Taste Of Brews

Although I live in the hotbed of craft beer, the events that take place in our neck of the woods never seem to be: a) set on a day that I can make it or b) affordable. Taste of Brews, on the other hand, landed on a perfect day and was reasonably priced for the high quality samples I experienced.I find it difficult to recall all that I tried, though I can say I passed over the stations that were poring strictly IPA's. The folks doing the sampling were all great and clearly excited to be there. Crowd was under control and relatively friendly. My knocking down a couple of stars comes from the organizers of this event. Here's why:- Though the entrance to the event was obvious, there was much confusion once you walked up. You had to track down a specific event staffer to get your wrist band, turn around--wrist band secure--and get back in line to wait to get in. No clear signage or direction by most of the event staff (contracted or working for the event organizer) as to where to go or what to do when you arrived. Most unfortunate folks ended up in the line to get in before they even got their wrist bands, ending up losing their spot in line when they had to leave to get said wrist bands before they can get in to the event- I felt the two different tasting times (three hour versus four hour) was silly. I imagine it has to do with crowd control, but considering most of the four hour folks were arriving with three hours to taste, it became pointless. That, paired with the difficulty on the event site of trying to find when you could start your tasting was tough. Also, most breweries were closing up shop by three, an hour in advance of the four pm cut off time- Not nearly enough bathrooms. By miles- Event site claimed that, "free parking available in the structure across the street." Low and behold, it was closed except for those with a parking pass. According to the security guard posted, it had been free the year before, but not this one. Cutting and pasting event info from one year to the next is amateur hourOverall, it wasn't a terrible event. But, from a former event organizer's perspective, the planning of key elements missed several marks. Perhaps they'll consider this before their next event.

Taste of Brews are great organizers. This time they were at White Park in Riverside. I got their early admission tickets and as soon as I got in line they scanned my tickets and gave me a wrist band. The group was let in exactly on time and there were many breweries serving up some of their best. They had a good variety of Southern California brews as well as some out of state. Taste of Brews unlike other such event organizers also has local restaurants provide food samples - Yumm!! The cover band was great and added to the overall ambiance that included fun beer loving people. All in all this was a well orchestrated event. Can't wait for the next one.