San Francisco International Beer Festival

Quick lines and plenty of beer, food, and water provided. Music could have been better and I wish the event was longer than 3 hours. But overall, I had a really good time with my friends.

Always a fun time. The older I get the more I get tired of the toast where one person starts making noise until almost the entire venue is throatily cheering. Fun the first or 2^nd time you go. Nothing like having hundreds of different beers to try and spitton buckets if you don’t like the beer you’re drinking. Not usually one to waste beer but when there are hundreds of other beers easily accessible at no additional cost, who am I NOT to dump for a better tasting beer?
A little known fact is there is free food there and although it is not always the best of the best, it is fairly quality in some cases and can prevent you from getting too drunkish. Which might be the opposite of your intent, but hey you can get drunkish pretty easily here. It’s also a pretty good place to meet women usually.
The price of the tickets is increasing, now $ 70 and on the black market it’s common for it to go $ 100, maybe even $ 120. If you like beer, or just like getting drunk the $ 100 is worth it which is good also because the face value tickets always sell out within an hour of going on sale.

very weak this year.
they shortened the time from 4 hours to 3 and there was no
vip pre entry.
this didnt allow for people to enjoy and taste the different beers.
only to rush in and try to drink as fast as possible for 70 dollars with 4 oz cups!
this has become a rip off instead of a charity event.
all the beer and food is donated…
make it 5 hours so people can relax and enjoy and taste.

I don’t mind overly crowded frat parties, but I don’t really enjoy them either. I agree with many Unilocalers here– this ends up being an extremely crowded, wasted sea of annoying twenty somethings (myself included).
However– if you can ignore the crowds and if you know a few tips and tricks, this ends up being a really good time. I love that everything is included in the ticket price– as it should be. The tasting cups seem small but after 10 or so of those you’ve had plenty (and that will happen fast) and when you come across a beer you dont like its nice to either down it or throw out the last sip.
FOOD: some of this stuff runs out fast. like the ribs. I spent the whole time searching for these ribs and never found them, and I assume that’s because they were the first to go. Eat your dinner first, then drink– you’ll be able to drink MORE and you won’t miss out on any of the good stuff.
BEER: I wish the selection were just a bit more… unique. Lots of big brands and well known crap– where are all the craft beers? Whatever though, beer is beer and if you want to pick and choose, you’re right— go to Toronado. I do have a problem with the way it’s organized, though. The zones mean aboslutely nothing– except to help you try figure out where a particular brew may be. Make it alphabetical, group beers by type or tatse, region anything!– something other than a random spread. It could be way more user friendly and the map doesnt really add any help. Despite the crowds the lines move really fast and you don’t have to wait long for anything.
Ambiance: Book a different DJ, please!!! I know this is a fundraiser but the atmosphere would be way better with the right kind of music/​MC.
Other tips: Go to the bathroom first, before the lines get long.
Put your beer tasting cup on a necklace if you’re the type to drop or spill.
LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING. so many bump ins and spills could be avoided if you just look towards the direction you are walking in and move slowly.
Get there SUPER EARLY and bring a road beer if you need to. They say the doors open at 6:30, I got there 10 minutes before 7 and the line goes all the way to the Safeway– they didn’t start letting people in until 7 so if you want to make the most of it get in like around 6:15 or 6:00 even and bring some pre-​game brews.
All in all you leave happy and drunk and full and it all goes to a good cause– not bad in my book.

Reading some of the other reviews, I can agree that your mileage may vary with SFIBF. My fiancée and I had a GREAT time, though. We didn’t run into any people who were too drunk and the food options were excellent – Rosamunde really showed up strong.
I was a little disappointed at the selection – I feel like part of the reason for a beer festival is draught beer and a lot of the vendors used bottles. We did manage to find quite a few favorites out of the participants. If someone were looking for a great tasting event to discover a unique beer, I would not recommend SFIBF first, but I enjoyed the overall experience.

The only saving grace for this place is the Food. yes it was awesome, plentiful, and the only reason to ever come back!
I cannot sum it up any better than Cliff D. or Scott G. This place is for 21yo college kids who just want to get loaded, or beer «connoisseurs» who think Blue Moon, Hoegaarden and Shock Top are the best beers ever!
The best beer served was Ballast Point Sculpin. I mean c’mon now… I can get that at Bevmo! You would think a beerfest would serve SOME good beer. I honestly did not have more than 10 sample tastings (3 of which were BP Sculpin).
Also like Scott G., I would rather take my ticket money and friends to City Beer Store or Toronado, where we could have an INSANE Bottle event. I mean I know not everyone is that into beer and are there just to get drunk, but SFBF seems to only cater to the latter. Would’ve been nice to have vendors like Kern River, Russian River, etc. since they are local.

Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of pure inebriation…

The International Beer Festival has morphed into a free for all beer bash — reminiscent of a college sorority party. Most of the beer is in bottles and served by volunteers who know nothing about beer. People race around the hall drinking as much beers as they can (3-​hours goes by fast when you’re competing with others in line to drink beer), and most if not all the brewery representatives do not attend.
In short this is not about beer — it’s about getting loaded as fast as you can, and for $ 65.00 and a crowd of 5,000 people, it’s a steep fee.
If you really like craft style beer, join Bay Area Beer Socials (it’s free) and gets you great discounts on festivals that feature the breweries, include ample samples of the beer — and allows you to enjoy your beer without competing with power-​drinkers who just want to drink as much as possible in as little time as it takes.
Beer Social events are held every month and include amazing festivals, private tastings, brewery tours and great beer events throughout the bay area.
Cheers,
Cliff

I had SUCH a fantastic time here this year… I meant to write a review sooner but oh well. I will be a repeat customer for years to come as long as it stays awesome.
Highlights:
–ummm, beer heaven doesn’t describe the selection nor do it justice… the amount of vendors here was AWESOME. so many beers i’d never heard of before, and found so many new fav’s at this event.
–food: i didn’t get to try everything (either it ran out or i was too distracted by beer,) but what i did have i loved: pizza orgasmica, hot n fresh n hit the SPOT at the end of the night. also, had some buffalo mac n cheese, which was also tastey.
–people: in comparison to other Fort Mason beer fests, this one had the least douchiest people. plus the lines were never long, i waited 60 seconds tops to get a beer.
–admission: also in comparison to other beer events, i loved that i didn’t need to get in 2 lines, one for a wrist band + glass, and then a second to be admitted… that’s just ineffecient. it was easy to get in and no stupid hold-​ups.
Only downer: the line to get in was atrocious! we tried getting in line early too, per Unilocalers advice, but apparently 30mins ahead was not enough time… i couldn’t believe the line! thank GOD it started moving once 7pm hit cuz i was about to lose my mind… i needed to drink damnit! oh and the bathroom line was bad, i concur with other Unilocalers on this one…
wish i didn’t have to buy a Craigslist tic, but now i know it sells out the day they go on sale so i will be better prepared this time. but i loved every minute so i will happily return and can’t wait for next year’s!

Why not 5 stars though I LOVED this event? Because it’s going to go down as one of my over the top borracha moments… which means half of the evening is a blur. Nevertheless, I will attempt to do it justice.
The boyfriend and I left our adorable toddler with her grandparents and we hopped on BART. We arrived 5ish and then boarded a bus. Not very sexy! We were squeezed in between the Chinese grandparents with armfuls of groceries and a crew of young white twentysomethings in flipflops loudly crowing «ohmygod» as they shared details of their convoluted love lives.(Of course, we saw these crazy kids at the Beerfest later but I was no longer rolling my eyes at them.) Then we walked three short blocks to Fort Mason where we braved the chill with our fellow crowd members, all of whom were friendly, despite what other reviewers have said.
Around 7:00, the line moved forward and we were grabbing our free mini steins within minutes. We headed straight for the bf’s favorite German beer (he loves to tell the story of actually drinking it in Munich) and then the drinking never stopped. Wow…
Pluses:
*Hundreds of beers and ciders
*The chili from Tommy’s Diner
*All the other free goodies
*the wonderfully diverse crowd: OG cholos, girls’ night out crews, frat boys, just to name a few. Every part/​subculture of the Bay Area was represented
*the crowd’s roars of «Heyyyyyy» every half hour or so as we all raised our steins
*having a boyfriend to hold my hand as I went from cutely buzzed to sloppily drunk
No minuses because I was friends with everyone by night’s end.
Well worth the $ 60 per person. Next year, I will eat a huge meal before hand and pace myself! We will be back!

A good time was had by all.
It started off a bit shaky, we waited in line for 90 minutes. I’m glad we did because we were inside within 20 minutes of opening. It’s a bummer that the line was not effectively monitored, because lots of people cut in line. Causing those of us who were there early to wait even longer.
There were lots of great beers, lots of food (but tough to eat while holding your tiny cup), few tables and lots of people having fun.
I wish Stone Brewery made it out to this one, although I don’t know if I would have left their booth…
Widmer Pitch Black IPA and X114 IPA stole the show!!!

