Brewgaloo 2019
It’s that time of year again! Brewgaloo, the largest craft beer festival in Raleigh.
My husband and I have been attending since the first year we moved here, 2016. It is always in April which falls near my husband’s birthday, so it usually qualifies as at least part of his birthday gift every year. Last year I was 7 months pregnant with our son and obviously couldn’t drink. We still went, Jared sampled and described the beer to me and I ate food from the various food trucks there. Well, this year is my year! We have a babysitter and Jared agreed to be the DD. So far we have spent $30 (plus tax) for 25 tickets (note: this is up from last years $25 for 25 tickets). 5 tickets gets you a full glass and 2 tickets gets you a smaller sample (3 oz). So between the 2 of us that doesn’t seem like a lot of beer but we seem to always happen upon additional tickets (found or given to us). So we’ll see how far it gets us. We can always purchase more too. If you have never been here is a brief rundown: Lasts for one weekend in April, Friday and Saturday. Friday is more of a closed event where you have to pay to get in ($45/person) and you sample barrel aged and sour beers. It goes from 6-10pm. Saturday is open to the public and free to attend. You purchase drink tickets as previously mentioned. There are over 50 food trucks that line the streets (downtown is blocked off to traffic) as well as various local vendors. Last year they had a couple stages with different entertainment happening. It is a good time. I recommend attending, even if you are not a big drinker there is something for everyone. Having all those food trucks together in one location was worth it for me last year!
Update: I am sad to report that I was a little disappointed this year. I remember last year being crowded but this year was almost unbearable. It was shoulder to shoulder on the main strip and some of the lines for food and beer were not worth it. In fact, right when we got there the will-call line was wrapped around the corner. It was so bad that I felt like we skipped seeing/tasting some based on how long the lines were. Jared did point out that they attempted to arrange the tents to lessen congestion. Beer tents across from food trucks as opposed to beer across from beer and food across from food. However it did not seem to work. The one thing I noticed and appreciated this year was that there were several cider options. My favorite was a cherry cider from Red Clay brewery. It was sweet and delicious. On the other hand I remember a couple really good dark coffee beers from previous years that I couldn’t find this time. The food I enjoyed was a Cuban sandwich that came from The Wandering Moose.
http://www.wanderingmoosenc.com
Jared and I had a serious discussion about if we will be attending next year. It will come down to whether or not they expand the area, i.e. less crowded. Also, if they raise the cost again it may not be worth it. Thoughts? Other opinions/experiences? Would you go back next year?