Over the past few years I have had the privilege of attending quite a few craft beer festivals; they may range in size from less than 100 to close to 1,000. Some were held in parking lots, others on movie sound stages. I have attended events that specialized in American craft beers or European craft beers or even more specifically barrel-aged and sours. The point being that I have been to many beer fests at a wide variety of venues with many styles of beer featured. While most of these festivals have had one thing or another going for them, be it venue or featured beers, there is one beer festival that stands out for me and that would be last year’s Taste of Brews Long Beach.

There is a good reason why that event stands out and that is because it had everything going for it. They had over 40 craft breweries, some wine vendors, live music, good food, fun people and it was at the beach! Held at Lighthouse Park in Long Beach, across the channel from the Queen Mary it really was the most perfect location for any festival of any type that I can recall attending. Beautiful weather with cooling ocean breezes and a wide selection of American craft beer; what more could one ask for? How about more beer and a discount?

On August 23, 2014, Taste of Brews returns to Lighthouse Park for the 4th Annual Taste of Brews Long Beach. If you thought 40 craft breweries was good, you are going to love it this year with about 50 craft breweries participating. When I looked through the list of participating breweries compared to last year I noticed that many perennial favorites such as Stone Brewing Company, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Lagunitas, Strand Brewing and Sierra Nevada Brewing will be returning; but we will also be joined by such powerhouses as Ballast Point, Pizza Port, Clownshoes and Coronado Brewing along with some of Southern California’s newest craft breweries like Absolution Brewing Company and Venice Duck Brewery.

In addition to all the great beer and what promises to be another beautiful day for the beach there will be live music and food trucks including Urban Pie, Viking Truck, Porko Rico, Dogzilla, Slammin’ Sliders and Bacon Mania. Local restaurants Stonefire Grill, Slater’s 50/50 and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company will be providing food samples for attendees to enjoy. Pricing currently starts at $32.50 for the 3-hour session (1pm to 4pm) and $42.50 for the 4-hour session (noon to 4pm) which includes unlimited beer tasters, drinking water, food samples (while available), access to food trucks and live entertainment. A limited number of designated driver tickets will be available at the door for $20.00. As should be expected, all attendees must be 21 or older. Now, because you have read this far you get a special deal; how about $7.00 off each ticket when you purchase your tickets online in advance? That’s right; Craft Beer Guy followers will get $7.00 off each ticket if you use the PROMO CODE: craftbeerguy.

If you have been following CraftBeerGuy.com you know I have never steered you wrong; don’t wait until I put the photos up on August 24 and wish you were there; take my word for it, this is going to be a great event and you are going to wish that you had been there. If you need a little more incentive, a portion of the proceeds for this charity event will go to the Long Beach Marine Institute and the 1st Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton.

New this year, Taste of Brews is introducing their Craft Beer Chase; a social media-powered scavenger hunt that drives traffic to participating breweries. Aimed to be a ‘thank you’ for the breweries that are providing the beers for this event, Taste of Brews will issue a weekly photo challenge via Facebook and Twitter, along with choosing random winners. The Craft Beer Chase runs from July 21 through August 17. You can find more details at http://www.tasteofbrews.com/tobcbc.html.

I look forward to seeing you at Lighthouse Park on Saturday August 23; be sure to smile for my camera. Lighthouse Park is located at 200 Aquarium Way in Long Beach; parking is $7.00 at the Pike Parking Structure. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.tasteofbrews.com. Cheers!