Presented by KW Beverage, the World Beer Festival returns for it’s 10th year on Saturday, February 17th at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds.
The 10th annual event looks to be bigger and better than years past with the move to the Fairgrounds – more room, easier parking, and with the addition of food trucks, a larger variety of food for those not on an all-liquid diet for the day.
As in years past, there are two 4-hour sessions: Noon to 4:00 and 6:00 to 10:00 in the evening. Advance tickets recommended for both. VIP is already sold out for daytime, but are still available as of this writing for the evening session. VIP gets you into the festival early so you have a first-crack at what you want to try as well as gets you exclusive access to a “chill” area with beer choices not found in the main area. Ticket prices will INCREASE on Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 11:59pm.
Taking last year’s “garden” concept to another level, there are now “neighborhoods” of breweries organized by origin. This is handy if you are looking to explore and experience beers by region: South Carolina, Southeast, National (U.S.) and International. With the growth of ciders in the craft beverage scene, there is also a cider neighborhood.
The real interesting action for most is likely the South Carolina and Southeast areas. Locals Columbia Craft Brewing and Cottontown Brew Lab make their first appearance. There are also some new South Carolina names: Greenville’s Birds Fly South and Fort Mill’s Full Spectrum.
This is the full list, you can download it here.
