FOAMINESS? TAWNINESS? Wheatiness? Sipability? A hoppy attitude? There are surely as many ways to talk about a single glass of beer as there are beer drinkers, but there aren't quite as many beer festivals (though, yes, the number keeps on growing, especially, it seems, in crafty California). So when you do find such a foam-focused festivity, and you can line up your designated driver or your in-town stay-over, it's rather notable. So is weathering the years, which, again, not every annual event, be it about beer or not, has quite mastered. But one of the pros of the tap-pulling scene is turning 18 this year, and several breweries, from the Central Coast and far beyond that lovely region, will be there to celebrate. It's the Monterey Beer Festival, which is back at the...
MONTEREY COUNTY FAIR & EVENT CENTER... on Saturday, July 6. It's a 21-and-over celebration, and there shall be live music, if you rather like a rocking, dance-ready soundtrack with your suds. The beers in the house? There'll be more than 80, so, yeah, you'll see some you know, some you know you want to know, and others that have a "what the...?" element to them. (Oftentimes, the "what the...?" brews prove to be the most interesting.) The brewers rolling up the libation-filled casks, containers, and bottles? Dust Bowl Brewing Company, Alvarado Street Brewery, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, and several other favorites.
YOUR TICKET... is $45 in advance, there's a VIP option for $65, and your designated driver gets in for twenty dollars. So how many words do you truck out when describing a glass of beer in extremely fanciful fashion? Better jot them all down, and bring them all to this stalwart of the suds scene, which is marking its 18th in 2019.
