For those of you who chose to drink Miller Lite at Summerfest instead of enjoying and supporting all the great craft brewers of Wisconsin, I would like to mention a couple things you might have missed.

This was a first time event held at the hallowed halls of the Bay Shore Town Center. I myself had never been there, and swear to God, I thought I was in Brookfield. The ladies walking around were dressed in things that cant be purchased in K-Mart. They were lean, toned and the hairdos were of the 100 bucks plus range. Most of the men, (not counting the guys involved in the festival) had memberships to some health club. 

"There was just such a great feeling about this festival..."

The setup and opening went as smooth as can be. All the brewers were ready to go, the chefs had their food ready. There was good security in the area, the setup was near perfect. The brewers were in a straight line of canopies. Everyone had most of their favorites, and something really special.  Each two brewers were paired off, with a famous chef.   The chef prepared a dish, exclusive to the beers being served.  They were small, but ample portions, remember, you had a lot of them to try, nevermind all the beer samples you had to indulge in.

I was absolutle struck by the comaradery and friendliness of all the Wisconsin Brewers amongst themselves. It didnt make any sense to me, these people were die-hard competitors.  Every one of them realized that the more product the other guy sold, the less they themselves might sell. Yet these people could not have been more loving, friendly, and helpful towards each other. It was an amazing experience to witness.   How do these people get it?!  Why cant the rest of the business world run like these people do.

The stories I heard about the private party these comrades held the night before, courtesy of the Sprecher Brewing facility, was legendary.

Its pretty hard to describe how pleasant and satisfying the event itself went. All the brewers and owners and volunteers brought their A-Game. Everyone of them acted as they were estatic that you chose to sample their wonderful brews. They were happy to answer all questions, and were as generous as can be with the samples. The attendees were upper echelon, most knew something about Wisconsin Craft brews, all were eager to learn. There were many Illinois people, many who felt there were not good craft brews in their home state, and were happy to experience the Wisconsin beer scene.

The weather was warm,but not stiflying ,perfect beer drinking weather.  I had the phenomenal privilege of pouring for Tyranena Brewing, its the best and easiest job in the world.  My sole job was to sit and listen to all the complements that people heaped on Tyranena, about how they loved the beer and the brewery.  I had more then 5 Illinois people ask me if I was Rob, and after the third denial, I was almost tempted beyond resistence to follow that old commericial, and say, "Yes.  Yes I am." and just roll with the guy with what ever questions the guy came up with.  But I resisted. But I got away with the scam long enough for all these famous brewers to come up to me and introduce themselves, and then give me, "and you are??". I loved it.

And this was all possible because of the world renowned Stacey of Tyranena. Stacey is one of the most amazing people on the planet. I have communicated and enjoyed her longdistance friendship for some years, but this was the first time I was actually able to work an entire festival with her. She arrived bright and early Saturday morning, and our booth was one of the first to be ready for the festival.  So we had some time to kill. Stacey proceeded to spin tales and yarns of past events and experiences, that had me rivited like I can't remember. She is so charming, so business savy, so street smart, just a joy to be around. She's witty, bubbly, and tough, all in one. All the tough guys of the Wisconsin brew scene, love and respect her. I just sat back and marveled at the respect shown to her by all the other breweries.  Totally in charge, sweet, the cutest smile, and  dont eff with her. If you are in with her, you are blessed by God.
I tasted so many great beers from these Wisconsin brewers, I had so many great conversations with so many Wisconsin Brewers, and tasted so many stunningly fantastic portions of unique food, that I make this statement sober, and many of you know me, and that I am sincere. Almost never has a festival gone by so quickly, your having fun pouring beer, talking with the people who have accepted you as a compadre, oogling over fantastic special beers and food, great admiring crowd, it has seldom been better.

And as all the Wisconsin Brewers state, why is there any need to look out of Wisconsin for great beer? There was just such a great feeling about this festival. Believe you me, being retired, I have to cut down on my expenditures, but this is one festival I cannot eliminate. My highest recommendation.

Grynder

Links: 

Wisconsin Brewers Guild - http://www.wibrewersguild.com

Bay Shore Town Center - http://bayshoretowncenter.com/

City of Glendale - http://www.welcometoglendale.com

Summer Solstice Beer Lovers Festival - http://www.welcometoglendale.com/popup-feature.php

Photos from the Fest!