Richmond - What can I say about this event that you can't get from the title?  Not much.  It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting.  And I was expecting a beer lover's heaven.  One hundred and seventy-seven different brews served under two giant tents on Brown's Island with a stage at one end for live music.  How could it go wrong?  The only drawback was the heat, and that's just part of living in Richmond during the summer.

The festival was run as a giant beer tasting.  Four hours.  One two ounce cup.  Unlimited refills.  There were an overwhelming number of different breweries and many of them were serving more than one brew.  There was the usual mix of American craft beers, but you can't have a world beer festival without having beers from around the world.  This festival did not disappoint.  There was a huge selection of beer from throughout Europe as well as brews from Asia and South America.  I loved the Yanjing beer from China and the Skullsplitter from Orkney.

Unfortunately, most of my audio notes after the first half hour or so are merely slurred gibberish, so I can't do much critiquing of the beer selection.  I'll just say that there was pretty much every type of beer you can think of.  From hefeweizen to porter to pilsner and definitely plenty of IPAs.  There were lagers and double stouts, ciders and doppelbocks.  There were even monastery and monastery style ales.

Of course beer wasn't the only reason I was there.  This is a music publication after all.  But please don't hold it against me if most of my attention was held by the 177 taps that were down the island from the music.  For that reason, I was somewhat disappointed with the layout of the festival.  Having the stage at the far end of the island made it difficult to indulge both my desire to continually try new beers and my desire to listen to the music.  I think the festival could have benefitted enormously from having the stage set up with the food somewhere in between the two beer tents.  That way patrons could enjoy the music while strolling back and forth between the various breweries.  That being said, the music was definitely worth checking out.  All four bands that played are well-respected local bands.  The first session was accompanied by the sounds of Barrelhouse Blues Band and the Atkinsons, while the evening session featured Horsehead and the Dirty Truth.

The whole things was a real blast and I would definitely recommend going next year if you missed it.  If you did make it out this year then I'm sure you are already planning to be there in years to come, so I'll see ya there.

By Editor (Managing) and Correspondent: Robin Marschak

Robin Marschak was born and raised in Richmond, VA. After a brief attempt at attending an engineering school in Claremont, CA he returned home to study English at VCU, an endeavour he is currently still engaged in. One thing that has remained unchanging throughout his life is a love of music. He was raised on local bands such as the Ululating Mummies and Dogs New Clothes as well as more classic mainstream bands such as the Beatles and the Grateful Dead. As a teen his tastes shifted towards the punk scene and bands such as TSOL, Operation Ivy, and Rancid, and while he maintains a deep love of this style of music he has broadened his listening palette quite a bit in recent years especially into the realms of country and old time music. His favorite bands currently are Popebear, a blues-funk fusion band out of Pasadena, CA, the Hot Seats, a string band from Richmond, and the No BS! Brass Band, also from Richmond. As far as more national acts go he tries to catch shows by bands like Umphrey's McGee, Old Crow Medicine Show, and the Belleville Outfit whenever possible.

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