VAIL, CO – Tickets for the iconic Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival go on sale Wednesday, September 2, at 10am MST. The 2016 festival weekend is scheduled for January 7 – 9, 2016, and will once again be held at the Vail Cascade Resort in Vail, CO. The ticketing link and information about the Sixteenth Anniversary weekend schedule are available at www.bigbeersfestival.com.
The Featured Brewmasters, dinner hosts, and seminar presenters for 2016 came together earlier this year than they have in some years past. “Sometimes it’s difficult to organize the different elements of the weekend in time for September ticket sales, “said Laura Lodge, festival coordinator. “This year everyone was able to commit early enough to have a complete schedule ready for attendees to review before Wednesday.”
This includes the 2016 Featured Brewmasters, who will be Geoff Larson, President and Co-Founder of Alaskan Brewing & Bottling Company in Juneau, Alaska, and Omar Ansari, Founder and President of Surly Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Larson will be kicking off Alaskan Brewing’s 30th Anniversary at the Big Beers Festival, a worthy celebration indeed.
Big Beers Festival 2016 will once again open on Thursday evening with the Calibration Dinner, hosted by Avery Brewing Co. of Boulder, CO and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery of Milton DE. A much loved tradition held in Atwater on Gore Creek, dinner attendees always enjoy an amazing five course double-beer pairing dinner accompanied by the running commentary from the principals of both breweries. This year, Adam Avery and his team will be sharing the stage with Tim Hawn, Brewmaster for Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. As it is Hawn’s first visit to Big Beers, he will likely be initiated with much fun by his colleagues.
New this year, Terra Bistro will be hosting the Big Beers ‘Small Plates & Craft Beer Pairing‘ event on Friday afternoon at 4:30pm in Vail Village. Like the pairing dinners, the Small Plates Pairings will be double beer pairings created by Exec. Chef Shawn Miller and his team with beers from Perennial Artisan Ales of St. Louis, MO and Nebraska Brewing Co. of Papillion, NE. Both Cory King, Head Brewer for Perennial Artisan Ales, and Paul & Kim Kavulak, Owners of Nebraska Brewing Co. will be speaking throughout the event.
The Vail Valley Charitable Fund has partnered with the Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival for sixteen years, and is the beneficiary of the net proceeds from the event. (www.vvcf.org ) Volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are both available for the Big Beers Festival. For more information visit www.bigbeersfestival.com or contact Laura Lodge at bigbeersfestival@hotmail.com.
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Media inquiries: Reservations for press trips to the event are now being accepted. Applications may be submitted to Laura Lodge at bigbeersfestival@hotmail.com and should include publication, assignment and verification from an editor. Other applications may be accepted on an individual submission basis.
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The Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival is a three day event featuring educational seminars, two Brewmasters dinners, a Commercial Tasting, a homebrew competition and other tastings and pairings. Designed to welcome the beer connoisseur, the innovative homebrewer, or the craft beer novice, participants will find events appropriate for all levels of interest.
The festival regularly draws breweries from around the world offering literally hundreds of beers to sample. The Sensory Workshop Seminar track is popular among those newer to the beer scene, and the Technical Track draws both professional brewers and homebrewers. For an interesting alternative, both the Cigar Pairing Experience and The Yoga of Brewing are complimentary options (no ticket required) as well as the Cicerone Workshop, a certification program similar to the Sommelier designation in the world of wine.
Additionally, the Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival actively supports the efforts of the Vail Valley Charitable Fund, a local organization that helps individuals who live and work in the Vail Valley that have critical financial need due to medical catastrophes, accidents or long-term illnesses. For more information about the VVCF, visit www.vvcf.org. Contact Big Beers, Barleywines Festival at www.bigbeersfestival.com and follow the event on Facebook.
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