Great Taste of the Midwest Beer Festival

Madison, WI - August 10, 2019

2018 was my first year attending the Great Taste of the Midwest, and I have to say it was quite an experience that no craft beer lover should miss. For those that are not familiar, Great Taste of the Midwest is the second longest-running craft beer festival in North America. GTMW brings together over 190 brewers in a scenic location overlooking Lake Monona while providing some great views of downtown Madison and the state capital.

Ticket sales can be challenging, as they are typically released the Sunday after Cinco De Mayo at select locations in Madison, however, if you do not happen to live in or near Madison you can enter their mail order lottery for tickets. Should you be lucky enough to secure tickets, you will encounter a massive selection of craft beer, great food, and fun entertainment. One of the best things about GTMW is that despite the size the festival never felt like it was too busy, lines were tolerable, and I never seemed to wait more than 5 minutes max for a refill, although most brewers you could easily walk right up to without a wait. Most of the 190+ vendors are set up and spread out across 6 massive tents, with each holding anywhere from 20-40 brewers. Also, there are several larger brewers with their own smaller tents scattered around the festival too. My favorite tent/vendor had to be the 0.005K Endurance Run tend from New Holland Brewing Company; finally a race I can enjoy, lol.

The food selection was good; however, the highlight for me was the bacon on a stick, which was thick cut back served on a stick. Seriously it does not get much better than that. Food prices were very reasonable too. The entertainment was scattered around the 6+ tents and seemed to lean more towards folk music which seemed to pair up nicely with the festival.

Overall I enjoyed my time, and look forward to attending another Great Taste of the Midwest in the future.

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