New York beer has been improving by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. I’ve been to some really cool collaborative events up here lately, from the 11 X 11 Chef’s Beer Dinner at Newburgh Brewing Company during Hudson Valley Craft Beer Week, to the Brewery at Bacchus tap takeover at The Beer Belly with Suarez Family Brewery, Plan Bee Farm Brewery, and Sloop Brewing. We even have an awesome dinner upcoming from two of my favorite local breweries Rare Form and Common Roots at Henry Street Taproom during next week’s Saratoga Beer Week.

The New York State Brewers Association holds an event once a year at The Desmond to not only showcase New York beer, but also echo some of these collaborative beer community efforts like I listed above, whether it be between local brewers, local distillers (with second use of their barrels), or chefs of our local food scene in the Capital Region and beyond. And unlike far too many of the festivals we see around here, brewery staff and reps will actually be present to pour and chat about their beer, and let’s not forget the $40 presale ticket is extremely reasonably priced for unlimited tastings *and* local food in a much nicer venue than your typical convention center beer fest.

I went to this festival when they first held it back in 2014 and I’ve included a gallery of that below. I’m really looking forward to seeing how some of the participating breweries have improved in the meantime and trying some of the new beer they’ve been working on since. The event is less than a month away, coming up on Saturday, March 5th and goes from 4PM-8PM. Hope to see some of you guys there! Grab your tickets here.