Beer, Bourbon and Barbeque Festival

I’m standing in the F-​train, which took way too long to arrive (you better watch for my angry letter MTA!!), I’m pondering something that I don’t now remember, and noticed this kid looking at me.
Why is this kid looking at me? And then it hit me. Maybe its because I look like I’m about to explode brisket, ribs, coleslaw, bourbon, and dark lager all over the place.
All succulent, all smoky, all slow-​cooked tender pieces of meat. All mine! Oh, and all the alcohol you can drink, at least until they cut you off, or until you start peeing on people.
Here’s the gist of it, you buy tickets in advance, then they release the gates and let you have at it to eat and drink as much as you dare. Wanna know how many shots it takes until you start turning green? Wanna know how many pulled pork you can throw down before the gag reflex kicks in? Maybe you’d like to know how long it takes from when the gag reflex kicks in until stuff starts coming up.
it was great to experience, but not sure if I would do it again. Although I am happy knowing that I had the best smoky pulled pork ever. But for the price of admission, I probably paid about $ 1 for each strand of that pulled pork sandwich.

SOLD! Imagine an adult booze playground with never ending fountains of bourbon right next to never ending BBQ bushes along side waterfalls of beer. Ok not quite Wankaland, but close by me standards.
Maiden voyage was da bomb! Luv’d it. Apparently it wasn’t nearly as crowded as previous years, lucky me. Even if it was it’s an amazing adult shit show extraordinaire. Dozens of bourbons to sample. All types of BBQ to sample and plenty of craft beer to wash it down. Bluegrass bands. 4 hours of pure debauchery.
Yes I could beat down some specifics, but booths & venues change every year so you’ll have to go and see for yourself. This will be daddy’s yearly day away. You won’t be disappointed or leave without wobbling Lol.

Without disregarding the information in my previous review this is my 5^th year at this event. I went to the second session and had a great time again. I was upset by the fact that I promptly went to purchase tickets the minute they were to go on sale (according to their site and their Facebook) however the discounted tickets were already sold out (within a minute)
Products Subtotal: (4) @ $ 99, $ 396.00
Coupon Code: -$ 39.60
Taxes: $ 54.96
Fees: $ 19.80
Total for this Order: $ 431.16
(Again, fees that would not be explained when I contacted their number)
All of that aside, the main hall this year was definitely smaller than previous years and it seemed like their was less food vendors however there was plenty of brewery’s and distilleries present to make up for that. We got there about 30 mins early as we normally do (and it was snowing) but worth it in the end. One thing that was kind of dumb to me was the coat check being all the way in the back this year opposite to where you enter, it seemed kind of an afterthought considering people were coming in wearing wet coats and had to go through the entire venue for a coat check. Will be back again (hopefully they don’t cancel the Oktoberfest this year for NYC so we don’t have to wait til January)

Every year this is the greatest day of my life. I had a blast with my friends and the Bourbon was flowing!!!
BUT! Yes BUT! Where was the selection from years past? No Basil Hayden? No Blantons? No Makers for god’s sake man!!!
The BBQ was great. Some of the dishes were incredible. Pork belly, corn bread, bacon everywhere! aughghghghgh Bacon…
Blue grass live music!
There were no lines and it was a friggin good time!

This event is amazing!
You like BBQ? You like bourbon? You like beer? This is the place for you. Tons of BBQ’d goodness to choose from. Ribs, sliders, wings, bacon, you name it. Tons of bourbons to try. And a bunch of beer, served in a nifty glass along with a holder, to top it all off. You will leave her full and dehydrated. Also try to get into one of the seminars, they will feed you an entire meal! Lots of different vendors to choose from and everywhere you turn there is food waited to be eaten and drinks waiting to be guzzled.

This was our third year going, and we always have a great time. It really is very professionally run, and this year everything seemed to run smoother than ever Good move putting the coat check in the back. And good move limiting the number of tickets to a reasonable amount where it’s still crowded but everything flows nicely. I also thought this year that the food vendors had far more to offer. I was full about half way through. All in the all, this is a great festival and we’ll be coming back next year for sure.

