Capital Brewfest @Cal Expo

As a beer lover, this event is torturous for me. I have gone for the past four years and seen many adjustments made but the state of the event the past two years has been very poor.
Sequestered to the very far end of the fair like some unwanted child, event attendees are placed in the blazing sun with not enough shade, seating, water or even beer. Though the event is advertised «3 to 6» yet the lines grow longer and the beer selection shorter starting around 4:30, with many places running out of beverages long before the event is supposed to be wrapping up. Although lines for beer start out reasonable, one can easily spend 5 – 10 minutes waiting for some of the more popular beer options towards the end of the event due to the fact that people are consolidating at the few places which still have something to drink.
Hoping for entertainment while you taste? You will have to make your own because despite the fact that there is no shortage of great musical talent in Sacramento, the event holders make no effort to provide us with so much as a DJ, much less band (s) to enjoy while we drink. Seriously, put up a stage and let us listen to some music!
Selling food to the beer aficianado’s within the event would seem like a no brainer, but there’s none to be found. Seriously, people like to eat while they drink and the fair organizers like to take advantage of this everywhere else in the fair, so why not here? There’s no shortage of food trucks who would want in on this — see every other beer event ever for an example of this — so organizers should just do what it takes and get us some food! Even bags of popcorn for $ 5 a pop would be better than nothing.
It’s still beer, and at the state fair, so not everything is bad, but this event is frustrating because it could be made so much better. I’ve been to college parties that provided better accommodations for attendees. I plead to the event organizers — charge us an extra $ 5 per ticket, if you have to, but please give us better amenities at this event next year.

Never mind the long line, they usher you in fast, and the beer is flowing like nobody’s business! Brewers and volunteers alike are friendly and informative on the products they offer, and patrons are cool, because we are here for a common goal: try as many beers in the time allotted as possible!