Beer Festivals

Hoppy attended the 2025 Charleston Beer Festival on October 25th. While there, he had the opportunity to sample many specialty beers as listed in the included pictures. The breweries that attended the event can be found here.

A more thorough representation of the event can be found in this Beerblogin post from the 2023 fest.

Pictures follow:

Hoppy attended the Guggman Haus Oktoberfest Celebration on Saturday. It was the main day of a five-day celebration which ran from October 17th through October 21st.

During the visit, Hoppy enjoyed a pint of their American IPA Expedition #17. It is described as being run through their hopback of fresh, wet El Dorado hops and then dry-hopped with Krush and Maui Nelson Hop Kief from Freestyle Hops. It is said to be bursting with bold tropical aromas and layered hop character. 6.2% ABV.

Pictures from the visit follow:

Hoppy attended the eighth annual Lagers in Lawrence Oktoberfest at the Fort Ben Cultural Campus on Saturday. While there, he sampled the following beers and watched a preliminary wiener dog race.

Gnosis Brewing Within My Mind Hazy IPA – Brewed with Citra hops. 7.6% ABV, 20 IBU.

The Tipsy Terrier Maxi’s Got Maibock – 6.4% ABV, 30 IBU.

Hog Molly Brewing Knockin Gourds Pumpkin Ale – Described as using real spices to add an autumn bite to this hearty amber. Real pumpkin is used to balance the spices in this classic seasonal ale. 6.6% ABV, 19 IBU.

Field Brewing Reunion Citrus IPA – Described as a refreshing IPA brewed with real tangerine and grapefruit, moderately dry hopped with Ahtanum and Cascade hops. 6.3% ABV, 64 IBU.

Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery Pineapple IPA – Described as having infused pineapple into their Hop Hugger IPA. They state that it pairs well with all spicy foods, or it just pairs well with you! 7.1% ABV, 70 IBU.

King Jugg Brewing Oktoberfest Märzen – 5.8% ABV, 21 IBU

Bier Brewery South Simcoe DDH Hazy IPA – Described as having aroma and flavor of fresh mango with a soft pineapple finish. An upfront flavor from Simcoe and Denali hops with a juicy finish. It’s smooth, hazy and totally chill. 5% ABV, 40 IBU.

Pictures from the event follow:

Tired of Oktoberfests where food is an afterthought? Then this is for you! Evil Czech Brewery in Mishawaka is presenting Porktoberfest 2025, an all-you-can-eat feast that includes pork tacos, rib tips, sliders, raw oysters on the half shell, pretzel bites, black bean soup, and a whole fire-roasted hog! You will also receive two tokens for any of their draft beers.

Cadillac Jack will be rocking the event all evening with a high-energy mix of rock, country, and crowd favorites. 

The Evil Czech draft beers include the Oktoberfest Märzen Lager – 5.6% ABV • 20 IBU – Described as a classic Märzen lager, light-bodied, slightly sweet, and very crisp with a mild lingering bitterness to balance it out. Copper-orange in appearance.

Other drafts that will be pouring are: Old Prague, Corndance, Higgins’ Haze, GG Patton, Evil Czech-Munk, Static Chipmunk, Jesús, Nefarious Harbor, Bigsby, Voodoo, John the One-Eyed, Hang It in the Leuven, and Chucky’s Mistress.

This will all take place in the Evil Czech Beer Garden at 3703 North Main Street, Mishawaka, on Saturday, October 11th, 5-9pm EDT. Tickets are $40 per person and can be purchased here. VIP Mug Club Members can call the brewery to register and receive a complimentary ticket.

Tickets are limited, and this event sells out every year. Don’t wait — secure yours today and get ready to celebrate Porktoberfest in the Beer Garden!

You can find more information on the events calendar here.

Hoppy attended the Great Lakes Beer Festival on August 16th. While there, he had an enjoyable time and sampled a number of beers. This fest was in a great location at the beautiful Dow Diamond Stadium. This allowed for indoor restrooms and an upstairs air-conditioned VIP area, where a tasty buffet meal was served. The delightful music was provided by Alex McMath Music, Fröhliche Musiker Blasorchester and Air Margaritaville and was perfect for a beer fest! They also had on-field activities such as corn hole and fowling. And what beer festival has a mascot? This one did! It was energetic, engaged and added to the festivities.

Given all of these positives, there were still areas where improvements could be made. Tastings were poured into plastic cups instead of the sample glassware preferred by Hoppy. (The sample-sized glass can also serve as a souvenir.) Also, Hoppy found only one brewery pouring their draft beer – Maple Grille Microbrewery. All the other beers were poured from cans by festival volunteers. I believe that the most important thing missing was the ability to interact with the different brewery representatives as they poured their fresh draft beer!

This is the list of beverage providers at the event:

Altes Beer – Detroit

Athletic Brewing Co (NA) – Milford, CT

Atwater Brewing – Detroit

B Nektar Meadery – Ferndale

Bell’s Brewery – Kalamazoo

Bier Distillery – Comstock Park

Biere De Mac Brew Works – Mackinaw City

Big Lake Brewing – Holland

Blackrocks Brewery – Marquette

Blakes Hard Cider – Armada

Brew Detroit – Detroit

Brew Dog Brewery – Cleveland, OH

Brewery Vivant – Grand Rapids

byGeorge Brewery – Munising

Carbliss – Sheboygan, WI

Cheboygan Brewing Co – Cheboygan

Cider Boys Hard Cider Co – Stevens Point, WI

Dark Horse Brewing Co – Marshall

Dragonmead Brewery – Warren

Founders Brewing Company – Grand Rapids

Frankenmuth Brewery – Frankenmuth

FUL Beverage – Detroit

Grand Armory Brewery – Grand Haven

GrandTraverse Distillery – Traverse City

Great Lakes Brewing Co – Cleveland, OH

Griffin Claw Brewery – Birmingham

Keweenaw Brewing Co – Houghton

Kickstand Brewing – Commerce Twp

Loggers Brewing – Saginaw

Long Road Distillers – Grand Rapids

Ludington Bay Brewing Co – Ludington

Maple Grille Microbrewery – Hemlock

Mass Bay – Boston, MA

Middlecoast Brewing – Traverse City

Midland Brewing – Midland

Motor City Brewing Works – Detroit

Mountain Town Brewing – Mt. Pleasant

New Belgium Brewing Company – Asheville, NC

New Holland Brewing – Holland

North Peak Brewing Co – Traverse City

Odd Brothers Cider – Homer

Oddside Ales – Grand Haven

Old Nation Brewing Co – Williamston

PerrinBrewing Co – Grand Rapids

Petoskey Brewing – Petoskey

Pigeon Hill Brewing Co – Muskegon

Red Rocker Brewing Company – Detroit

Revolution Brewing Co – Chicago, IL

Right Brain Brewery – Traverse City

Right Coast Spirits – Boston, MA

Roak Brewery – Marshall

Rochester Mills Beer Co – Rochester

Saugatuck Brewing Company – Saugatuck

Shorts Brewing Co – Bellaire

Sierra Rose Cellars – Kentwood

St Julian Winery – Paw Paw

St. Ambrose Cellars – Beulah

Surfside Tea – Philadelphia, PA

The Long Drink – Utica, NY

Three Bridges Distillery – Midland

TK Mulligan Craft Cocktails – Raleigh, NC

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co – Decorah, Iowa

Tri-City Brewing Company – Bay City

Tripelroot Brewery – Zeeland

Upper Hand Brewery – Escanaba

Vander Mill Ciders – Grand Rapids

Vosa Spirits – Detroit

War Water Brewery – St. Clair

Pictures follow: