were smiling very big, to those that had a glazed look in their eyes. Lots of fun here! read more

Had a wonderful time @ the afternoon session!!! So lucky with perfect weather 2 years in a row. Will definitely get tickets for next year, too! No idea what the VIP up charge gets you, I did regular pass. Yes, there are a lot of people; yes, you only get 2 oz at a time, etc. -- but parking is plentiful, lines move fast and there are so many beer vendors with anywhere from 2-6 varieties per, everything is well run and efficiently organized. Already looking forward to next year. Good job WBFRaleigh! read more

Best beer fest I've ever been to. The lines were never more than 5 minutes long and most everyone was really friendly. The different variety of beers was nice to choose from and there were plenty of local breweries as well. The $50/ticket is a bit steep but still didn't mind paying it simply because logistically everything was done right. If you like beer go to this festival. read more

This was my first World Beer Festival and man was I impressed. The group we went with attended last year and they assured me the price of the ticket (General Admission $50) was worth it. They do offer a VIP admission for $100 that got you the benefits of general admission plus a food buffet, magazine subscription, and access to more beer. I was happy with the general admission and didn't feel like I missed out on anything. We signed up for the 6-10 pm session but they also had a 12-4 pm if you want to do some major day drinking. My biggest concern during these kinds of events is waiting in long lines. Not at all the case and new for 2015 was a crowd reduction of 20%. Also new for this year was a 4 oz. tasting glass though some vendors were only offering 2 oz. so more people could enjoy. Some beers I enjoyed so much I just got back in line for more. From what I can recall I don't think I waited more than 2 minutes for a beer. Plenty of bathrooms available and we all joked at how they were the cleanest port-a-potty we ever used (we may have already been tipsy by that point). They had some vendors selling t-shirts which I supported; you can never have enough t-shirts related to beer. They did have an area with food trucks but I cannot comment on it. The beer selection was top notch. Lots of NC beers which I love to see but they also had a tent with some outstanding German and Belgium assortments. By 9:00 the crowds were thinning and some vendors were out of beer but honestly I couldn't drink anymore. I felt I got my $$$ worth and plan on attending the one in Durham on October 10th. read more

Over 100 beer vendors sampling more than 200 different beers. Can we say heaven? This was my first experience at the Raleigh Beer Fest and I will definitely be back next year and years to come. We met a bunch of cool people while traveling through the beer tents and sampling beer. There were plenty of freebies too. The most impressive part of the beer fest were the porta-potties! I know that sounds weird, but they were clean, stocked, had hand sanitizer, and bars on the doors to grab so the ladies could "hover" better (if you know what I mean). We didn't eat any of the food from the vendors because they are generally overpriced. It was your standard fair food though and certainly smelled good but any fried food smells good when you're drinking. There was plenty of space at Moore Park for this event and it never felt too crowded, unless you were caught in the incoming and outgoing traffic into the tents. I hear there is a fall beer fest in Durham...thinking I might need to hit that one up for comparison! read more

Went to the Apr 5, 2014 beer fest. What a let down. Was my first year attending after many of my friends said it was a blast. I went to the night session and many of the beers were out. I got there at 7:30. The fest was supposed to go until after 10 so being out at 7:30 when the evening session opened at 6 was dissapoiniting. There were many vendors who didnt have some of the beers on the list at all and said it was a misprint. I talked to my firends who had recommended the beer fest and they said they had the same experience at the afternoon session this year. Beers not being there that are on the list or the vendor saing they where out. Beer fest might be a good event for the college kid trying to drink as much beer as they can in 4 hours for $45 but if you are going to try and taste something different I wouldn't recommend beer fest for that. read more