Capitol Beer Fest

Attended the 14th Annual Capitol Beer Fest on 3/2/24.My first one and thought it was a wonderful event. Just wish it was warmer. Tried a number of beers that I would've never had a chance to try all in one place.

What a fun and exciting event!! You get unlimited tastings from over 100 different California breweries with nonstop music and good vibes. This is a must go to event for all beer lovers. I will be going back next year!

This is one of the best beer festivals ever. Three blocks of beer tents. 150 breweries. You cannot hit everyone in the 4 hours, it's just not possible to drink that much beer and remain standing. You have to hit the ones you like and the ones you don't know, spit out the beer if it's not exceptional because you can't waist in space in your body for subpar beer with all the tents to hit. And again, you'll still only hit a quarter of them.Been here a couple times and both times I got completely sloshed, even spitting out half the beer because it's so much. And so worth it. We've discovered so many great beers we drink regularly at festivals like this.I love some of the negative reviews here - the one "ive been to beer festivals in Japan, spain, etc and this was the worst." That's a person who's never been to a beer festival ever. Her review makes zero sense. The one about waiting in like for .91miles and wasting her time. THERE'S A 150 BREWERIES HERE. There are tons with no lines. Do you hate everything?This is the best. Can't wait for the next one.

I'm writing this event review from perspective of a volunteer and a little bit as a patron. The 5 star rating dropped to 4 because I feel sympathy for the folks waiting in line and I wish there was a way to help move it along.I volunteered because I like the cause "Runnin for Rhett" (Google search the nonprofit - you'll probably become a supporter, too). Runnin for Rhett is highly organized for picking a role to volunteer and times to show up. And they reward you fairly, so it's win-win.I was pleasantly surprised to find some big names pouring their brews - Sierra Nevada, Bear Republic, 21st Amendment, Leinenkugel's, Mike's (hard lemonade), Ballast Point, etc. For some reason I thought it was all local micro brews. But they showed up too. I tried several ciders since I'm always broadening my pallet. Common Cider Company really appealed to me with their pineapple flavored saison. Schilling Cider's Mischief Maker Pomegranate was delicious as well.The volunteers and brewery reps were all wonderful to be around. I also noticed that everyone I encountered wandering around the event were also pleasant, no attitudes. When it comes to alcohol heavy events that last one is often on the mind, but here it was a great, safe, friendly event of more than 6,500 people!I walked the event once to see which brewers were there. Then made mental note of those I wanted to try, mostly skipping the ones I know I enjoy. If I'm getting a "free" sample pour, I want to try something I would not want to buy/risk not liking. I also skipped the longer lines, no brew is worth a long line. I also tried the obscure looking brews that had no line. Was pleasantly surprised most times.A lot of the brews can be found at Raley's, Nugget, BevMo, Total Wine, and a couple other "high end" grocers.This year I understand tickets sold out before the day of the event. If you want to go next year, it's wise to buy in advance. The event tends to be the second Sunday in March. The VIP ticket may be costly, but it goes to a great cause that benefits the community and saves you from waiting in a long line, you just show your ticket, ID and get a wristband and you're in! See you next year!

This sucked A$$$ very unorganized to get in. Long lines at the entrance and throughout the event made it through maybe 10 breweries in 3 hrs you kidding me. The worst beerfest I've ever been too never again

I've been to beer festivals in Brussels, Belgium Tokyo, Japan, Charleston, SC and several other locations around the world. This is the WORST most piss-poor excuse for a "festival"-in-name-only that I have ever been to. First, the line just to get in was .91 mile. Yes I took out my pedometer and clocked it. So I wait in line for an hour. Pay my $45 to get in, am issued a teeny-tiny-itty-bitty little cup. Then I get to go stand in line again for a two ounce taste (or a tease if you will) of craft brew. I read that 125 breweries were represented, but it took so long to stand in line after line after line, for what amounted to 1.5-2 ounces of beer, that the sheer agony of the wait overpowered any enjoyment of the single swallow I was poured! Combine this with mediocre food truck "cuisine", and it was just an all-out terrible experience. Never again!

Great way to end the weekend! Lots of variety, entertainment, and of course BEER!Atmosphere - What a perfect day to have this event. Clear skies, great sunlight, and tons of breweries to choose from. Expect crowds! Tons of people wanting to taste everything, and lots of waiting in line. Don't worry though, lines move faster. Food - FOOD TRUCKS WERE AMAZINGGGGGG!!!!! I liked how they placed food truck spots throughout the street and didn't consolidate them in one area. Variety of food to go along with the variety of beer! Can't complain! Service - Can't really say much about service. They poured the beer, suggested what you like, and filled your cup! It was our first time going and we can all agree that we'd love to go again! Great event, tons of people, but lots of fun too! Cheers!

It's all you can tasting for sure, a full 3 blocks of it! Left and right. From bottled to tap. Definitely first come first serve. Get there at opening, not just so I can try everything but to try to beat the heat and it gets crowded. There are water stations. You get a little bigger than a shot cup sized cup at check in for all of the tastings. Be wise on what you want to try before everything starts tasting alike. Definitely worth the experience. There for a few food trucks on site, lines definitely get long so eat before you go! There is a section for portapotties. Yuk, but thank goodness they have it there for all the beer tastings. Try it out once if you like beer!

Capitol Beer Fest 2014 is in the books. Huge improvement from Cal Expo. I liked the setup this year up and down both sides of the street for around 3 blocks. 103 craft beer and food vendors. This was enough to make even the longest of lines very tolerable. I doubt I ever waited more than a few minutes. My personal highlights were Knee Deep, Drakes, Ninkasi and Rudy's Hideaway.Lowlights nothing major at all.

Had a blast at the Capitol Beer Fest this year. Having it on Capitol Mall was the best idea anyone could have for a festival such as this. I am still pretty new to the Sacramento area, so I am still super stoked on the Capitol building and the Tower Bridge and look either direction and you see one or the other. The beer selection was incredible. I believe there was something like 103 beer and food vendors with the vast majority of the beer coming from the greater Sacramento area and Northern California. Of course other areas were represented (Maine, Oregon, Colorado and So Cal) but the local guy was definitely the star there. My favorites were as always Knee Deep, Out of Bounds, Drakes and Ninkasi (Eugene, Oregon). We all know you can't drink beer without good food, and that was covered. We chose to order grub from the Rudy's Hideaway food truck. I mean really, who can pass up Maine lobster on a stick called a Lobi Pop?? Not me!!! We also ordered the amazing little gems they called Crab Balls. The Lobi Pop was served with and awesome non-mayo coleslaw that was the right combo of sweet and tart. Crab Balls were accompanied by a handful of homemade potato chips (coulda eaten a bucket of them). Like I said in the beginning, we had a blast at the Capitol Beer Fest this year and will make it a yearly tradition. Great was to close out Sac Beer week! Cheers!!!!!!!