By Nick Thomas
Sometimes you just need to be with your people. There’s no shame in being a craft-beer snob, but there’s been at least one occasion where you spent a solid 10 minutes perusing an extensive beer menu at a restaurant making sure you’re ordering the perfect beer, only for your friend to order a Corona. You didn’t say anything, but you gave a little sigh knowing he wouldn’t appreciate the story of how you discovered your favorite new IPA over the weekend.
The beer-loving brothers at Shelton Brothers are throwing another one of their beer-lover (and cider-lover) events for people to sample worldly craft beverages, simply dubbed The Festival, on November 8-9 in San Pedro, California at a venue called Crafted. While they dabble in brewing a bit, the Shelton Brothers’ main gig is importing artisanal beers and ciders to the U.S. (they’re also getting into wine and spirits). They have firm criteria for what beer they invite to U.S. soil, including: it must be brewed in small batches using traditional methods, use distinctive yeast and be slow fermented.
The Festival’s list of available beers, ciders and mead for the event is impressive, if not intimidating. It features nearly 100 breweries and cideries, including international brews from all corners of the planet such as Japan’s Minoh and New Zealand’s 8 Wired under the same roof as local California haunts such as Brouwerji West and The Rare Barrel. See the full list on Shelton Brothers’ website here.
Drinks will be distributed using ticketing system. One ticket gets you a single 2-ounce pour in a commemorative glass. Tickets can be purchased at the event or online ahead of time here in a variety of ways—a half-day (referred to as a “session”), all-day or all-weekend pass, or go à la carte and buy tickets as you need them. A portion of each ticket will be donated Sharefest, a non-profit organization whose goals include mentoring youth and encouraging volunteerism.
So if you’ll find yourself in the Los Angeles-area this November, come join your people.
