Sacramento Sliders & Suds

Talk about a deal! My boyfriend and I got our tickets for this event through living social for $ 17 (for 5 sliders and unlimited beer tastings). While the pre-​sale ticket price was also reasonable I’m not too sure about the $ 40 same-​day at the door unless you are able to drink that much more beer after 5 amazing sliders.
So after about 2 hours of trying to pace ourselves– 2 beer samples, 1 slider, 2 beer samples, 1 slider… I left feeling toasty with a heavy buzz and food coma. This event featured a slider competition between some of the Midtown’s best and was judged by a panel as well as people’s choice. My favorite and winner of the competition was a spicy aoli, guac, cheesy, kobe infused slider prepared by River City Brewing company. This slider was so good I actually had 2 (drops head in shame). While Michel’s and Kupros used lamb in their sliders Blackbird threw in a twist with a touch of Indian spices. All of the sliders were tasty but only one could be the winner!
What better way to wash down the sliders than with a variety of beers from near and far. While I haven’t fully developed an affinity for beer yet I truly enjoyed this part of the event. I got the chance to taste and compare some of my favorites (Crispen and Foxbarrel cider) with new flavors and found that I really like the Pumpkin Ale from American Brewery and Highway Watermelon from the Bay Area’s infamous 21^st Amendment. If this event is comes along again next year, you can guarantee I’ll be there.

Fun afternoon! I think the event may have been a little under-​advertised (or else they purposely kept things low key), so the crowds were very manageable from an attendee standpoint. Wait times were nominal, porta-​potties stayed clean, and everyone was in a jovial mood. Add good beers and good food, and you get a perfect Saturday.
That said, slider supplies began to run out halfway in, so I didn’t get to try all of the sliders on my list. *sad face* (That’s OK, though, since five sliders would have put me into a food coma.) Sliders I did manage to grab: Bistro Michel’s lamb slider (which got my vote as the best), Mayahuel’s carnitas torta (with extra jalapenos, chips and salsa! bonus!), Burgess Brothers marinated portobello slider (soooo juicy and good), and the lamb slider from Blackbird, which made visiting Blackbird in person a renewed priority.
21^st Amendment and Speakeasy were my beers of choice for the day. Firestone also provided good beer (taking me back to the 805!) and a few good rounds of cornhole. Several Sacramento-​area breweries also passed out samples, including my favorite local brewers, Track 7.
It’s great to see art programs getting a boost from local businesses and the community.
PS — Thank you for providing bike parking!

What a fun event! A beautiful day in Fremont Park, with an easy entry. Our admission gave us a 5 slider punch card with unlimited beer tastings in our neat little plastic beer stein which held about 3 or 4 ounces. Dad’s was selling some pork sliders and a chicken meal, which looked really good. But we were all about the sIliders! Michel’s offered a lamb slider which was very good, as did Kupros. Chops offered a pulled pork slider, which was just average. Mayahuel offered not a slider but a ranchera steak torta with a side of salsa, chips, and pickled carrots and jalapenos. But my favorite (and judges choice winner!) was the jalapeño slider from River City Brewing. It was the biggest slider offered, and it was a kobe infused chuck patty with jalapeño, cheese, guacamole with a the right amount of kick. Mmmmmmm mmm tasty!
The suds part of the event was great too! There were a number of local, and not so local breweries, and I can say I had my fair share where I cannot name them all. But my favorites were the Butchertown Black Ale from Speakeasy brewery out of San Francisco (definitely going to have to check them out when I’m out there) 21^st Amendment’s Hell or Highway Watermelon, also out of San Francisco, Pumpkin Ale from American River Brewery out of Rancho Cordova, and the amber from River City Brewing. I didn’t get to try Brother Thelonious which was a abbey ale, but it must have been good if they ran out.
They had some other vendors like Titan Insurance, but I didn’t really notice the others. All in all, great location, great sliders and suds going for a great cause. I hope they make this an annual event!