Highlands Beer Festival

I love the Highlands Beer Festival! In my opinion, beer festivals are always a great time, but this is one of my favorites. Compared to some, this one is actually quite small, as it's essentially held in a parking lot under one tent; but, it offers plenty of options! Throughout the years this festival has grown, so it's definitely continuously expanding, but it's all still in a smaller venue than some of the other festivals around town. Don't let that deter you though, this festival is just as good (and I would say better) than some others. I have attended and volunteered this festival, and I have always had a blast. There's plenty to drink, including local, domestic, and imported options. There are options other than beer too. You'll find ciders, seltzers, and more. So, if beer isn't your first choice, this can still be a great event to attend! If you haven't been to this event, and you enjoy beer festivals, I think you should definitely check it out!

This was my first Highland's Beer Fest and I totally dug it! It was super fun, laid back, a huge selection of beers (local and non-local), food, live music, and very friendly people. My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time and both agreed the $20 for advanced tickets was well worth the value. We love nothing more than to drink cold brews under a beautiful sunny sky.

99 bottles of beer, takin' all down and passed around....I love this annual event in Louisville to showcase new beer's on the market, local breweries, and new seasonal selections. The event is setup that you get a wrist band advertising that you are over 21 and then you buy tickets to trade for two ounce samples of any beer you choose. This event coincides with Bardstown Aglow in the Highlands so parking is limited and event is pretty crowed. Yelp always represents with bottles of water, beer openers, or even a yummy pretzel necklace. There is usually someone selling chips or water, but make sure to eat something before you arrive, those two ounce samples can add up quickly!See you next year!

I've been to this festival every year since the beginning, back in December 2009. This is the first year that the festival has been held outdoors and I have mixed feelings about it. Previously the festival was held in the main corridor of Midcity Mall- fine the first few years but as the event gained popularity, it became very crowded. This year the event was held in the parking lot beside the Back Door. The festival this year was much larger, with way more beers to test and try. Most beers are available for purchase in Value Market's magical and wonderful refrigerated beer cave. Unlike previous festivals, there was no option for full pours of anything, and each sample came in a tiny plastic cup. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing since there were many choices, but it felt very wasteful to toss each little plastic cup between samples. At some previous festivals, pint glasses came with admission and were used for samples or full pours. This year I didn't even get a pint glass since they ran out very early. Since the festival was held outdoors this year, there was a lot more elbow room for the guests- another pro in my opinion. The negative, more space meant there was room for a stage where absolutely dreadful dad rock was blasted all day. The festival also started much earlier in the day than previous years and finished up by 7:00. I'm sure this was because of noise levels, but I'm more of a night person so I would have preferred to have been just kicking things off at 7 rather than finishing up for the night. This is still one of my favorite beer festivals because of the intimate neighbor-like feeling. It always feels kind of DIY, and that's why I love it so much. I think that feeling didn't change with the move outdoors and that's what really matters.

This event was even more popular than I had anticipated, and more than a little bit disorganized. We got in line at 5:10pm with easily more than 100 people ahead of us. The end of the line was past the outside doors of Valumarket. There was no queue; I don't think they anticipated that kind of line, or at least didn't plan for it. It didn't take long for us to get inside, though maybe 15 minutes. There were only 2 people checking IDs, and 2 people taking money ($5 per person to get in the door). The lady who took my $20 (I paid for my fiance, as well) and didn't give me my change until I asked for it. I think she was distracted by her children, who were also present. The cluster continued just past where we paid the door fee. They had the table selling drink tickets just past where we entered. Tickets were $1 each or unlimited for $30. I would have considered buying the unlimited had it been more reasonably priced (I'd have to get wasted in order to make that worth it). Once we got in, it was incredibly crowded at the front. We fought our way to the back, where all the good stuff was, anyway. I was absolutely amazed by the collection they had available for sampling. De Halve Maan's Bruges Zot? Ommegang's Three Philosophers? Others that I wish I could remember but there was nothing to write down what I liked? YEP. It was great to find out that all of these beers could be purchased at Valumarket... I just wish I could remember what they all were.Overall, this event was pretty awesome, just could have used a little bit of logistical help.

I have been to this thing for the past 3-4 years. According to Yelp, I've been 4 times and I think that sounds pretty accurate. I have always enjoyed the Highlands Beer Festival. It's small, low key, and really fun. It's not terribly crowded and they offer a huge variety of beers. I think the only downside to the festival is that I encounter a lot of repeat beers but that's not even a downside. It gives me the opportunity to sample the things I like all over again in addition to the availability of cans and bottles at Valu Market AFTER the festival. So really, I should say that the festival is a 4 star event and the fact that I can buy what I tasted after the fact gives it a full 5 stars. There's always a good local section in addition to the normal out of state or even "commercially" mass produced beers. All in all, it's $20 well spent - especially with the expansion of pints available this year. The presale includes a pint glass and 20 tickets in addition to your entry. It is well worth it, if you think about it. I will also mention that I dig the fact they went without a live band this year - always seemed kind of like a waste of money. The speakers on the Spudz truck was more than enough to fill the parking lot with music without completely destroying my ears.

I've been attending this beer festival for the past several years and it's been a blast-rain or shine! This year, they did something new with the advance tickets (you pay $20 for 20 tickets and 1 hour early admission and a free beer glass as opposed to $20 for 15 tickets without a early admission and beer glass) and I think that was a good call. I was a little worried when they posted on the event page that advanced tickets were still available the day prior to the event, but the crowd showed up ready to taste some beers. Just as previous years, they had a great selection of local and non-local beers, live music, food for purchase, tents, and picnic tables. This year, when we check-in on yelp, it said we were eligible for a free koozie or bottle opener and a pretzel necklace, but nobody working at the festival knew of any such offer...ah well. I will say a majority of the beer pourers were doing a great job with pours, but we had a few instances where the pours were not even half full, although this won't deter me from coming back next year. I would have loved to see them distribute a layout of where all the beers were located, but I'm not sure how logistically possible that would have been. Seemed like last year there was something of the sort. Look forward to attending next year!