International Beer Fest at the IX Center Info and Giveaway

On May 11th and 12th, the 2^nd annual IX Beer Fest will take over the IX Center in Cleveland.   This event will draw craft beer lovers from across the Midwest together to share some fantastic beers.  Last year, the event was a great success and is sure to be even bigger and better this year.   If you would like to read my recap of last year’s event to get an idea of what to expect you can find it by clicking here.  

Some of the event highlights this year will include:

• 200 renowned breweries from around the world pouring upwards of 800 select beers during three public tasting sessions.
• A Real Ale Bar featuring nothing but Cask Conditioned Brews.  Right now there are over 20 different beers on the list.
• Appearances by celebrity brewers, authors and personalities sharing enlightening industry insights.
• Educational programming at Brew U, where beer-centric demonstrations and discussions will highlight trends in home brewing, regional developments and green brewing.
• The Tasting Room will offer seminars on food and beer pairings; identifying beer flavors; and more.
• A VIP Brewers Lounge to taste rare or limited edition beers, meet the brewers and enjoy additional exclusive programming.

The Sessions will run: 

Session 1 Friday, May 11, 2012 7pm - 11pm 

Session 2 Saturday, May 12, 2012 1pm - 5pm 

Session 3 Saturday, May 12, 2012 7pm - 11pm 
Tickets for the event are on sale. The ticket options are: 
Single-session General Admission: Choose from Session 1, 2 or 3: $45
Single-session VIP exBEERience: Choose from Session 1, 2 or 3: $75
ALL-Session General Admission: Includes ALL 3 sessions: $120
ALL-Session VIP exBEERience: Includes ALL 3 sessions: $200
Designated Driver Ticket: no alcohol sampling: $10 per session

General Admission includes:
Admission to selected session(s) 
36 tasting tickets good for 2-ounce pours each 
Commemorative tasting cup 
Access to all public special appearances, demos & educational programming 
Festival program FREE one-year subscription (or renewal) to DRAFT Magazine (*advance online purchase only)

VIP exBEERience Admission ALSO includes:
ALL benefits of General Admission PLUS....
6 additional tasting tickets good for 2-ounce pours each
Commemorative T-Shirt
Unlimited access to VIP Brewers Lounge to enjoy select rare brews
Exclusive programming and opportunity to meet and mingle with Brewers 
Complimentary hors d’oeurves and food pairings


If you are interested in volunteering there is still time to sign up at: http://www.ixbeerfest.com/how-to-participate/Volunteer.aspx   My fiancée and I are taking advantage of this experience and will be volunteering during the Friday Night session!

The beer list for the event is constantly being updated and can be found here: http://www.ixbeerfest.com/Breweries-Beer.aspx

Ok…I think that is plenty of information to soak in about the event.  About a week before the event I plan to publish my “Beer Guide” to the IX Beer Fest.  In this, I hope to highlight some of the can’t miss brews at the event, along with some other activities that you shouldn’t miss.  

Now for some even better news.  I’ve been given two General Admission tickets to give away to one lucky reader.   To enter, simply follow the instructions below!


The winner of the 2 tickets as selected by Random.org is comment number #28 by Ryan McNaughton!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me what you are most looking forward to during the IX Beer Fest. 

2. Share this post on Facebook by posting this link: http://hops.me/53pj

Then come back here and post a comment with your Facebook link.  You can only do this once, and it counts as one entry.

3. Share this on Twitter: 

I want to win 2 tickets to the @IXBeerFest from @CleFoodandBrews:  http://hops.me/53pj  #CraftBeer #Beer
The come back here and post a comment with your Twitter link. This will count as one entry. You can do this every single day. Just make sure to leave a comment each time you tweet!

Rules:

--You have until Friday,  May 4th, 2012 at 9:00pm EST to enter.

--The winner will be picked at random using Random.org.   
--Only comments  with links left on this post will count.  If you tweet, facebook or enter in any other way be sure to leave a comment here telling me you did it with the link to that post.  
--You must leave a SEPARATE comment for each Entry, otherwise your entry will only count once.  

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. 

Disclosure:  I was given two tickets to give away and Media Passes to attend the event.  I am also choosing to Volunteer at the event.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.