Oklahoma Brewer’s Fest

THE OKLAHOMA CRAFT BREWERS ASSOCIATION IS EXPANDING ITS SECOND ANNUAL OKLAHOMA BREWER’S FEST AS WELL AS LAUNCHING ITS OKLAHOMA CRAFT BEER PASSPORT FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO LOG THEIR BREWERY TREK ACROSS THE STATE.

By Matt Dinger

Now that you’ve had time to recover from American/Oklahoma Craft Beer Week, it’s time to take your new sample glass at the gates and double down at the Oklahoma Brewer’s Fest.

There are two sessions for the June 18 event, with VIP admission (extended to a full hour up from 30 minutes last year) beginning at 11 a.m. for the first session and at noon for general admission tickets and continuing until 3 p.m. The second session starts for VIP ticket holders at 4 p.m. and an hour later for general admission, ending at 8 p.m.

“If you buy a ticket to the VIP, you get to be at the beer festival for four full hours. Then you should get a hotel room,” Executive Director Tabbi Burwell said.

General admission tickets are $50 and VIP tickets are $65. Designated driver tickets are also available for $10.

With a burgeoning craft beer industry, Oklahoma Brewer’s Fest has expanded from about 40 participating breweries in its inaugural year into more than 50 for its second go.

The industry event is of, for and by the brewers themselves and backed by their nonprofit alliance, the Oklahoma Craft Brewers Association. There will be more than 300 beers available to sample, including many that will only be available at the festival.

All the local mainstays will be there, along with breweries out of Tulsa like American Solera and Nothing’s Left as well as ones scattered across the state like BierKraft (McAlester), Kochendorfer (Duncan), Settlers

Guests enjoy the photobooth at the 2021 Oklahoma Brewer’s Fest. Photo, Berlin Green

Brewing Co. (Enid) and Vortex Alley (Ponca City).

In addition to the ever-flowing beer, they have added extra entertainment this year as well as additional food vendors.

“We’re doing more experiences at this event too than we did last year. So what that means is we’ll be doing things like ‘dizzy bat.’ We have a game called ‘beer run’ where you’re carrying a tray full of drinks, essentially, and you have to race people. You win an ice chest full of COOP beer at the end of the day, whoever wins,” Burwell said.

If you somehow didn’t get your fill at the festival, many breweries around the state also have remaining quantities of the collaborative “Trail Mix” beers between local breweries that paired off to produce a beer for American Craft Beer Week. Also, the Craft Beer Trail Passport launched over Memorial Day weekend if you want to log your brewery visits. There are 51 participating breweries around the state. Checking in at 30 breweries earns you a sticker, checkins at 40 breweries earn you a trailthemed koozie and once all breweries are marked off the list, you earn an Oklahoma Craft Beer Trail pint glass that will be shipped to you. For tickets or to sign up for the passport, visit craftbeerok.org.