Headed back here in 2013, was not the 5 star experience I had years before but still had a great time. I talked to a few people on line and they told me last year experience was not that great-​just way too many people. I did load up on the Makers 46 drinks, kept going back to that line. Also, loved the Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Hard Cider. Great taste, I seriously consider to drink more cider in the future. Cabin Fever maple whiskey was also excellent, it originated from New England. Drank some Blue Moon Belgian White, Brooklyn Brewery beer, Angel’s Envy, Devil’s Cut, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island Night Stalker, Sixpoint Diesel, 3^rd Shift, Guinness Extra Stout, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Troegs HopBack and Corn Whiskey were all great vendors.
Plenty of beer sippin’ all around and the evening session this time did not seem as crowded as I remember in 2010, but I was there at the 12 Noon actual time. This time around, also checked in on one of the seminars whole pig being cut up and some people were handed out different pieces of the pig.
–It was actually freezing outside that day but once everyone was inside it was a party. Some vendors were actually handing out some whole hog– I ate alot of the one at the main stage in the back near coat check, while others like one from South Carolina had their food with hush puppies for the food ticket that came with your actual ticket purchase. The glasses they hand out are really cool too, small but there are the options to go back and sample everything.
More highlights from the event
— Live Bluegrass on The Main Stage.
–I go to try some Moonshine, I believe for the first time, haha.
–With all that food the was dished out, still did not see alot of people that had ribs though, well most were charging an extra $ 7 or so. I already ate so much, but did get a steak sandwich for $ 4 and that tasted great, some tangy BBQ sauce was included too.
–Handsome Devil was one of the best vendors here.
–Bathrooms were easy to get to and were never too crowded at least when I was there.
–Pork Belly with Jalapeño Grits and Cole Slaw tasted really good, glad that is what I picked to use my dinner ticket on.
–Somehow I didn’t see Dinosaur BBQ at the evening session, I heard they were there for the 12 noon session, I don’t know what happened. Also, my only complaint is they ran out of bacon too fast. I saw all these people around with these beautiful pieces and by the time I got to the front of the line there was only really small scraps left of bacon. I only got a quick sample.

If you love Beer and Bourbon and can hold your liquor, you can’t ask for a better place to be!
Every 5 steps there’s a different beer or bourbon stand. Its Bar Hopping x50! If you’re not careful you’ll be drunk by the time you reach the other end of the hall.
I can’t even remember most of the names of the different types of beer and bourbon I tried. Makers 46 was def a favorite.
Now if you came for BBQ, you’d be quite disappointed. The whole pulled pork was great! But almost everything else was just «eh.» Lines for food were long and free tasting lines were ridiculous. There was a stand for bacon, just nice fatty slices of bacon, but the line was ridiculous and at one point they had a whole tray full, but they just wouldn’t serve it!
Ribs I had for an extra $ 5 was dry and pretty underwhelming. If you were expecting great BBQ, what you got was just decent BBQ.
For Beer and Bourbon its a great place to go and get wasted.
Our group actually hit up Mighty Quinn’s, a new BBQ place in LES and were pretty amazed at the quality of the meats and it was just on a whole ‘nother level than the B, B&B Festival.

Would I go again, Sure, if I don’t have to pay like this time, but would I pay full ticket price (around $ 100) nope.

***WARNING: DO NOT EAT THE FOOD****
I am writing this on my friends account because I am too embarrassed to write this on my own.
I contracted some sort of parasite/​food poisoning during this event and I know this because I have never had this much pain in my entire life. On Monday morning I was awoken to sharp stomach pains and I quickly went to the bathroom and had explosive diarrhea along with stomach cramps, chills and a slight fever. Throughout the entire day I had to go to the bathroom 6 – 7 times and anything I ate was met with complete rejection.
I had eaten some brisket/​pork sliders/​hush puppies. Now, I am not a glutton and I do enjoy BBQ and Beer as much as the next guy and I NEVER had a reaction to ANY food let alone meat like this before.
It is also worth mentioning that I observed an individual who was employed by the venue, serving pitchers of «beer» from the spill buckets that were discarded to patrons. HOW DISGUSTING. Never have I seen an employee ejected from an event for such vile behavior.
I wonder how many other people have had same reactions but are too embarrassed to post it here. I GUARANTEE that if I contracted something nasty that many other people have as well.