Super fun. Loved the crowds this event attracts. Everyone is down to have a good time!
Had lots and lots of good food. I was so full. We got a tip from a veteran to get the food first cuz they usually run out fast but most of the booths had food almost the entire night. Rotisserie chicken was really good, so was the sausage and mac n cheese.
Of course the beer selection was phenomenal. Wish we had a bigger cup to sample beers. It was very crowded and had to wait for some beer vendors.
The line to get in was LONG butt it was totally worth $ 60.

Just like General Douglass MacArthur, I did return.
As the designated driver, I limited it to 10… or was it 25 samples of the malty, hoppy nectar??? This year, thanks for having enough food for everyone.
Thanks Ron S for the ticket. Thanks also Badri N. for keeping me company on the ride home, and for Walter P for spearheading our SBC representation for a fourth year.
Good thing I didn’t see any of my friends at the Budweiser table

WALK, STUMBLE, CRAWL… WE DRANK THEM ALL!!!
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2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
FOUR YEARS IN A ROW!
Automatic Five Stars!!!
Honorable Mentions & Favorites…
Singha (Thailand)
Kulmbacher EKU Pils (German)
Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene, Oregon)
Indiga (Eureka, California)
Great White Shark (Eureka, CA)
Cherry Voodoo (San Francisco, CA)
Leffe Blonde (Belguim)
Crispin Natural Hard Cider (Colfax, CA)
Steinlager Organic Beer (New Zealand)
Baltika (Russia)
Primator (Czech Republic)
Spaten Optimator (Germany)
San Miguel (Philippines)
Red Horse (Philippines)
John Henry 3 Lick Spiker Ale (Cold Spring, MN)
Shiner Bock (Shiner, Texas)
Keller Bier (German) No website?
Thank you to Ron L for driving.
SBC Beerfest Crew: Ron L, Sha B, Badri N, Zalina G, Chris T, and Walter P.

I thought Oktoberfest only came to San Francisco once a year… and then, for the first time in three years, I managed to get a ticket to «Beerfest» before they sold out (in about 3 hours!). I love SF’s Oktoberfest but Beerfest might be, gasp, even better!
Reasons why Beerfest Beats Oktoberfest:
— Once you buy the ticket, beer samples from 300 breweries are free!!!
— Food is also free!!!
— Proceeds go to charity! (the Telegraph Hill Preschool — this preschool must have a lot of money now because I’m guessing 5000 guests at $ 60 per ticket!)
— The beer variety is fabulous and you are bound to discover so many new beers that you’ll LOVE! Why settle on one or two types of beer when you can enjoy 500?!
— You don’t have to coordinate with your friends to choose the «morning shift» or the «afternoon shift» like Oktoberfest
Ways Beerfest could be improved:
— I missed important beer-​drinking time by waiting in the bathroom line for 20 plus minutes; please put some porto-​potties outside like Oktoberfest!
— Add a costume element :)
— Raise the volume of the music a bit and possibly add a dance floor
— More food options!
— More swag
Can I buy my ticket for 2011 now please?!

My 200^th review is dedicated to what I do best… drinking!!!
I’ve always wanted to go to Beerfest, but I always had something to do on the same night… until this year! I had prepared my liver for weeks in anticipation for a night of drunken debauchery. I was told to get there early because there would be a line to get in. I planned it out… called a cab at 5:30 in order to get to Fort Mason by 6:00. Good idea because this was the line by the time we got there (
) and it just kept getting longer… couldn’t even see the end!
They started checking ID’s and handing out the steins (
) at 6:15 and we crammed as far into the building as we could until they let us loose at 7:00. The crowd roared, and the night of fun had begun! We went straight to the back to Swan’s Oyster Bar, but they had no oysters… just shrimp cocktail… boooo! On to drinking!
When I first saw the baby stein, I thought… how the hell am I going to get drunk off of this??? Oh… but I was wrong. After pounding stein after stein, I was already getting buzzed after 20 minutes! We then slowed our pace down and checked out the food vendors and snagged some free swag. I got myself some t-​shirts, bottle openers, coasters, Red Bull, Izzie’s…whatever I could stuff in my purse. Yes, I’m Asian, and I like free stuff!
The food was awesome! They had corn dogs, chili, bruschetta, meatballs, Pop Chips, Trader Joe’s pretzel sticks, Pizza Orgasmica, Le Trappe Belgian fries, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. The Belgian fries were so damn good!!! Definitely worth the wait!
I don’t think I’ve ever had so much beer in one night! The names I can remember are Singha, Chang, Sierra Nevada, Blue Moon, Hanoi, Newcastle, Sapporo, Hornsby… and then a ton of others. After a while, I didn’t care which booth I went to get beer at as long as my stein was filled.
My only gripe was with the bathroom lines. The women’s line was so freakin looooong! Luckily, they had extra porta potties outside, but yuck… gross!
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Beerfest!!!
Notes for next year:
~~ Buy tickets EARLY… sold out in 1 day
~~Get there early to get free goodies
~~Bring bigger bag for free goodies
~~Bring hand sanitizer for porta potties
~~DRINK DRINK DRINK!!!

