Local (to you) brewfests...who goes, who takes notes, thoughts?

[seatazzz]

The husband and I are off to our yearly trip to Oregon Brewfest this Friday. It's a great tradition. Last year I only had one all-grain under my belt when we went, and not a lot of solid knowledge, let alone decent equipment to brew on. This year I'm going to take some serious notes on what I may want to try to brew. Anyone else ever get any good ideas for recipes from a brewfest you've attended?

 

[Sammy86]

Personally, Brewfests are there to drink and enjoy the beer. Do I maybe get some inspiration...sure but I'm not taking notes...asking questions yes...notes don't think so

 

[treacheroustexan]

Just putting in my opinion! I don't really go to brewfests that are local to me. I drink a lot of commercial beer other than my homebrew, and chances are I'm not really going to try anything that I haven't tried before. I'll go if a group of friends are going, but if that's the case I won't really remember it. I also volunteer and pour for guests if they need extra help.

I travel quite a bit and visit different breweries, and that's where most of my inspiration comes from. If you download the Untappd app on your phone, that's a good way to keep track of what you're drinking and you can record notes so you can look at it later on and help you decide what you want to brew. Have fun!

 

[pdxal]

Been going to the Oregon Brewer's Festival since about 2003. It has always been a mess, total clusterf$#k. Probably one of the worst Oregon beer festivals, in part because, as mentioned above, there are so many readily available beers there. IMO only worth visiting to check out the specialty beer tent.
I get no great ideas when I go to this festival. I'm jaded.
Now, at fresh hop beer festivals, wild and farmhouse beer festivals, Belgian beer fests, and weird beer fests I get some great ideas. I never take notes, aside from rating in Untappd and maybe putting a brief note on the beer program.

 

[jekko]

It must sound strange, but I never happened to be at a local festival Though last year I was in Barcelona and attended their beer fest. It was so much fun and inspiration (that's a pity I have no local experience to compare, bet it's none the less fun) I even started thinking to stay and live in Barcelona, it's a beautiful country (and much cheaper actually https://tranio.com/spain/catalonia/barcelona/) I remember many people actually writing down and exchanging recipes, inviting each other to have a look at their home breweries and that was really cool. I was too immature to participate fully but that memorable time rendered me thinking of trying it out myself. And eventually brought me here I need to plan and visit some local event asap!

 

[TheAleRunner]

I only go to a handful of local beer fests, and those are the ones that I serve my homebrew at. Those are certainly the best ones locally, because of all the homebrewers and getting to try their beers. I'd never go to one without the homebrew component.