These photos were taken at the inaugural Long Beach Craft Beer Festival which was held Saturday afternoon and put on by the Forty-Niner Shops at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). Proceeds from the event went to help support student education through the growth and development of the Hospitality Management program at CSULB.

When I first started thinking about what I would write about this event, I was going to say that for an inaugural event it was very well run; but the fact of the matter is that would not really be a fair assessment. This may have been their inaugural event but you would not know it if you had not been told beforehand. Someone had done their homework; it was run like they had been putting on craft beer festivals for years.

I could nitpick and complain about the plastic tasting “glassware”, or maybe suggest that the food options be spread out a little more equally; but other than that I am not sure what anyone could complain about. One thing is for sure, the beer options were outstanding.

If you read the press release about the event it stated that “50 top local, regional, and national guest breweries” would be in attendance. While that was true, the reality is that international guest breweries were also in attendance with Coedo Brewery representing Japan and Garage Project representing New Zealand. Of course, many of our local breweries like Smog City, Absolution, Scholb, Phantom Carriage, Beachwood and The Dudes’ were also in attendance. Other notables included Ritual, Saint Archer, Breckenridge, Transplants, Bravery, Mikkeller Brewing and Track 7.

Unlike many first time events, this was very well attended with probably 1,500 people in attendance. Luckily, the festival was set up around the perimeter of the Jack Rose Track Stadium, so everything was pretty spread out; this prevented any real issues with lines.

The inaugural Long Beach Craft Beer Festival was a definite success and I highly recommend you consider joining us for the 2nd Annual Long Beach Craft Beer Festival; because I know I will be there. Cheers!

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