EVENTS: Florida International Beer Festival

Friends enjoying some great beer at the festival. (Credit: Mike Anthony)

I wasn’t feeling too well on Saturday but no way was I going to miss out on some great beer and food at the Florida International Beer Festival at Heritage Square in Downtown Orlando. I’ve been to several of these in the past and have always had a blast. I’m a bit of a beer connoisseur and itch at the chance to try something new and exotic. Let the pouring begin.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the crowd. This was definitely the biggest turnout I’ve seen at this festival which I attribute somewhat to the fact that the festival was held on a Saturday where as in the past it would be a Friday. The festival takes place early in the evening so by holding it on a Friday you’re definitely missing out on a lot of people that can’t make it downtown in time because of work. While the big turnout was great for the festival organizers, it sucked for me because it was very hard to maneuver through the crowd to get a beer.

The festival was noticeably lacking compared to what it’s been in the past. Several top notch breweries were missing (most notably Chimay and Dogfish Head) and the quality of food was sub par as well compared to past festivals. Some beers worth mentioning:

BJ’s – A national brew house/restaurant chain was not expected to earn any special mentions but their blonde and pale ales were both wonderful. They also had some killer jambalaya.

Central Florida Home Brewers – This group of home brewers never disappoint and this year’s IPA was a favorite.

Peak – An organic brewer that had my favorite wheat beer of the day.

Sprecher – Abbey Triple is an awesome abbey ale and they also had a tasty beer named Titan.

My award for the best brewery goes to (drum roll please) Sprecher! Check out their website and give the Abbey Triple a shot.

All in all I had a good time and would recommend this festival to any beer enthusiast. However, I’d like the festival to return to what it’s been in years past. The large crowd can’t be avoided, but bring back some of the better beers and food that we’ve become accustomed to.