Stanley's Beer + Bacon Fest

The 2017 Stanley's Beer and Bacon Fest was another success!The weather was amazing this year (80 degrees and sunny), so it was easy to toss back many different beer samples. I thought there was a good selection of local and national breweries. Adam H, Trevor H, Shelby M, and I were ready at the gates when they opened a few minutes before 2pm, and we did a good job hitting all the vendors we were interested in.I really liked how the bacon vendors were spread out this year - it helped keep the bacon lines manageable. That said, I do agree with others that for a fest that has bacon in the name, there really isn't that much bacon to be had. Adam H. and I knew this from last year, so we made sure to eat some lunch before attending.The lines were manageable and everyone could get their fill. It was also fun that there were a few special releases throughout the afternoon. There were several merchandise vendors that I mostly ignored, except for the MN lottery booth. I won a $5 scratch off and ended up up by $10!My only criticism is I wish there were more places to rinse out your glass and buy water. Overall, such a fun event!

Wow! This is a must do for the spring! It exceeded my expectations. It was great that everyone was able to mingle before the gates were officially open to where the beer tents were. Tent upon tent of beer samples of all types. I personally prefer a lighter and fruity beer. I love that at this time of year many of the breweries are offering summer beers so I had a heyday with it all. The Yelp Coozies were a hit. I'm glad I had one it was so hot out my beer would've not tasted the same. Everyone in our group kept getting asked "where do I get one of those"?!?I love that they had bacon tents mixed in with the beer. The bacon was a great way to cleanse my palate lol. The herbivorous butcher even have a tent for the vegan bacon they offer. I was thrown off how it was cold though. It's my first time eating Fakin. Old Dutch was giving out mini bags of chips. The Bacon food truck looked like it had a phenomenal BLT but I was full from the beer and didn't try it. Shout out to Hormel for the free bacon coupons. Also shout out to Kara for the tickets to this awesome event. I have recruited a ton of friends that want to go next year.

Soo much Fun!More beer than you can shake a stick at. My favorites were the cider and root beer!There were some fun bacon options. Like the meatless bacon that I didn't realize was meatless until I ate it. It was very good but who would eat meatless bacon? even most vegetarians eat bacon =)The music was really boomin. The live musicians were great and the dj at Stanley's was spinning some wild fun beats.I really enjoyed talking to the Alaskan beer company reps as well as the beer dabbler people. This was the place to be for local and craft brewers alike.it was a little lacking on the bacon. While you could get as much as you wanted it took a lot of waiting in line. There was also a light selection of bacon.I would suggest more bacon vendors in the future.Everyone was super nice from security, to the attendees and the MPLS police.It is well worth the ticket price to listen to some fun music and sample every beer you like while chomping on BACON!!!

I think they should rename this event "Stanley's Beer Fest." Although the bacon was disappointingly scarce, the beer was plentiful. I am not the biggest beer person, but getting to try all of the different beers was so much fun! There were over 50 different breweries presents and over 100 brews to try...I found myself chugging my sample glass in between lines to make sure I was ready for the next brew. Amintha and I rocked the bacon & beer suits which definitely represented our "Yelpiness." It was hot out, and yes, the sweat dropped down my...ohh skee skee...but it was a perfect way to get the "Yelp" name out there. I had so many people ask me how to get involved with Yelp even when I didn't have any free coozies to give out! Now that's love, guys! Coozies weren't the only freebies at the fest...tiaras, pretzel necklaecs, beads, fans...you name it. There were freebies galore. You know what else was free? Our chariot (yes, I'm calling it a chariot) ride to the fest. One of the men on the bikes kindly gave us a free ride, so we didn't have to walk from our car. The staff that were running the different boosts at the fest were also very welcoming, kind, and helpful. I had a lot of laughs with them because naturally, everyone gets a kick out of you when you're walking around in a beer costume.I enjoyed having such celebrity status all day and getting to sip on all kinds of beers to live music. It was a beautiful day for an event like this, and it was fun seeing so many people come out for it! We all got the chance to just let our hair down and unwind. Next year, I vote for more bacon appearances because there's never such a thing as too much bacon!

so much beer... so much bacon.... so many awesome people! Thanks yelp for letting me know that such an awesome event existed and on top of that I got to wear a bacon suit which made me the most popular girl at the bacony ball! I will definitely be going to this event again!

