Anyone going to Annapolis Craft Beer & Music Festival

Is anyone going to The Annapolis Craft Beer and Music Festival on Saturday the 21st? 6 hours of unlimited samples!

After attending Kegs & Corks last month my wife and I are going to this one too. I like the 6 hour session, 3 is way too short IMO.

Went yesterday, I was kind of surprised that some of the vendors they advertised didn't show. Overall it wasn't bad. They need to work on getting some more food vendors next year, that's for sure.

Yeah, the food vendor area needs work. Those lines were ridiculous. We settled for a bag of kettle corn and a "hot dog" from the smaller vendor on the right, and still had to wait 15-20 minutes in line. They surely weren't prepared. They were heating hot dogs one at a time in a microwave!

The beer overall was very decent, with enough variety, but no show stoppers, or any sours, whatsoever. The hard cider stand was a surprise, as was seeing only a very small Bud booth. We didn't cross check with the list. Were any big players absent?

The weather was nice until about half an hour before the end, when the sky opened. At least the cops didn't shut the taps down as they did at Kegs and Corks, at least half an hour early, to boot.

Yeah there were a some big names that were absent. Ballast point, EVO, Magic hat. Were 3 that I was looking forward to that I never saw. I think there was more though. I'm surprised that Dogfish Head was never on the list to go, being relatively close to Annapolis. I also think the whole designated driver ticket was bs. Cost almost as much as a regular ticket. And u don't get anything for it. Maybe some water or soda would have been nice for those people.

I think Sierra Nevada was supposed to be there too.

Gdog said:

Yeah there were a some big names that were absent. Ballast point, EVO, Magic hat. Were 3 that I was looking forward to that I never saw. I think there was more though. I'm surprised that Dogfish Head was never on the list to go, being relatively close to Annapolis. I also think the whole designated driver ticket was bs. Cost almost as much as a regular ticket. And u don't get anything for it. Maybe some water or soda would have been nice for those people.

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Gdog said:

I think Sierra Nevada was supposed to be there too.

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Oh, you're right, now you mention it. I was looking forward to Magic Hat #9 and Sierra Nevada too. It really sucks when you're going there and they are MIA.

DFH is missing from many of these smaller festivals I noticed. I bet there is little in it for them.

The whole ticket scene needs an enema. And a thorough one at that!

1. The regular "retail" price for tickets was $40, plus a small and very reasonable booking fee (< $2.00), unlike what the TicketBastard charges.
2. I purchased "advance tickets, for the first 100 only" for $30 each, back in July. Well that offer stayed there for weeks, and no-one is gonna tell me they didn't sell those first 100 during all that time? Still that's fine, a come-on but fine.
3. Then late August EventBrite puts them on special for $20. So I submitted for a refund on the $30 ones and bought new ones for $20. Better deal! Mind you, they were still selling $30 "first 100" discount tickets at the same time, 3 weeks before the event.
4. After the EventBrite $20 special lapsed, the original "retail" price was dropped from $40 to $30. Did any of the early purchasers/adopters get a refund? I bet none did unless they did the refund/repurchase switcheroo. And how could anyone know about these price drops unless you got eyes like a hawk, or just check the site for news, and stumble upon them, as I did.
5. Not good! These pricing antics do not keep people happy. But the beer does, in the end and that counts most, huh?

So yes, the DD tickets were totally hollow, with entirely no benefits for them. Not even a bite of food or free tasty alcohol-free refreshments. Come on, one would expect something for that $20 DD entry fee.

On the more positive side, I forgot to say though, we had a splendid time, and there was more beer than anyone could possibly sample and still be walking. The 6 hour unlimited samples session is my favorite format. 3 hours sounds like a binge drinking contest.

DC has a Craft Beer and Food Truck festival coming up shortly. Compare theirs to the Annapolis Fest. Then you know this one was very good! But could stand some improvement, sure.

We did have a good time drinking some beer, this for sure. But I was told that having it at the navy stadium, they had to use only the caterer provided by them. No competition. Maybe they need to change the location so they can have multiple food vendors.

The Format was great, hopefully the event will be improved next year.

Gdog said:

We did have a good time drinking some beer, this for sure. But I was told that having it at the navy stadium, they had to use only the caterer provided by them. No competition. Maybe they need to change the location so they can have multiple food vendors.

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The location was fine with plenty of parking. Easy going and the organization was pretty laid back too.

Kegs and Corks was at the County Fairgrounds and was a lot of fun until the cops "forcefully" shut all the taps down at least half an hour before the posted end time. Seeing that happen was not a happy moment. And totally uncalled for.

Maybe they didn't count on that many people wanting food. If that was the sole caterer they should clean up their act and at least double or triple their service. The waiting line must have been well over an hour during most of the day. Possibly longer.

Every festival can do with improvements, and as long as they do, it will benefit all of us.

The Belgian festival they had at Ommegang Brewery this summer looked very promising too. It is just one hell of a drive to Cooperstown, NY, from here. Maybe we can plan going there next year, and make the trip more worth it with some other activity.