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Would you like to attend Virginia’s largest craft beer festival? Then it’s time for you to attend Busch Gardens Bier Fest!
And Busch Gardens Bier Fest is quickly approaching. It takes place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from August 18, 2023, through September 4, 2023 (which is actually Labor Day, the only Monday you can attend the festival).
And this year should be amazing. You get to select from over 120 craft brews! They come from 78 different breweries including 33 Virginia breweries. There are brand new signature cocktails.
But the fun doesn’t end with the drinks. There are also great food concoctions you can enjoy! Since it is a Bier Fest, these are beer-infused foods such as spicy lager wings. And since this is a Bier Fest, you can rest assured that the popular giant pretzel will be there, too!
But the fun doesn’t stop there. There are brewery talks where you can learn a lot about the brewing process. Local bands will be there to perform live music. And you can still enjoy your favorite roller coasters and rides since this is still Busch Gardens after all!
This may sound like a lot to you. And it is. This is a fun-packed festival. But today I’ll go into more event details. And then as always, I’ll tell you how you can save money at Busch Gardens Bier Fest!
Cocktails & Foods
So the main reason to go to a Bier Fest would have to be the drinks. The food is good, too. And luckily, as I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of that here.
You can find it spread throughout the park. I’ll tell you about some of the stations and what you can get there.
I’ll also tell you about participating breweries.
Grogan’s Pub
Food
- Pub Pretzel
- with Guinness pimento cheese
Beers & Bites
Food
- Giant Pretzel
- with bacon salt
- Bratwurst Burger
- with pub mustard, sauerkraut & gherkin on a pretzel bun
Pretzel World
Food
- Loaded Pretzel Bites
- with beer cheese & bacon
Participating Virginia Breweries
Here is a list of participating breweries from the great state of Virginia:
- 2 Silos Brewing Company from Manassas, Virginia
- Alewerks Brewing Company from Williamsburg, Virginia
- Back Bay Brewing Company from Virginia Beach
- Billsburg Brewery from Williamsburg, Virginia
- Blue Mountain Brewery from Afton, Virginia
- Bold Rock Hard Cider from Nellysford, Virginia
- Buskey Hard Cider from Richmond, Virginia
- Caiseal Beer & Spirits Company from Hampton, Virginia
- Cape Charles Brewing Company from Cape Charles, Virginia
- Center of the Universe Brewing Company from Ashland, Virginia
- Commonwealth Brewing Company from Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Devils Backbone Brewing Company from Roseland, Virginia
- Hardywood Park Craft Brewery from Richmond, Virginia
- James River Brewery from Scottsville, Virginia
- Legend Brewing Company from Richmond, Virginia
- Midnight Brewery from Rockville, Virginia
- Nost Brewing Project from Fort Monroe, Virginia
- O’Connor Brewing Company from Norfolk, Virginia
- Old Bust Head Brewing Company from Vint Hill, Virginia
- Original Larry’s Hard Lemonade Brewing Co. from Hampton, Virginia
- Oozlefinch Beers & Blending from Fort Monroe, Virginia
- Port City Brewing from Alexandria, Virginia
- Sly Clyde Ciderworks from Hampton, Virginia
- Smartmouth Brewing Company from Norfolk, Virginia
- St. George Brewing Company from Hampton, Virginia
- Starr Hill Brewery from Richmond, Virginia
- That Damn Mary Brewing Company from Hayes, Virginia
- The St. George Brewing Company from Hampton, Virginia
- The Virginia Beer Company from Williamsburg, Virginia
- Three Notch’d Brewing from Charlottesville, Virginia
- Tradition Brewing Company from Newport News, Virginia
- Wasserhund Brewing Company from Virginia Beach
Domestic Breweries
Here is a list of other participating breweries that are outside of Virginia but are from the United States:
- Abita Brewing Company from Covington, Louisiana
- ACE Cider from Sebastopol, California
- Allagash Brewing Company from Portland, Maine
- Angry Orchard Brewing Company from Walden, New York
- Anheuser-Busch from St. Louis, Missouri
- Bell’s Brewery from Comstock, Michigan
- Blake’s Hard Cider Company from Armada, Michigan
- Blue Moon Brewing Company from Denver, Colorado
- Breckenridge Brewery from Littleton, Colorado
- Cigar City Brewing from Tampa, Florida
- Cisco Brewers from Nantucket, Massachusetts
- Coors Brewing Company from Golden, Colorado
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery from Milton, Delaware
- Elysian Brewing Company from Seattle, Washington
- Evil Genius Beer Company from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Flying Dog Brewery from Frederick, Maryland
- Founders Brewing Company from Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Goose Island Beer Company from Chicago, Illinois
- Heavy Seas Beer from Baltimore, Maryland
- Hoop Tea from St. Louis, Missouri
- Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
- Kona Brewing Company from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
- Lagunitas Brewing Company from Petaluma, California
- McKenzie’s Hard Cider from West Seneca, New York
- New Belgium Brewing from Fort Collins, Colorado
- New Holland Brewing from Holland, Michigan
- New Realm Brewing Company from Atlanta, Georgia
- Pabst Brewing Company from San Antonio, Texas
- Shock Top Brewing from St. Louis, Missouri
- Sierra Nevada Brewing Company from Chico, California
- Spoetzl Brewery from Shiner, Texas
- SweetWater Brewing Company from Atlanta, Georgia
- Truly Hard Seltzer from Boston, Massachusetts
- Twisted Tea Brewing Company from Cincinnati, Ohio
- Victory Brewing Company from Downingtown, Pennsylvania
- Wicked Weed Brewing from Asheville, North Carolina
- Wyder’s Cider from Middlebury, Vermont
International Breweries
But that’s not all! There are also international breweries participating in Bier Fest, which is fitting since Busch Gardens has international theming!
- Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
- Erdinger Weissbräu from Erding, Bayern Germany
- Guinness from Dublin, Ireland
- Spaten-Franziskaner from Munich, Germany
- Warsteiner from Warstein, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany
Live Music
There are a number of local bands who will perform on the Próst! Patio Stage next to OktoberTaps. It takes place at 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 6:00 PM.
Here are the local bands who will be performing:
- Tyler Meacham
- Indie-pop singer
- Performs August 19th through August 20th
- Ken Wenzel
- An artist who blends jazz, roots-rock, and country
- Performs August 27th through August 28th
- Broke Royals
- A rock & roll band from the DC/Virginia area
- Performs September 2nd through September 4th
The Happy Dutchman will also be reviving Milwaukee’s German heritage by performing traditional Polka favorites at Rhinefeld Gazebo (which is right next to Kinder Karussel) from August 19th through September 4th. They’ll be performing at 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, 3:30 PM, and 5:30 PM.
Tap Takeovers
Learn secrets of the craft at the all-new Tap Takeovers. You can catch representatives from Three Notch’d Brewing and That Damn Mary Brewing Co. from August 18th through August 20th, The Virginia Beer Co. and Oozlefinch Beers & Blending from August 25th through August 27th, and Wasserhund Brewing Co. and St. George Brewing Co. from September 1st through September 3rd.
How to Save Money
So there are a few ways to save money at Bier Fest at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. First of all, there is a good way to save money on drinks. You’ll save over 10% on drinks with a Bier Fest sampler. The Bier Fest Sampler gets you ten drinks. You have your choice of a 6-ounce draft brew or 7-ounce cocktail sample. This is a great way to drink your favorites and/or try new drinks. You can buy your Bier Fest Sampler here.
The other way you can save money is with tickets. You see, admission to Bier Fest is included in general admission to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. And you can find out how to save money on tickets to Busch Gardens here.