Beerfest was awesome!!!
$ 60 is a bit pricey. But tons of reasons making it worthwhile.
1. ~200 breweries. (Let’s do the math. If you intend to try every one of them, given 3 hours, that’s one brewery per minute!)
2. Unlimited noshings! Noshings = snack foods. Which turned out better than expected since there were some bomb foods! (stuff i ate: chili, corn dogs, popcorn, pretzels, pasta, calamari, hot wings, pizza, salad, bread w/​pâté. Omg… I’m such a pig.)
3. Crowd roars. Where everyone cheers and lifts their mugs up every couple minutes throughout the whole night.
4. Freebies. I don’t know how half of the stuff ended up in my purse, or so I will claim. *mental note: bigger purse next year =P
5. No lines. Never had to wait long for anything. Well except for the bathrooms. The guys line was actually longer than the girls! haha.
6. Well stocked booths. Brews were still flowing towards the end of the night. Food… well good supply for the most of the night…
…except Pizza Orgasmica who lasted til the very end, but not without a riot occurring. They had ran out of pizzas before 9pm, and had a sign saying more will come at 9:45pm. Around 9:35pm, a crowd gathered at the booth, fist pumping, bottle-​beating, and chanting «We want pizza! *dun dun dun dun dun* We want pizza! *dun dun dun dun dun*» Paper plates were thrown around as frisbees. Some guy would randomly yell out «I looove pizza!!!» People cheered as the pizzas arrived. And the pushing and mobbing began. Some tried to get the pizzas themselves and the workers had to fend them off. I’m not sure how many pizzas there were exactly, 15 – 20? But they were all gone in less than 5 minutes. Good times!!!

I would not have done anything different– the beer fest was by far the most fun I’ve had in a long time! There was SO much beer to drink, and a lot of really fun people. I thought for the most part the crowd was great– that can often make or break a festival.
The food? Pretzels, pizza, corn dogs, french fries, candy, and more!
The folks working the event seemed to be having a great time themselves which rubbed off on the crowd.
Fantastic festival– I’ll be back next year!

