BrewFest Encinitas

The Brewfest was an enjoyable, albeit sparsely-​attended event. While the selection was quite nice (more than 10 beer companies), the portions were paltry given the steep admission price (10×4 oz tasters for $ 40, so not quite a steal at $ 16/​pint). I was also a bit disappointed that many of the stands I visited lacked representatives from the breweries and were staffed solely by volunteers. Hence, if I wanted to know more about a particular beer that I liked, besides that it contains hops and was brewed in nearby XXXX, the volunteers understandably could not provide much information. With that said, several stands including Ballast Point, Culture and Lightning had reps who were very knowledgeable and conversational.
All in all, while the location was convenient (a mere stone’s throw from my home), I would rather visit the breweries with $ 40 in hand rather than the Brewfest.

So the most memorable moment of the 3^rd Annual BrewFest Encinitas (2013) was when we walked into the gate and had the following conversation with the geezer, I mean greater:
Old man greeter: Welcome to the BrewFest. We’re raising money for a great cause and have lots of wonderful beer. And for the ladies, we have wine.“
Me: What? You don’t think women drink beer? Why would we come to a BrewFest if we don’t drink beer.
Old Man Greeter: Ohh, we have cider too.
Me: Oh $shit, I just remembered I left a pie baking in the oven.
Anyhoo, that afforded us lots of laughs and overall the four of us had a good time at the event and would go back again next year. Pros and Cons are as follows:
Pros:
–Lots of good craft beer and of course cider and wine for the ladies. Wink.
–A few non-​local breweries added some variety
–Food trucks with some really tasty fare
–Not crowded at all
–Time slot is ideal — be productive in the morning, drink at the festival then go to dinner
–Location was easy to get too and offered cool ocean breezes
Cons:
–Not very organized, specific examples follow:
–Entry lines were not balanced. There were two lines for VIPs, two lines for cash sales and two lines for those with prepaid tickets. The prepaid ticket lines were very long and there was absolutely no one in the cash sales line. So volunteers working the cash sales line were just standing around doing nothing and the prepaid line volunteers were feverishly working away. Moreover, if you bought tickets in advance on line then you paid a $ 3 fee that you didn’t have to pay if you bought them at the door. So if you are following this, then yes, we paid more in advance and waited in a long line. Loose, loose.
–Parking was a little unorganized too. There are two lanes going into the college but again, some old many was blocking one lane for some unknown reason. That meant that cars turning right into the parking lot from Manchester had clogged the lane and there was no where for cars turning left into the college to go when they got the green arrow. Old man — out of the way.
–There were only two food trucks, I expected more of a variety but I guess two does meet the definition of «trucks»
–The band didn’t really seem to get the crowd going.