BeerAdvocate’s American Craft Beer Fest 2015 Comes to Boston

BeerAdvocate is a worldwide network dedicated to educating the public about craft beer and boosting respect for the beverage. Along with its most well-known endeavor, BeerAdvocate Magazine, plus its popular website BeerAdvocate.com and social media pages, the organization also hosts craft beer festivals to help fulfill its mission. It’s already put on more than 40 beer festivals and dozens of tastings, dinners, and other events, and spent more than $2 million of its own cash on beer poured at its festivals since 2003.

The Details

The American Craft Beer Fest is one of BeerAdvocate’s leading events, and this year’s takes place in three sessions, held from May 29 – 31, 2015 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston (200 Seaport Boulevard., Boston, MA 02210). Friday’s session is the only one with tickets still available as of this writing, and it runs from 6:00 – 9:30 pm; Saturday’s session is from 1:00 – 4:30 pm, and Sunday’s is 6:00 – 9:30 pm.

The 8th annual American Craft Beer Fest will be stocked full with over 640 brews from more than 140 breweries from around the country. All three sessions feature the same beers and breweries, though the festival organizers remind you that such things are always subject to change.

Entrance is for adults 21 and up only, with a valid photo ID required; no children or pets are permitted in the events. Tickets are $50 per person, available from Evenbrite (some fees apply). More than 15,00 people from around the globe will attend this year’s American Craft Beer Fest.

Drinking at the Fest

With so many beers to sample, it’s important to pace yourself. Take the time to appreciate the appearance, aromas, and flavors of the beverages. All booths are manned by brewery employees, so take a little time to talk to them, too, and learn a little about their products and processes. Also, food and water are your friends; both will be available for purchase. Pours are only 2 ounces or less in accordance with Massachusetts state law, but remember that many craft beers have a higher ABV than macrobrews. And the ounces do add up.

Sometimes, some brewers run out of some beers. It depends on how much they bring (obviously, every brewery can’t bring enough of every beer for 15,000 people), whether they’re rationing to ensure it lasts for all three sessions, how popular they and their brews are, and other factors. Don’t worry about rushing through or running out of drinks to try, though; there will be plenty for everyone.

Some of the Breweries

Because BeerAdvocate is based in Boston, and because the American Craft Beer Fest is also in Boston, there’s an emphasis on breweries based in Massachusetts. Participants from the state listed as of this writing include:

• Abandoned Building Brewery from Easthampton
• Aeronaut Brewing Company from Somerville
• Amherst Brewing Company from Amherst
• Backlash Beer Company from Holyoke
• Bad Martha Brewing Company from Boston
• Banner Beer Company from Williamsburg
• Bentley Brewing Company/Dark Horse Tavern from Southbridge
• Berkley Beer Company from Berkley
• Big Elm Brewing from Sheffield
• Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) from Jamaica Plain
• Brewmaster Jack from Northampton
• Buzzards Bay Brewing from Westport
• Cambridge Brewing Company from Cambridge
• Cape Ann Brewing Company from Gloucester
• Cisco Brewers Inc. from Nantucket
• Down the Road Brewery from Newton
• Element Brewing Company from Millers Falls
• Enlightenment Ales from Everett
• Gardner Ale House from Gardner
• Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall from Boston
• High Horse Brewing from Amherst
• Idle Hands Craft Ales from Everett
• Ipswich Ale Brewery from Ipswich
• Iron Duke Brewing from Ludlow
• Jack’s Abby Brewing from Framingham
• Lord Hobo Brewing Company from Woburn
• Mayflower Brewing Company from Plymouth
• Medusa Brewing Company from Hudson
• Mystic Brewery from Chelsea
• Newburyport Brewing Company from Newburyport
• Night Shift Brewing from Everett
• Offshore Ale Company from Oak Bluffs
• Portico Brewing Company from Waltham
• Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project from Somerville
• Riverwalk Brewing from Newburyport
• Somerville Brewing Company (Slumbrew) from Somerville
• Spencer Brewery from Spencer
• The People’s Pint from Greenfield
• The Tap Brewing Company from Haverhill
• Wachusett Brewing Company from Westminster
• Wandering Star Brewing Company from Pittsfield
• White Lion Brewing Company from Springfield
• Wormtown Brewery from Worcester

In addition, numerous other New England breweries will be represented at the 2015 American Craft Beer Fest. See them all, and those from all around the US, at www.beeradvocate.com/acbf/beer/.