Bloomington Craft Beer Festival

It's official: Bloomington Craft Beer Festival is my favorite of the three festivals the Brewers Guild puts on each year. I feel as if I can accomplish more sampling given the size of the festival and the number of breweries that participate. Yes, there are lines, but at most you're waiting five minutes for a pour. This is worth an early bird ticket for sure.Four of my favorite pours from the 2017 festival:-18th Street-Function-Four Day Ray-Chapman's

After attending this event a couple of times, I can say that it's one of my favorite beer festivals in Indiana. Why? - The venue is visually stunning and perfect for a beer festival. Bad weather or too sunny? Go inside and enjoy the beer. Too cold inside? Go outside in the sunshine and drink more beer. - The parking isn't a huge issue. It's a rather smooth process of getting in and getting out, especially since the event is so long that many people leave before the event is over. - The event is quite long. At 4 or 5 hours of beer drinking....that's a LONG time to be sampling. (One guy that came to this year said he tried over 90 samples only 3 hours into the event. That's a TON of beer sampling.) - Huge variety of breweries available, all offering at least 4 or so brews on tap. - Immense amount of port-o-pots available. - Not huge, huge lines. Could use some improvements: - Not accessible at all. - A few more options for non-beer drinkers. I know it sounds silly, but having a few of the ciders and the meads on hand were very helpful to get a nice break from the hops. - A bit pricy if you want the VIP entrance (but totally worth it if your body can handle 5 full hours of straight drinking.) Awesome job Brewers of Indiana Guild on the #BtownBFest!

An annual Bloomington favorite.Tips:Arrive early/spring for the early bird tickets.Wear comfy shoes, there is no seating.Make a pretzel necklace for the day.Wear layers, it seems to always be a nice day and you will be hot outside and cold in the shade.This is always a fun afternoon of beer tasting and running into lots of friends. Enjoy as many tastes as you want from craft brewers around the state and lots of Bloomington local tastes. Always a few food vendors as well. You can usually expect to see UplandQuaff onFunctionZwanzigThree Floyd'sDaredevilSunkingMost breweries will have their favorites and you will see lots of limited releases early in the day. This year we saw a cask area and the local homebrew club also served their own.Rumor has it 2017 is the last year the event will be at the Woolery Mill.

This was the first time that my boyfriend and I actually got to go to this event! I was the DD so no beer for me but I still had a great time collecting all the coasters and stickers they had. Watch out beer fridge, you're about to be covered in stickers!I've read past reviews saying there were awfully long lines for the bathroom, but there were so many portable bathrooms this year. I saw people waiting around but never a "long" line. The porta potties weren't that bad. They aren't the cleanest things with drunk people peeing all over them, but they weren't bad. I do wish that were more options for non-drinker DDs like me. I enjoyed the food. How about making food free for the red banded non-drinkers? Hmmm. Great event on a really nice day. Aaaand in my boyfriend's eyes it was "THE BEST DAY EVER" haha.

This was a pretty interesting beer event. The real star here was the setting. Located in an old quarry, it felt very industrial yet comforting. There were several Indiana microbreweries present that I had never heard of (and I am quite the local craft beer aficionado).Next year, they really need to increase the number of portajohns as I saw some huge queues. Also, more food trucks to accommodate the throngs of hungry attendees.

All you can drink beer for a good price. Countless tents for food and coffee for those who don't like beer or like it too much (; Friendly environment and security/emergency help are on site just in case! Can't wait for next year!

I look forward to this event every year. The Woolery Stone Mill is the perfect venue - you're protected from the sun while sampling but there is a lot of accessible space outside to hang out. If it rains you'll stay dry (though I've been fortunate enough to get clear skies in my four years of attending). And the character of the historic building is perfect for drinking beer all day (Urban Outfitters desperately tries to model products after places like this). The commemorative glass is a great keepsake and just the right size for sampling the huge variety of beer that is always present. I like to try all kinds of beer, but many I would never actually order in a restaurant, so this is a great opportunity to sample those. Most of the vendors also have free coasters and stickers that you can take to remember them. Everyone is so friendly, from the vendors to the guests. There are often lots of quirky people, which makes for great people watching. The only downside is the price. I personally don't think $40 is too much for 4 hours of all you can drink craft beer in an awesome venue during the time of year when spring is actually starting to spring, but that's often the reason I hear from friends who choose not to attend. But we're probably better off without those people anyway. If you like beer and people who like beer, then I highly recommend this event.

Two words: Early Bird. Save up your money and spring for the Early Bird tickets. So worth it to have that hour before the hoards arrive. So many great breweries, food vendors and t-shirt/hat/etc vendors. We took our trusty map and visited brewers who we had never been to before. Then we hit up a few places that we have tried before. (shout out to Crown Brewing, from my home town of Crown Point, IN)The beer was good and the vibe was great. Friendly folks all around (especially after a few pours). We had a terrific time. Thank you again to Yelp, where I won two tickets for this year's fest. So happy to have the opportunity to attend and already planning on returning next year.

What an amazing place for a brew fest! Bloomington itself is stunning, so just throw in an event highlighting Indiana's breweries and you have yourself a winner. I must say, having it at this location really adds adds an element of uniqueness because rarely do you get the indoor/outdoor feel during a large brew fest. The mill leaves plenty of room for everyone, space for parking and a pretty sweet backdrop for all vendors handing out their best of the best beer. My main tip - make sure to have a sober ride to your next destination. It always makes me nervous seeing folks hop in their cars after a day's worth of sampling. Have fun, but get home safely. ;)

I had a great time with Gretchen at Craft beer fest at Woolsey mill. The beer was great and the weather was awesome. Everyone should come out today wonderful time. I love Yelp!