Members-only Tickets for GABF Selling Fast

The Brewers Association is reporting that nearly 70% of tickets for the Members-only session on Saturday afternoon of the GABF have been sold during the Pre-sale for AHA members. In addition, the four-packs for members are sold out as are tickets for the Members-only entrance for Thursday and Friday night (public entrance tickets are still available though). A few hundred tickets till remain for the Farm to Table Pavilion. The remaining tickets go on sale to the general public June 30th.  It looks like the 2011 GABF is on its way to another record sell out.  I wouldn't wait to buy your tickets if you plan on going.

*** Update 6/30/11 ***

Tickets are now on sale to the general public, but tickets to the Saturday Members-only session are now sold out.  Click to here to purchase tickets for the remaining sessions.

Texas Craft Brewers Guild Announces Texas Craft Brewers Festival

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild, who's membership consist of the breweries and brewpubs of Texas, has announced the Texas Craft Brewers Festival will take place on Saturday, September 24th at Fiest Gardens in Austin, TX. This is the first beer festival organized by an actual brewers association in Texas in quite a few years (for those that remember the last one, that logo may look a little familiar). There's not a whole lot of information released about the event yet other then the creation of the official Facebook page, so this is mainly just a Save The Date announcement.

2nd Annual Beer & Cheese Festival at Hubbell & Hudson

I don't get up to The Woodlands very often, but this would be a great reason to. Hubbell & Hudson, a culinary world market and bistro located in The Woodlands Town Center, is hosting their 2nd Annual Beer & Cheese Festival on Saturday, July 2nd from 12pm ~ 6pm. Live music will be on the patio while beer and cheese experts will answer questions and help you pair up artisan cheese with craft beer. There will also be demonstrations by Carmine Chiricio in the cooking school on making and using mozzarella cheese. Its free to attend, but you will need to prove you're over 21 to sample any beer.

If you're not heading out of town for the long weekend, I would definitely check it out. And if you've never eaten at their bistro, then I highly recommend you try it. They have some of the best steaks I've ever had. Its a great place to catch dinner before seeing a concert at the Cynthia Woods Pavillion.

Real Ale Beer Dinner at Benjy's on Washington

The Benjy's on Washington Ave is hosting a Beer Dinner with Real Ale Brewing on Thursday, July 28th. The cost is $65 per person (plus tax and tip) and includes six courses paired with beer from Real Ale (see menu to the left). Brad Farbstein, owner of Real Ale, will also be on hand to talk about the beer and answer any questions.  Call Benjy's at 713-868-1131 to make your reservations.

Pre-sale Tickets for 2011 Great American Beer Festival

One of the perks of being a member of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is the opportunity to buy tickets to the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) before they go on sale to the general public. The members-only pre-sale starts at 10:00am MDT on Tuesday, June 28th and includes the opportunity to buy tickets to the Farm to Market Pavillion as well. Members should have received an email message with instructions and a link to purchase tickets. If you're not currently a member, you can still quality for the pre-sales event by joining the AHA before June 26th (click here for membership info and benefits). The remainder of the tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 30th.

Considering the GABF has sold out for the past four years (and did it earlier then ever last year), I wouldn't hold off on buying tickets if you're thinking about attending. The session that typically sells out first is the members-only session on Saturday afternoon which is when the winners of the competition are announced. I think the Thursday evening session is the best as all the beer is available and most of the brewers are usually around and still energetic. And if you are going, don't forget to pick up a ticket for the Denver Rare Beer Tasting as well.