Benson Beer Fest

The Benson Beer Fest was fantastic. I loved sampling the extensive variety of local, regional and national beers, many of them exclusive to this event.I also loved the focus on local home brewers. I found myself hanging out around their booths the most. For one, it gave me a chance to try some beers I'll never be able to find again. Two, well, they were a really lively and fun bunch to be around.If you're a fan of micro brews or simply enjoy having a good time alongside 1,000 other people on a lovely Saturday afternoon, don't miss the Benson Beer Fest the next time it rolls around.

***2017 Update****This year yelp got a seat at the table. By that, I mean Yelp had a tent set up and the fun was ready to begin. Did you remember sunscreen? A lot of pale folks are waking up today a bit lobsterish. It was a hot day, but little humidity and loads of beer. The Benson beerfest is quickly growing and is a HUGE economic boom for the area. Think about it, all these folks are mildly hungry and need to eat beforehand (see upcoming review of Vituoso Pizza) and afterwards, the after parties and comraderrie continue.The local Distributors manned a good portion of the tents, but it was nice to see some of the regular offerings. Farnam House brought a Phenomenal one-off Apricot Lambic. Madhouse from DSM brought the stellar lineup of sours including a new fave, Galaxy Haze. A lot of ciders appeared too.Will S and newly minted Meg K were on hand to have folks win swag just for following or showing they are down with Yelp. In return those folks got to play Plinko for prizes and there was also Giant Jenga on hand and as to inebriation progressed, so did the amount of participants. The hot item of the day was either Yelpglasses or the wristband. If you have been to Yelp events and managed to score these items, know that you can use the wristband as a Koozie for your taster glass. So popular these were that when I turned my back, someone helped themselves to the very on I was using. At least I got to keep my glass

We had such a great time at the Benson Beer Fest this year! There were so many Brewers there we had a hard time making it to all of them, despite our best efforts!! All of our favorite local breweries were represented (Infusion, NBC, Lucky Bucket, Farnham House, Brickway), as well as some we hadn't even heard of before. My favorite part though was the home brewers! I tasted some awesome flavors in beer that I had never had or even thought about before. My husband loved the number of sours that were available at a number of the booths! We enjoyed talking to the many Brewers and reps. We found Kros Strain brewing who had some fantastic beers and were elated to find they are currently working on opening a space out in the ever growing area of 108th and Giles. This of course is the same area as the Nebraska Brewing Company tap room and Infusion's new tap room. They will be opening late 2016/early 2017!! 402 BBQ and Hawks Pizza food trucks were on hand. We will definitely plan on attending next year as well as seeking out other beer fests around town throughout the year.