Brews With My Boo’s at The Burbank Beer Festival

I am no stranger to festival life, I probably attend a dozen or more throughout the year. I really just enjoy being out in the sun, experiencing the diversity that is LA food, people and in the case of this past weekends festival…beer! I must preface this post and let you know, I am no beer connoisseur by any means but it seems beer and beer lovers are my tribe because I’m never too far from either. So when the Burbank Beer Festival invited me to attend I knew exactly who I’d bring.

My sister in-law Kathy was a no brainer. She’s been my beer buddy the past 3 years of attending beer fests (check that out here), she’s got the perfect temperament for these kinds of events, goes with flow and doesn’t mind as I go from blogger taking hundreds of picture’s to party girl dancing in the street taking pictures with total strangers.

LaJon on the other hand? I wasn’t too sure he was ready for Beer Festival Winter. I mean I know he’s a total beer lover ( like legit one of those people who would brew their own if he had the time and the space), but was he ready for Weekend’s With Winter, Winter? It’s one thing to go kayaking together but beer drinking, having to take loads of pictures to get the perfect shot while beer drinking and stopping random strangers to inquire about their hydration stations and pretzel necklaces (that’s a THING at these kinds of events by the way but more on that later) WHILE BEER DRINKING…well that’s a whole other story!

I’m happy to say I have a guy who doesn’t mind either! We all had the best time together and on top of that, it was the first time Kathy and LJ were meeting so having such a great time with them both made it the perfect first meeting memory.

When we got there the party was well underway. As always there was live music and tons of food options. Because it was in Downtown Burbank, local businesses were also open with twice the amount of vendors on the street.

There were three beer gardens set up throughout the festival and you needed a wristband to get into each garden. Once inside you had your tasting cup and could sample to your heart’s content. 

While I’m an equal opportunity consumer of alcohol, I do have to say beer isn’t my first choice, however, I found beer that even a beginner would love!

Chaucer’s was hands down my favorite tasting of the day! They made a sparkling honey bear that was TOO DIE! It wasn’t too sweet like a lot of ciders and was just so perfectly smooth and had the right amount of hops! Both beer snobs, Kathy and LJ agreed (maybe I do know a little somethin somethin about beer). In fact I got to taste quite a few that were off the beer beaten path.

There was the Flying Embers Kombucha and the Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment. I even tried an avocado beer that was off the charts tasty! From what the vendor told me the main element from the avocado that you taste is the creamy and smooth texture.

Aside from the really great array of beers to taste, the people who this festival usually draws are so much fun! If you follow my Instagram you may have seen some very festive dancing in the street and some really funny beer inspired t-shirts. 

I feel like I’ve been living under a rock because I didn’t know pretzel necklaces were a thing!!! Like a FULL ON THING! Seriously all the cool kids who attend these festivals regularly come with them on to reset their pallet between sips of beer, and to stabilize their blood sugar as you wait in line for your next sample. I was super jealous of all the folks I saw with these on and couldn’t stop getting on Kathy and LJ for not warning me about them sooner.

Ok so I know it’s not customary to comment on the security at an event like this but after having been to a ton where the rent a cops (as we not so affectionately call them) can be real jerks, it was nice to see that the security here were super cool! There was no yelling at you if you accidentally walked out of the beer garden with your cup too full, or if your wristband wasn’t easily in sight some big meat head didn’t jump in front of you with a nasty attitude blocking your way. These guys were class acts and treated us with total respect. It’s surprising how this gesture was such a big part of making our day enjoyable.

Here are more snaps from the day…

Cheers to the Burbank Beer Festival for showing us a great time! I will have my pretzel necklace ready for next year!