The Bottom Line
If you have one weekend next year and would like to dedicate it to expanding your knowledge and taste in beer, the 13th Annual World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth, Michigan will be well worth the trip.
Pros
- Beer drinker’s paradise under one roof
- Knowledgeable volunteers
Cons
- Ran out of many beers before I could try them
- Not all competing brews were being poured
Description
- 42 participating breweries with 150+ brews available
- Plenty of knowledgable pourers, volunteers, and brewery representatives
- Over $50,000 raised for local charities
Guide Review - 12th Annual Frankenmuth World Expo of Beer 2007
I generally stick with major brewery’s top sellers because of simplicity, but I do occasionally like to venture into the unknown by trying different types of beer with names like pilsner, lager, bock, ale and porters. It is this sense of adventure that made me jump to attention when I saw the ad for the 12th Annual World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
The festival crowd was full of nice people, strollers with children in them and knowledgeable volunteers and brewery representatives willing to share tips about the vast array of beers available.
I went with my sister, also a beer lover, and with so many choices we opted to stick with the gold medal award winners from each category. It only took a few minutes to stray from that plan. People were amazed that we were making tasting notes about the beers which led to discussions about preferred types and many suggestions about other, non-award winning but quite good beers.
The event began 12 years ago with the Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce who in a few short years passed it to another group so that they might make a profit. When the profits didn’t come the Frankenmuth Jaycee’s stepped up and took the event skyward. Jaycee’s President Jamie Furbush told me that they were expecting seven to ten thousand people to sample the beers and expected to bring in over $120,000. Furbush said that after expenses an estimated $55,000 would be distributed to various, mostly local, charities supported by the Jaycee’s.
The Expo is a beer drinker’s paradise. Aaron Cederburg of the Frankenmuth Jaycee’s said that 42 big and small breweries were in attendance pouring four ounce samples of over 150 different brews. Also, over 250 types of beer, mead, cider and malternatives in 23 different categories were part of the judged competition. The results are posted on the Beer Expo's website.
The festival crowd was full of nice people, strollers with children in them and knowledgeable volunteers and brewery representatives willing to share tips about the vast array of beers available.
I went with my sister, also a beer lover, and with so many choices we opted to stick with the gold medal award winners from each category. It only took a few minutes to stray from that plan. People were amazed that we were making tasting notes about the beers which led to discussions about preferred types and many suggestions about other, non-award winning but quite good beers.
The event began 12 years ago with the Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce who in a few short years passed it to another group so that they might make a profit. When the profits didn’t come the Frankenmuth Jaycee’s stepped up and took the event skyward. Jaycee’s President Jamie Furbush told me that they were expecting seven to ten thousand people to sample the beers and expected to bring in over $120,000. Furbush said that after expenses an estimated $55,000 would be distributed to various, mostly local, charities supported by the Jaycee’s.
The Expo is a beer drinker’s paradise. Aaron Cederburg of the Frankenmuth Jaycee’s said that 42 big and small breweries were in attendance pouring four ounce samples of over 150 different brews. Also, over 250 types of beer, mead, cider and malternatives in 23 different categories were part of the judged competition. The results are posted on the Beer Expo's website.