Love love love this event. Came here for the first time this year. Friends of mine had gone previous years and said we would have a blast. Be aware that you should plan to get there ahead of time. We went for the earlier session and was one of the first groups on line. It was well worth it to go an hour before.
They have so many stations that it is crazy. Every beer vendor has a table and there are so many food options. LOVE IT! I fell in love with Original SIn hard cider. Yum! Blue Moon also had a table and so did Fire Fly, my favorites.
The food is super good too. One thing that is a must try is the bacon brownie. Sounds gross, but was hands down one of the best things I tried that day. They had pulled pork, cinnamon bacon, steak sandwichs, pickles, and the list goes on!
The only thing you have to do, is pace yourself. Our session was 4 hours long, and by an hour in to it, I was so full.
I can not wait to go back next year!

This is three stars if:
1. You bought in early for the discount.
2. You really enjoy bourbon.
3. You like making friends with people in lines.
4. You have a mild to underwhelming interest in bbq or you’re a vegetarian who has a fetish for smelling cooked meats.
If the name of the event is any indicator of how available each of the three items were then it’s very accurate and I don’t recommend coming here for the bbq. There’s much more varied and less congested bbq events around NYC other than this one. It’s not that any of the vendors were bad it’s just that waiting in massive 45 minute lines is a type of activity I save for special occasions like renewing my drivers license or getting a Brigitte Bardot and a Norm Crosby at Hot Doug’s.
The beer selection was good with most of the Northeast’s breweries each offering a couple of their brews and only the most premium bourbon labels had a minimal line. If you wanna get your drink on with some friends and maybe try some bbq then it’s worth checking out.

I went back here again this year, and I must admit the experiences can be very much hit or miss, but overall there’s way more to drink than there is to eat.
You’ll be pretty pissed off if you’ve been stuck in long ass lines all night. I was actually working there all day so I was able to see the difference between the morning and evening sessions.
In the morning, I think it’s a bit more laid back and chill, but it’s still super crowded nonetheless. I worked the station handing out pork sliders and ribs with my boo and we had a blast, but no biggie. We were definitely a hit because our line was never ending.
In the evening, there was virtually no tasting stations, however they did have a whole pig in front where a guy was actually pulling the meat right off of a pig carcass. I didnt think it was that great of a portion though, it was more like getting a free sample, so you definitely won’t get full from it. The evening sessions don’t seem as fun either because the workers are exhausted and supplies have run low. I noticed some missing booths and more tables and seats for people to hang out.

Wow, what a festival!
I volunteered here last year and this year, and had fun handing out glasses and serving food to thousands of people at a time! Everyone was friendly and ready to party it up in this huge joint.
Working all day while serving free food really had me appreciate everything else that was going on here even more so-​they have all these presentations, a huge pig you could eat from (made me think of «Lord of the Flies»), numerous samples of beers, coleslaw, sliders, brisket, ribs, etc. You’ll definitely be stuffed and buzzed after this event!

I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to love this festival — I mean pork and alcohol — what is there NOT to love?
Valerie G. and I bought our tickets wayyy back when during the 2 for 1 special (it was still maybe like $ 45pp? Can’t quite remember). We outlooked this event and anticipated it’s arrival like kids for Christmas day. When the day finally arrived we showed up a bit late — maybe around 12:45 because I was looking at some apartments in UES. We picked up out tasting cups and paid $ 3 for coat check and was ready to pounce on some food! Except… where was it?
We ended up just waiting in lines without knowing what we were waiting for. We were also under the impression that all the food was free and paid for with our entrance fee… but this was not the case. A couple of times we waited in line only to get to the front and see a sign with prices (BBQ in a JAR!). When we found some of the free food places, a lot of it was gone at like 2pm? The event is suppose to last until 4pm. This one table had AMAAZZZINGGGG food though. Rib tips, ribs, pulled pork. Delish — however it was too hot in that room to fully enjoy it!
The beers and bourbons were okay, we’re not huge bourbon fans but took down a few in the spirit of the festival. There were a bunch of drunk dudes stumbling around and trying to talk to us — not very attractive. However ladies, I have to admit this festival is PRIME location to find yourself a man. The guy girl ratio was like 1 092 381 290 to 1. I’d totally be into a man who would come to these kind of festivals with me! GRR. I AM MAN. I EAT PORK. I DRINK BEER. ;)

