For the 11^th year running the Atlantic City Convention Center opened its doors for the A.C. Beer and Music Festival. With over 150 breweries from all over the United States participating, some with a couple variations to try, others with as many as 8 there was no shortage of quality craft brews to try. With over 20,000 tickets sold to the events 3 sessions (Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Saturday night) there was some concern about whether things would be too crowded. The Friday session however had very few issues with the substantial, but quick-moving entrance line getting hop heads into the festival quickly with complimentary mini beer mug in hand. Attendees on Saturday appear to not be as lucky with entry and some beer lines moving quite slowly.

Despite being a predominantly New Jersey event over a dozen Pennsylvania breweries made the trip to showcase their wide ranging styles of beers.  Long lines quickly developed at some of the more well-known breweries with Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Troegs Brewing Company and Victory Brewing Company amassing lines 20-30 people long within 20 minutes of opening. Kudos to those pouring at the stations though as the lines moved quickly without a sense of being rushed when it was your turn to decide which brew to sample. What they may have lacked in buzz and sheer number of people some of the less crowded booths such as Wyndridge Farm Brewing and Erie Brewing Co. offered a personal feel. Each took the time to chat about various aspects of the brewery, their distribution to other parts of Pennsylvania and some tidbits about the specific samples they brought with them.

If you’re in the South Jersey, Eastern PA area this event is definitely worth the modest $55 price tag for a chance to sample a wide variety of breweries and their assorted offerings. Supplying quality live music (Dashboard Confessional, Manchester Orchestra and Reel Big Fish headlined the 3 sessions), a wide variety of food to snack on (Chickie’s and Pete’s fries, Italian sausage sandwiches, pretzel necklaces! and more) and more than enough bathrooms made for an extremely drunk crowd friendly environment.  The only suggestion may be to hit the Friday night session if feasible, it offers a more intimate feel with shorter lines, open spaces to enjoy yourself in between gulps and a few chances to have some conversations with the various reps, owners and brewers at each stand.

• Broken Goblet Brewing
  • Bubba’s Tea Bag Pale Ale – American Pale Ale (5.9% ABV)
  • Under Her Spell – Saison (8.1% ABV)
• Commonwealth Ciders
• Dock Street Brewing Co.
  • Bohemian Pilsner – Czech Pilsner (5.0% ABV)
• Erie Brewing Company
  • Skipper’s Stout – Sweet Stout (7.2% ABV)
  • Irish Red Ale – Irish Ale (N/A% ABV)
  • Final Destination IPA – India Pale Ale (7.0% ABV)
• Evil Genius Beer Company
  • Purple Monkey Dishwasher – Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter (6.7% ABV)
  • The Files Are “In” The Computer? – Belgian-style Dubbel Ale (8.5% ABV)
• Lancaster Brewing Company
  • Double Chocolate Milk Stout – Milk Stout (6.8%)
  • Hop Hog IPA – India Pale Ale (7%)
  • Milk Stout – Milk Stout (5.3%)
• Manayunk
  • Sir Dank-A-Lot – Triple IPA (10.2%)
• Nodding Head
  • Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse – Berliner Weissbier (3.75%)
  • Monkey Knife Fight – Pale Lager (4.75%)
• Philadelphia Brewing
  • Joe Coffee Porter – Porter (5.5%)
  • Session IPA from PHL – Session (3.9%)
• Rivertowne Brewing
  • Grateful White – Witbier (6.1%)
  • Jah Mon – Session IPA (5.0%)
• Sly Fox Brewing Company
  • Royal Weiss – Bavarian-style Wheat Ale (5.6%)
• Springhouse Brewing
  • Big Gruesome – Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout (8.3%)
• Troegs Independent Brewing
  • Scratch Beer
  • Sunshine Pils – Pilsner (4.5%)
• Victory Brewing Company
  • Vital IPA – India Pale Ale (6.5%)
• Weyerbacher Brewing
  • Jesters Choice #4 – Smoked Porter (7%)
  • Last Chance IPA – India Pale Ale (5.9%)
• Wyndridge Farm Brewing
  • Barn Dog – Chocolate Vanilla Imperial Porter (7%)
• Yards Brewing Company
  • Extra Special Ale (ESA) – Premium Bitter (6.3%)
  • Brawler – Mild Ale (4.2%)
• Yuengling
  • Summer Wheat – German Hefeweizen (4.5%)