So much fun at this event! As I highly enjoy sampling craft beer and ciders. During this event I found a cider that I highly enjoy. It was the 2 Town Cider - Black Cherry. I highly enjoy that I was able to sample, so much beer. SO MUCH beer. It similar to a mini beer dabbler without feeling overwhelmed with all the options. Also there weren't huge lines for anything. As someone who does not eat bacon, it was nice to sample the herbivore butchers version of bacon. I really enjoy their version of bacon as I was able to eat it. I was able help a friend gather a massive stack of bacon, so the bacon did not go to waste. Overall great event and so much fun!

I love bacon and I love beer, so I was thrilled to come check this out. I had done the Craft Beer Expo (CBE from here on out) earlier in the year and loved that. I knew this wouldn't be the same, but I had hopes of something good given how many craft breweries were coming. I guess my review of this is based off my expectations coming from the CBE.The beer was good. Lots of quality breweries. The difference here was that they weren't bringing out their A game it felt like. At the CBE breweries really featured some of their more off center ales. The beers here felt a little safe. Lots of IPA's, pilsners, and other more widely liked selections. The amount you got was also a lot less than at the CBE. Granted it is free and you could just get back in line. I found myself more often than not just saying meh and moving on. The big let down for me was the lack of bacon! How can you call this a bacon fest when there were maybe three stations serving bacon. I think I had two tiny slices of real bacon and a piece of vegan bacon, which I quickly threw out. There was also a lot more of an emphasis on swag than at the CBE. There were a ton of vendors hawking their wares. The free massage was nice, but felt a little out of place. This felt more like a strange block party than a beer fest. It was a good time, but between this and the CBE I would do the CBE any day. 31/100

I had so much fun!! The beer was all top notch, the vendors were friendly and knowledgeable, and the schwag was choice! I got to try so many new ipas, sours, stouts, ciders, and ales that I feel like I should add a certification to my resume! The bacon was a little sparse which was disappointing. For the amount of bacon versus merchandise available they might be better off calling it the Beer and Teeshirt fest. Which wouldn't be bad either I just think the expectation was a little off. Overall, very fun and I would definitely go again!

First beer fest...and it was not what I was anticipating at all, it was so much better! I must admit I'm not a huge bacon fan, but thankfully the fest was DOMINATED by the amount of beer vendors. If you couldn't find (multiple) something(s) you liked, I'm sorry you may be helpless. I got to try so many MN beers that I haven't had yet being newer to the area, now there are multiple breweries I specifically will seek out visiting. There was also an impressive variety of breweries from around the country. And it definitely didn't hurt it was beyond perfect weather...can't complain about unlimited free beer, meeting new Yelpers, and enjoying the beautiful sunshine. Thanks Yelp for introducing me to this event!

Was this event real?! I expected two small tents and some bacon (my fault for not doing my homework). I made sure I was the first person to pass through the gates when they opened because I needed to get to the Stone Brewing tent which was right at the front and try the 2 beers they brought. Shortly after I ran in to Kara D in her bacon costume, which was amazing! She hooked me up with a "Yelp slap coozie" for my beer/hand. It was cold out so the coozie kept my beer cold and my hand warm. Back to the festival. I made my Pretzel necklace then listened to the two gals doing dueling pianos, they were VERY good! I also played some hammer slaggen (spelling?) 50 different brewery's with multiple beers kept me busy and that's for sure! We made our way to the bacon tents, one was vanilla ice cream with bacon and then there was bacon with different seasonings, they were all good, but the cinnamon was the best! The only thing we bought at the event was popcorn from Maddy and the Mazie, a local popcorn maker. We got the standard cheddar and then went a bit wild and got cookies and cream popcorn! Unfortunately my favorite flavor, guacamole, wasn't available yet for individual sale. Overall, this was an awesome event that I will now be a regular at!