Calendars are valuable items to possess. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to mark down the days until BEER FESTIVAL SEASON!
The unofficial kickoff of festival season in St. Louis has always been Microfest. It’s one of the biggest festivals we have in the area and has been an annual event since 1995. Yes, the festival is so old it can legally drink beer (if it had a mouth (that’s a weird thing to say)).
Let’s just list off a few things that make this festival fairly awesome, shall we?
- There are over 125 breweries pouring over 600 beers
- There is live music
- There is food available to purchase
- You can get a free ticket to a session if you volunteer for one of the other sessions
- Designated drivers get into the general admission area for free
- There is a homebrew competition
- There is a “Brewer’s Olympics” Competition
- Leashed dogs are allowed
Their VIP section features beers you can’t try anywhere at the festival without a VIP ticket. Here’s a list of JUST THE ODELL BREWING BEERS available to VIP ticket holders:
Friday Night
Myrcenario
Friek 2016
Piña Agria 2016
Saturday Day
Barrel Aged Mountain Standard
Myrcenario
Woodcut No. 7 (Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout)
Saturday Night
Jolly Russian
Friek 2016
Flemish Giant Barrel Aged Flanders Red
For VIPs, there will also be beers from O’Fallon Brewery, Scratch, UCBC, Narrow Gauge, Heavy Riff, After Hours Brewery, Boulevard, North Coast, Big Muddy, Arrogant Brewing and more.
Tickets are on sale now but moving fast so order them sooner than later by clicking here.
If that weren’t enough, the festival is one big fundraiser for Lift for Life Gym, a non-profit after school program dedicated to helping St. Louis’ at-risk, inner city youth. Here’s a little more about the organization:
The goal of the Lift for Life Gym is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children ages 8 to 18 during the crucial hours of 3 – 6pm. Our non-profit is unique in that we are 100% free to all our members. There is no membership fee, no cost for any programs we offer, nor do we charge for the transportation that we offer to and from the gym each day. We provide these children with a nutritious meal each night, homework assistance, sports, art, music, writing, tutoring, mental health assistance, and our Olympic-Style weightlifting team as well as various social outings and summer specialty programs.
We rely heavily on volunteers and donations from the community in order to keep our doors open for the 450 unduplicated youth members we serve each year. Without the generous donations of supporters and the time dedicated to helping by our volunteers, we would not be able to continue serving this incredible community.
Yes, you can tell your spouse you’re attending a beer festival “for the kids” and you’d technically be telling the truth.
Ticket Giveaway!
If you skipped everything and scrolled down this far for the ticket giveaway, at least go up a little bit and read about Lift for Life. It’s a great organization that deserves more support!
Our ticket giveaway contest is now OVER! Here are the winners:
VIP Ticket Winner: Travis B.
Friday Winner: Steve R.
Saturday Afternoon Winner: Matt W.
Saturday Evening Winner: Sandi H.
Thank you to all who participated!
Win Two VIP Tickets to the Microfest Session of Your Choice!
Justin Phelps
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