Final countdown is on for 2023 Tallahassee Beer Festival | Around the Brew Bend
The 5th Annual Tallahassee Beer Fest (tlhbeefest.com) on Aug. 26 at the Tucker Center is just under a month away, and it's already shaping up to be the biggest and best one yet.
More tickets sold than ever before. The most breweries that have ever committed to pour and participate. And a new Friday night pre-party wrinkle that's sure to set the stage for an awesome event.
But before we go any further, there is one super important thing we'd like to impart on those reading this. And here it is:
As of the writing of this column this week, there are officially just over 200 tickets left!
And while that may sound like a lot, it really isn't when you consider the event started with a record 2,800 VIP and general admission tickets for sale this year. And since VIP has been sold out for months, that means all that's left are general admission. So if history repeats itself, those 200+ tickets will be gone quite possibly by next week.
Of course, once the event is sold out, that's it! There are no after market tickets for sale. There is no begging and pleading us in private messages to help you get tickets. So heed this warning now: If you plan - or want - to go to this event with 110 breweries from around the region, state, country and world coming to pour their amazing craft beers (and mead, wine and hard seltzers), you better hurry to tlhbeerfest.com and snag your tickets!
Let's drill down on some of the other haps surrounding this year's event, which will be held from 2-6 p.m., with VIP entry beginning at 1 p.m.
Here's some need-to-know info. to get you ready for North Florida's largest beer festival of every calendar year:
Pre-Party at Proof
On Friday, Aug. 25, there will be a Pre-Party at Proof Brewing from 6-8 p.m. This is an extra cost of $35, but it will include a TLH Beer Fest T-shirt, two hours of unlimited beers from Proof, food from the Proof Brewpub kitchen, a commemorative pint glass and a chance to mingle and talk to the breweries and their brewers who will be pouring the next day. If you want to attend, you can add that extra ticket option on when you're buying your tickets. The pre-party event will also be held between Proof's private party room and beer garden, as well as in the brewhouse itself. So it will be an exclusive evening that you don't wanna miss!
Beer Fest Beer Mile
The morning of the TLH Beer Fest is the annual TLH Beer Fest Beer Mile (unitedpartnersforhumanservices.wildapricot.org). One mile, four beers, must be 21+, with a men's and women's winner crowned at the end. Participants need to arrive prior to the 11:30 a.m. start and each person will have to drink one 12 oz beer after each of the 4 laps. For more information, contact Race Director Mickey S. Moore at mickey@mooretobusiness.com. The cost to enter is $25 for advanced registration or $30 the day of. And please, if you can, keep the puking to a minimum, you Beer Mile maniacs!
VIP details
VIP will be handled a little differently this year, so if you are holding VIP tickets, be sure to listen up to this part! You still get early entry into the event at 1 p.m., but this year the VIP room - loaded with free food and special, rare beers - won't open until 2 p.m. The reason for this is simple: TLH Beer Fest organizers want to encourage VIP ticket holders to make a lap in the main beer fest area FIRST before heading to VIP, which means you have a full hour to sample all the beers you want before General Admission ticket holders start filing in and those beers start to run out. And if you're a GA ticket holder, a word of advice: Time is money at these events, so if you WANT to get in right around 2 p.m., we'd suggest arriving early around 1:15 or 1:30 p.m. to begin standing in line. Did we mention there will be 2,800 tickets this year and thousands of people trying to enter at once? Because if you show up late, you may miss out on a good portion of the first hour.
Pretzel necklaces
Before anyone asks, YES - homemade Pretzel Necklaces will be allowed this year. Last year, there was a misunderstanding about the rules on this and we had to stop what we were doing MID-EVENT and go sort this out. But don't worry, this year we've cleared this ahead of time, so get creative and bring those life-saving pretzel necklaces with you. We promise no one is going to make you take them off this time and waste all the hard work you put into them.
Voting on breweries
The TLH Beer Society - that's us! - will once again handle the voting for Best Overall Brewery, Best Overall Beer and Best Overall Homebrewer. And once again, the voting will be handled exclusively online. There will be QR Codes throughout the event for you to scan and submit your vote -- and the voting site logs your IP address when you do, so that way no one can vote more than once. The voting will also end one hour prior to the end of the event, so by 5 p.m., make sure you have cast your vote! We will have one of these aforementioned voting signs at our booth, which will be LOADED with brand new Drink Tallahassee Beer merch, including new shirt designs, colors and style (like a ladies V-neck, tank tops and new variations of our most popular garnet and gold DTB shirt).
Fashionably late?
And lastly, for those who miss out on getting tickets before they sell out — and they WILL sell out (this event always does) — fear not: At 3:30 p.m., organizers will reopen the doors and sell discounted tickets (at the door only) for the final 2+ hours of the event. That means you can arrive fashionably late and still get in.
Welp … think that about covers it! We hope you have your tickets secured by this week and we can't wait to see everyone there!
Any questions? Email us at: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Final countdown is on for Tallahassee Beer Festival tickets