Gluttony, thy name is BBBQ!
At the urging of our resident over-​consumer Phil H., a bunch of us got tickets for this (third?) annual festival. I am allergic to beer, addicted to bourbon, and will be smited for eating pork, so to me this was a no brainer.
The entrance line was massive, but I fortunately only waited for a few minutes thanks to Unilocal teamwork. Despite some other lines when you walked in (coat check, drinking glass), it really wasn’t too bad a start.
The selection of consumables was incredible. La Venue is huge and there were beer stalls (and to a lesser extent, bourbon) as far as the eye could see. All the drinks were free, and considering the crowd, the pours were generous.
The food selection was a little less spectacular. Although there were ostensibly many options, there was only one line in the whole place that was consistently less than 30 minutes long. This meant that I used all three of my tickets on the same plate of shredded pork and beans. Delicious as they were, I would have liked to try something else. Also, the sight of a large man in camouflage sticking his rubber-​gloved hands directly into a pig’s stomach to serve me dinner will stay with me for some time.
In addition to the many stalls, there were several workshops, classes, and seminars where you could learn more about the products and enjoy additional tastings. It was the four shots of bourbon at such a seminar that would come to define how I felt for the rest of the night.
As a standalone event and for the $ 85 that some people paid, the lines and food selection might be a turnoff. For the ~$ 55 that I paid for this ticket (and the company I was with), this was a great evening.

We really hit the ground running when we arrived at this event an hour early. Arriving early is a must. When they started letting people in the line wrapped around La. Venue all the way to the West Side Highway.
Upon entering you could smell the BBQ. It was heavenly. We checked our coatsfor $ 3 per coat, although its cheap, its tasteless after paying $ 95 admission in my opinion.
My party and I decided it was best to get some alcohol in our bodies before we hit any food. So we started with some maple whiskey that i enjoyed so much, i went back for seconds… and thirds. The amount of beer and whiskey was insane and i would definitely need a refresher course, or some photos to sit here and tell you the names of all the vendors there. Some giving cheap tastes and others filling the glasses to the brim.
My first mistake of the night came when i took a shot of Bookers Bourbon which is intended for sipping. After that things got a little blurry and I spilled a tray of samples into my lap… nothing like a crotch full of bourbon, right?
My 2^nd mistake was not scoping out the food better. I hopped on a line that was on the shorter side of things. In all honesty, the lines for food were insane! Do your research or eat first! Lines for drinks move so much more quicker! and dont you want a belly full of bbq to cushion all the tasty bourbon? I think yes. i waited on line to use one of my 3 meal tickets. 1 ticket gets you a taste. 3 gets you a full on plate! I opted for a taste. I got a handful of shredded pork straight from the roasted carcas and some cole slaw. The pig looked great so i asked for a piece of the ear. The guy ripped off the entire ear and plopped it on my plate. I was ecstatic until i took a bite. HARD as a ROCK. I wrapped it in a napkin and brought it home to my dog. Also, the meat was incredibly dry. Everyone remedied that by adding sauce… but if meat needs sauce because its dry, not for flavor– that meat is a FAIL!
I found a really really really long line nearby that my group decided was not worth the wait. I, wanting GOOD food decided to wait. FORTY precious drinking minutes gone and I reached the front of the line… even threatening these two guys who kept trying to cut the line and FINALLY got my food. With my two tickets, i hit hte KLOBY’S booth and got two massive plates. one of hushpuppies and one of a huge pulled pork and cole slaw sammie. Was it worth the wait? Yes. It more than made up for the shit they served on the other lines.
I ate and used my last 30 minutes to drink everything in sight.
It was a great time, however, next time, i might come early and go straight to the food. No sense in wasting precious drinking time… but i did make some great friends on the food line.

