Beer is the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage. It is celebrated throughout the year at different festivals. These range from wine-tasting-like events to all out bacchanals with music, dancing, and food. Of the thousands of beer-themed events, 20 festivals stand out either for the quality of their beer or the sheer size of the party.

Let the count down begin:

20. Mondial de la Biere. This Montreal-based festival is all about craft beers and a great atmosphere. Aside from a handful of larger participants, this is an event that is almost exclusively made up of small batch breweries. The Biere gets poured annually, in late spring/early summer.

19. National Winter Ales Festival. This is Great Britain’s second largest festival. It showcases the best winter ales in the U.K. Think thick and flavorful beers like stouts and porters. The NWAF has a big sister, the Great British Beer Festival (#5 on our list). This winter version was initiated in 1997 to give more of the spotlight to these seasonal brews that are often not available during the summer festival season. For fans of darker beers, this is a great bet.

18. Annual Australian Beer Festival. This young festival is held near Sydney’s picturesque harbor. It features boutique-style brews from across the continent. Held in late October (that’s springtime Down Under), the event is only three years old, but one of the biggest draws for beer aficionados from all across New South Wales.

17. Bitter and Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival. This one is purely Australian. Located in the Sydney area, it features the nation’s best microbrews in a fun, extremely laid-back environment. Some food journalists call Bitter and Twisted the quintessential Australian beer drinking experience. Aside from craft beers, there is music and dancing (sometimes at the same time, although that doesn’t seem to be a requirement). The event also boasts a surprisingly wide array of local and international cuisine.

16. Qingdao International Beer Festival. This is one of China’s largest beer festivals. The beer might not compare to other boutique festivals’ offerings, but the energy and atmosphere are second to none. There are ongoing performances, both kitschy and cultural, and plenty of food to accompany the good spirited imbibing. Also, there is a karaoke stage that resembles an arena concert. If you have fantasies of singing in front of thousands, this is your place.

15. World Beer Festival, Durham. Over one hundred breweries participate in this annual summertime event in North Carolina. It’s a great place for micro-brews, as well as for atmosphere. Think Bluegrass music, lots of people (partiers and aficionados alike), and a famed venue. The event is held in the Durham baseball stadium. That’s right, the place where that classic film, Bull Durham, was shot.

14. Cardiff University Real Ale and Cider Festival. This one is unique because it is one of the largest student-run festivals in the world. Over 80 types of ale are on tap, as is plenty of the titular cider. All this occurs in an energetic and historic setting of a storied academic institution. There is live music and no commercial bent whatsoever (the proceeds go to charity). This has to be one of the purest festivals in Europe.

13. Canada Cup of Beer. This Vancouver-based event features hundreds of varieties of beer from specially invited brewers. Arguably the best collection of craft brews north of the border. A jury awards prizes for the best of the best.

12. Singapore’s Beer Festival. This one wins the award for most spectacular. It is part of the festivities surrounding Singapore’s Formula One race. The festival features worldwide brewing companies and is also a who’s who of Singapore, with corporate honchos rubbing shoulder with the public.

11. St. Louis Brewers Heritage Fest. Wow. Who knew that there was more to the beer scene of STL than Budweiser? In fact, there is a glut of craft brewers in the area producing beverages tasty enough to attract world-class aficionados. The event is held outdoors in early May and features food and a decent atmosphere as well as some great suds.

10. Great Irish Beer Festival. This Galway-based fete showcases some of the best microbrews on the Emerald Isle. It is held in late October, and, like one would expect from any event that can be described in one sentence with the words beer and Irish included, the atmosphere is almost sublime.

9. Czech Beer Festival. This massive event is held at the Prague Fairgrounds each June. The best Czech breweries pour their finest brews for all comers. Yes, Czech beers are amongst Europe’s finest, but what really makes this event is all the extras. Aside from brewers, the country’s best butchers, sausage makers, and specialty chefs are there sampling out their products.

8. Great American Beer Festival. Like Portland, Oregon, Denver is a great beer city. Microbrews abound and the populatioshows a keen appreciation for a good mug of suds. The quality of the beer being sampled here is second only to Portland’s beer festival. The atmosphere resembles a kind of mini-Oktoberfest. Denver is, arguably, one of the most beer crazy cities in the U.S. and it shows at GABF. The proceedings can get insanely crowded and noisy. But it’s all part of the atmosphere, and, if you come for the craft beers, you won’t be disappointed.

7. Kerstbierfestival. This Belgian festival has all the right ingredients for a first class event. Things are laid back, not noisy and drunken. It is about the bier here. Seasonal craft beers are on sample. Because of the small batches, the event is more about a passion for brewing than it is a commercial venture.

6. Brewtopia: The Great World Beer Festival. This New York based event is held late in October. Because of the diversity of beers, it has been dubbed the United Nations of Beer. However, it is not the large event that the name might suggest. 20,000 attendees taste some of the world’s finest craft brews. A jury doles out awards to the finest of the participants. Brewtopia is more about craft brews gaining a bit of notoriety than it is about atmosphere. It is, nonetheless, a great event for aficionados.

5. Great British Beer Festival. This late summer festival is HUGE. 400-plus English breweries join 200 from the mainland and overseas to create an event with almost innumerable tasting options. Held in Earl’s Court in London, this festival crowns the Champion Beer of Britain. The best aspect, though, is that GBBF is staffed entirely by volunteers. It takes the commercial edge off the proceedings and makes it a bit more enjoyable.

4. Great Japan Beer Festival. Outside of Germany, no other nation loves their beer as much as Japan. This three-city summertime festival moves from Osaka to Tokyo to Yokohama. It is at these events that Japan shrugs off its “only watery lager” stereotype. There are well over 100 craft brews available for sampling in each city. And, this being Japan, things get crowded. While this might cause some spillage, it makes for an unbeatable atmosphere.

3. Berlin Beer Festival. It’s not quite Oktoberfest, but who can complain when there is a 2 km-long “beer garden” running through downtown Berlin. The vibe is a bit more laid back than one might expect. It is not the overly stimulating atmosphere of Munich’s Oktoberfest. At B.B.F. it’s mostly about the beer, and experiencing summer in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.

2. Oregon Brewer’s Festival. Portland has more microbreweries per capita than any major city in Germany. While the beer-making traditions might not run as deep (O.B.F. is a mere 21 years old in 2008), this is surely the best place to sample beer in the U.S. In 2008, 72 breweries have been invited to take part. The participants do not only constitute Portland’s best, but also the nation’s best. This is THE place to come if you want to try hundreds of microbrews without having to walk more than two city blocks.

1. Oktoberfest. What else could hold the top spot? Sure, Oktoberfest is celebrated everywhere, but the real deal is in Munich. In 2008, it is estimated that 6 million people will travel to Munich for this greatest of all sudsy bacchanals (despite it’s title, Oktoberfest starts in mid-September and ends in early Oktober, I mean, October.). Yes, Oktoberfest is about tasty beers and diverse choices, but it also about food, gigantic beer steins, singing, and good times. Even people who don’t like hops will have a great time.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 5:23 pm and is filed under festivals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.