It’s a funny thing because I adore beer and I love festivals, but I am not a big fan of beer festivals.  They always turn into incredibly long lines in which you spend so much time waiting just to receive a small sip, and because of the overcrowding it is so difficult to have a conversation about the beer.  But the FIU Brew Fest does a beer festival right.  It is the only beer festival that I know of in which there are no early entries or VIP.  What I enjoyed was that it never felt overcrowded throughout the entire day.  When I entered at exactly the start time and made my way to a beer booth, they hadn’t even realized that the event had begun.

Not only is this festival terrific for beer enthusiasts, but it is special for the local scene of south Florida brewers.  There were representatives from some of the biggest breweries in our area, brewers that have plans to open their own brewery within a year, and then there were brewers who just make great beer at their home.

Everyone pouring beer was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable and willing to talk at great length about their beers or the brewing process.  It is one thing for south Florida’s craft beer scene to be growing, but the future is bright with so many creative brewers.  I don’t know how it is in other states, but down here there isn’t a feeling of competition between these beer brewers; just a love of beer and a willingness to swap stories.

The last thing that makes this event stand out is that they offer 3 one hour beer classes.  This year they offered a Beer 101 class, a Beer and Food Pairing Class, and a class for the Brewing Process.