The Yoda of BBB (Beer, Bourbon and Barbecue) Festival, Phil H. told me to join them at the line at 5 p.m. or thirty (30) minutes before the start time for my BBB initiation. The train ride and the afternoon nap that I took to prevent crankiness (mostly mine) made me miss the time mark and they were already inside the venue by the time I got there.
Admittedly, the line that stretched to the West End highway was daunting. If not for the fact that I was not lining up by myself, I would have simply left and headed to the nearby Flower District to browse and buy flowers. :) Then again, we persevered and at a little over thirty (30) minutes, we were inside La Venue.
Our names were checked on the list, issued tickets and handed a glass. We headed off to Maker’s Mark for a welcome drink with Maker’s 46, the one that’s aged a bit longer inside barrels containing seared French oak staves. We also tried Cabin Fever maple whiskey which was served on the rocks by one of the nicest ladies at the event. I found it too sweet for me though and realized it would be perfect with pancakes and bacon for a really lush brunch. In the middle room were the high-​end bourbon and the 1991 Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18 year old was simply divine and fragrant. I weathered the long lines here and decided that I’ll just be faithful to sipping it for the night.
Since I’m not a beer enthusiast, I asked Phil H. and Stacey what is one beer they think that I should try given all the choices. Their unanimous response was Innis & Gunn. They advised trying the original and the rum cask. They were ABSOLUTELY spot on in their advice. This beer was fragrant and rolled so well on the taste buds.
Now, the three (3) tickets we received were for the food. Some stalls generously gave pulled pork with two (2) side dishes for a single ticket (catering in the main hall that had the most efficient line, one on each side with the whole pig in the middle). Others (and I’m talking about the place inside the middle room) refused to give a side dish and handed my BBB buddy two (2) pieces of spare ribs for a single ticket. As Monique R. indicated one needs to «scope out the food better», but with such a huge crowd, it was a challenge to do so. Eventually, I found the rest of the Unilocal friends with Phil H. like Stacey, Monique R. Evan, Sean, Mike, Ben and Leslie. The same cannot be said of the Pappy Van WInkle. I was looking for it as it was listed among the drinks but I never found it. :(
In sum, I’d stick to the 1991 Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18 years old for the bourbon and to the Innis & Gunn for the beer. In my opinion, the food was not worth the wait in line.
Cost of tickets: $ 108. Watching Mike B. sing the Russian National Anthem: PRICELESS.
P.S.
When I told my friend I appreciate the art of bourbon, she looked at me and said:“I thought only alcoholics drink bourbon.” I had to give some thought to that and then explained to her that it is similar to wine, I drink it as an accompaniment to food, not to get drunk. Bourbon-​making is a fine art which I respect especially as it is one of the things that this country makes well.
Of course, my friend merely smirked at me.

Beer, Bourborn, and BBQ 2012 — what the hell happened last night?
Good God, exactly how much booze did I drink last night? I honestly don’t even remember leaving or saying goodbye to anyone. My bad, but when one is presented with a ridiculously unlimited amount of good craft beers and terrific bourbons your mind kinda gets erased. My hangover has finally subsided and the JACKHAMMER has been removed from my brain.
I do have to say right off the bat that I think they oversold the event a bit this year. Sure, it was packed, and very crowded, but not so much so that you could not get a glass of beer or bourbon quickly throught the venue. Our group drank A LOT before we even decided to get some grub in our bellies. We even hit up a bourbon tasting class where one who shall remain nameless pretty much spilled everything onto her crotch. I even bought a viking helmet hat to wear. Drunken fun times!
The food lines were another story — ridiculously long and slow moving. Sure, I had some decent pulled pork from one stand right out of a pig carcass, but the best was from the Kloby’s BBQ booth where the line was the longest. Gotta give it to Monique R for holding her ground on that long line amid some drunken fools and line cutters to secure a few plates of amazingly tasty hush puppies, pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches, and pork rib wings. Worth the wait even though it cut into our drinking time, but we needed to eat something to help soak up all the alcohol.
Our group had a great time. There were so many terrific beers and bourbons on hand. Many of the staff would even fill your tasting glass to the brim. All you could consume for four hours — wonderful or insanity — it’s all how you look at it. So worth it when paying half price, 2 for 1 tickets, or discounted tickets. You have to be a noob to pay full price for any of these events as there are always offers on different websites with big discounts. But to charge $ 3 for the coat check is kind of a money grab, even though it was nice to ditch our heavy winter gear.
We came, we drank, we ate pork, we pillaged and plundered. Looking forward to doing it all over again next year.
Oh, and kids, here’s a tip for you all. When you are totally blasted outta your mind on bourbon and beer it’s not really a great time for an Italian-​Norwegian to fight with your Russian-​Polish fiancé’ out on the street. There is just too much stubborn hard headedness in that combination for any good to come out of it.