I have been a participant of SF’s finest tradition called Beerfest for 4 years running. Every year, I look forward to St. Patty’s day, not for it’s drunken debauchery, but for the 10am online ticket purchases for Beerfest. Most events, year after year, it just starts wearing on you, but Beerfest, F*** NO! I don’t know how it can be, but each year it just gets better and better.
After my continuous ass-​kissing of Beerfest in the following paragraphs, I will include the rules to the game we came up with during Beerfest ’08 called «The Schwag Game.»
The large venue, the long line of anticipated drinkers, the vast amounts of limitless beer and food, the CORNDOGS… oh yes, it is heaven on earth.
Here are some tips for the newbs just experiencing Beerfest for the first time:
1. Get in line 10 minutes before you know you really gotta pee. Meaning, if your bladder is burning, good luck, you might not make it. Ladies, this especially goes for you. And be nice in line, have fun, chat with others, we’re all drunk anyway.
2. Oysters on the ½ shell are the FIRST to go. But to give myself a chance to down 24 before you, I’m not telling you where they are located. Yes, I am a selfish bitch.
3. Eat a corndog, even if you don’t eat meat, eat a corndog. They are precious here at Beerfest. If they run out of corndogs, you must immediately revolt and chant «CORNDOG, CORNDOG» until they replenish the masses with corndogs.
4. Make friends with someone who lives in the Marina PRIOR to Beerfest and make sure they will be home after the doors close. TRUST ME, you will need to take a horse piss while you are walking to the bars or to find a cab.
5. Best to take public transportation. Better yet (and I will ONLY say this based on convenience and not by preference), just go to the bars in the Marina on this day only. You’re drunk, I’m drunk, we’re all drunk. Marina, Russian Hill, North Beach, Haight, Hayes, etc etc there is no difference tonight. Plus, the Marina is prepared for the drunken people descending like a plague, in other parts of the city, people might not understand why you suddenly have a frat boy mentality and are chugging beers and smashing empty beer cans on your forehead. Stick to the Marina tonight, we’re all in this together.
6. Each year, Beerfest tickets sell out faster and faster. 2009, it sold out in ONE day. Be sure to decide early whether you are going, and buy your tickets the day tickets go on-​sale. Otherwise, you will miss out BIG TIME.
7. And last but not least, participate in the Schwag Game! Here are the rules:
OFFICIAL SCHWAG CONTEST RULES & REGULATIONS
OBJECTIVE: Try to collect the most schwag (free beer paraphernalia handed out at the tables) as you can in the 3 hour allotted time period called Beerfest.
WINNER: Determined by most schwag (based on points system) collected at Beerfest.
Honorable Mentions for:
— Drunkest
— Most tattoos
— Biggest /​Largest /​Best schwag item
— Best Costume worn to Beerfest
— Best story of how you obtained your schwag
1. Contest begins upon entering the venue at 7pm and ends promptly at 10pm. Prepare to meet at 10:30pm outside to display your schwag and take a group picture. Winner will be announced at that time. It’ll be easy to find the rowdy group, look for the crazy inflatables and possibly a big sombrero.
2. One schwag per vendor /​beer brand. Only one tattoo per brand as well, eliminating multiple facial tattoos of the same brand to be counted. Even different items containing the same brand will not count, only ONE of those items will count as a point.
3. One must carry /​wear their collected schwag at ALL TIMES. If you can’t carry it, we don’t count it as yours.
4. Inflatables MUST stay inflated. Inflatables will be worth 2 points since they usually involve a lot of haggling to obtain.
5. Tattoos on body are counted as 1 point each. Tattoos on the face and neck are counted as 2 points each. As per rule #2, multiple tattoos of the same vendor /​brand will only be count ONCE.
6. Every man for themselves, however don’t steal other people’s schwag, that’s just plain rude. How would you feel if you flashed for an inflatable just to have your BFF steal it from you. Hurts doesn’t it?
7. The above rules & regulations will remain in effect the entire duration of the contest. Don’t forget to meet up outside for a Schwag Group Photo!
Happy Schwagging! May the best schwagger WIN! And don’t forget, have a GREAT beerfest, PROST!

Timeline of an International Beer Festtival
4:45 pm — Walk down to the market (Nijiya) for a couple of pre-​game beers.
5:30 pm — Hitched a ride up to Pacbell Park with a couple of friends. Proceeded to pregame/​tailgate.
6:15 pm — Contact Walter P and Ron S. There’s already a line at Fort Mason.
6:17 pm — Esco & I hail a cab and head out.
6:30 pm — Arrive at the event to find a serpentine line of people stretch’d beyond the tree line…
6:40 pm — We luck out. Esco runs into an old friend from her Cal days. We join them in line, not more than 60 people away from the front.
6:55 pm — The setting sun descends through the western sky towards the ocean-​view horizon; hundreds of thirsty souls steel themselves for the fight to come…
7:03 pm — First beer. We make note of the vendor’s name and type of brew and mark them off the map. That first beer is intently sipped, taking time to appreciate its flavors and body and craft.
7:20 pm — …oh, WHAT THE FEEZY?! We realize we’re on a quick train to Faded’Ville. What little cognitive ability I have intact deconstructs the last 20 minutes; a sample taste of beer every 2 minutes is about 40 ounces of beer… We’re in trouble.
7:23 pm — We find, then lose, then find, then lose Walter, RJR, Ranz, & Sha.
7:30 pm — Stopped marking off vendors. Stopped caring what kind of beer it is. Communication between Esco & I regresses to slurred simple sentences, giggles, laughs and hugs.
7:34 pm — Stuffed our faces on complimentary nosh. We find Ron S, Jackie S, and friend. Actually, they find us.
7:40pm — We’re drawn to music, and as nature has it, we dance. To no sobering avail.
8:00 pm — The SBC convenes outside for smokes and restroom breaks. General consensus concurs; 3-​hours is more than enough time and we’re all ph*cked…
[… records for two-​hours of timeline have been lost… or forgotten, or blurringly recollected… evidence points towards dancing, drinking, eating, flirting… with total abandon… and, oddly, corndogs…]
10:20 pm — Esco and I, at a loss for our sensibilities are ever-​grateful to Ron S. and Jackie S., for providing safe passage home.
12:30 am — Arrive at Esco’s. Sleepy time.
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3:30 am — Make sure Esco’s packed for her business trip.
5:30 am — Drive Esco to the airport.
6:30 am — Arrive home. More Sleepy time.