Amongst other Labor Day festivities this weekend, I headed out to the 6th annual Savannah Craft Brew Fest on Saturday to throw back some 2 oz. samples of craft beer with my buds!
As seasoned festival attendees (we have gained this title due to our time in Germany), we couldn’t help but scoff at the stingy samples and miss our drunken escapades at the wine festivals we frequented last summer, but once we realized that there was no possible way we were going to be able to sample all 300 varieties from almost 50 vendors, I was okay with just a taste. I was more than okay with just a taste after I realized that some of these beers mean business, and I wore my party pants.
The fest was held at the Hutchinson Convention Center right across the river from downtown Savannah. We got there a little before they let the general admission ticket holders in and the line was already creeping around the building!
A little part of me regretted not buying the VIP passes once we stood in line for 20 minutes and realized how thirsty we were. See the VIP ticket allowed you to get in an hour early and gained entry to a roped off area of select local crafts, but once we got inside to find that our VIP friends were sitting around waiting for us, I was happy that our tickets cost us half the price.
We promptly headed to any booth not serving an IPA and loaded up! (aka 2 oz) I’m just kidding, but seriously there was something for everyone and I was okay with giving away my share of IPA’s to someone else! The Heavy Seas table gave me an eye patch that I immediately wore with pride and got into character as we tried some of the others. We tried about a dozen beers and then moved outside to brave the heat in order to get our hands on some hard ciders. For the ladies in the group, these were our favorites.
I am usually a beer drinker through and through, but this summer, Georgia heat has rocked the boat and I can’t tell you how good the cider tasted after having sampled beer for the past hour or so. I remember loving the Crispin Blackberry Pear cider that Fox Barrel makes. I had other favorites, but then I drank some more and honestly, I’ve forgotten them!
After we had our fill of beer, we caught a ferry to the other side of the river and headed to the perfect dinner, wings! We walked to Wild Wings on Broughton and shared a meal with a room full of crazed college football fans!
It was such a fun way to spend a Saturday as well as Labor Day weekend! If I had to choose any job, it would be to attend stuff like this every weekend and tell you all about it. Can someone pay me for this, please? I can’t tell you how nice it was to spend the afternoon in Savannah, just hanging with the locals, and doing what I love. If I can’t get paid for it, at least I can accept that I’m blessed to be in a place that offers these kind of events all the time!