How in the world does this event have mainly 5-​star reviews??? I know tasting events, believe you me, and this one definitely was below par.
This event was trying to be too much at once. This is how I imagine a board meeting at the Trigger Agency went. Someone said, «we should have a pig festival! Everyone loves the pig!» Someone else said, «yeah! and bacon is over-​used, but people can’t help loving it!» And then a voice of reason pipes up: «pork tends to be salty, so we’d better have drinks. How about Bourbon!» And then someone else said, «Not everyone likes Bourbon. We’d better have beer, too.» I’m surprised someone else didn’t pipe up and suggest bamboo as well.
I arrived an hour after the afternoon session began, so I don’t know how bad of a wait there was to get in. There was, however, a ridiculous line at the coat check as well as at almost every meat booth. Jeff and I would be waiting and waiting and waiting in a line and when we’d finally get to the front, we’d find out that there was another line to the same table coming from the other direction. What! Same deal at coat check. AND you had to pay $ 3 to check.
The afternoon session was supposed to be bacon-​centric and I did get to taste some pretty good bacons as well as pork in various other incarnations. The grits was also a standout. (Grits were? What is the correct syntax there?)
There were some good beers, but not enough of them. For once, i appreciate that they were giving out full-​pours (4 oz.). I’m not into Bourbon, so I can’t say whether it was well represented.
The space was neat to look at, but boy were those acoustics horrible. There was a band playing good music, I think, but I could barely hear them when I was standing 3 feet in front of them. The venue was also way too narrow so that you had to pretty much keep moving or else you’d be a hindrance. That didn’t keep people from stopping in the thoroughfare, though, of course.
My advice to the Trigger Agency: next year, skip the budget for the Hustler girls and get more workers to help distribute food. And either sell fewer tickets or get a different space. For the price of those tickets, I would expect way more.

Absolutely worth the wait, and by wait I mean that while you are a volunteer here, you can’t taste alcohol… it’s not seemly when wearing the official t-​shirt emblazoned «Event Staff».
So I calmly (and hungrily) waited for my chance to let loose, while working in the extremely interesting Tasting Theater, which I happened to get assigned to rather randomly. I missed being on t-​shirt duty by a hair.
Now, the reason why this volunteer spot is coveted is because while you are technically glorified wait staff, you essentially get to sit in on some extremely interesting seminars and watch people get drunker by the hour. I found it entertaining. I also found out why bourbon is bourbon from master distiller Kevin Smith of Maker’s Mark, where bourbon was headed by master distiller Harlen Wheatley at Buffalo Trace, learn about the origin of India IPA from Tom Briggs of Smuttynose Brewing company and also see what’s going on in the world of booze from a «distinguished» blogger panel. Blogging and booze, now where have I seen this before???
I was able to let loose thanks to my gracious «boss» with some passes to the event where I sampled much: Beer (Smuttynose IPA, Heartlands wicked good coffee stout, Original Sin Pear Cider, Winter Moon, Longhammer IPA), Bourbon (Wild Turkey American Honey, Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, Hudson Four Grain Bourbon, Hudson New York Corn Whiskey) and BBQ… well only the BBQ chicken wings from a local restaurant and some kick-​ass collard greens and baked beans. Everything else was pretty much pig, and I can’t eat pig. I did breathe deeply though! My volunteer buddies did grab some bacon caramel popcorn, which they deemed utterly ridiculous… ridiculously good!
My favorite alcoholic beverages were the coffee stout from Heartland and the Wild Turkey American Honey.
There was a lot of country, a lot of hooting and hollering (by the drunker patrons only) and it was a boozily good time. Next year, I’m going to make sure to get tickets — although if I get to volunteer in the tasting theater again, I wouldn’t mind.
As good as it gets, folks.