The Top September Event in Carbondale is Beer Fest
Beer fest at the beer garden at Pinch Penny Pub has been a highlight of back to school season in Carbondale for 22 years. The idea is simple. The bar owners contacts local beer distributors and have them set p a sampling booth in the beer garden. Then, a local barbeque caterer, Great Boars of Fire, is brought in to feed the masses and the party ensues.
Beer fest costs $18 in advance or $20 at the door, if there are tickets available at the door. For the last two years, friends who have made the mistake of not pre-buying their tickets have been left out in the cold.
Beer fest takes place at the nicest beer garden in Carbondale and starts promptly at 2 p.m. on the second or third Saturday in September. This year, it’s Sept. 16, the third Saturday. The day is usually hot, about 90 degrees and the beer garden is packed, as is the attached bar. The food is kept inside the bar and the beer garden is lined with beer vendors.
At the door, you get a souvenir beer glass, a guide to who’s offering what, and a ticket for the drawings to be held at the end of the day. after that, it’s all you care to eat and drink for the next four hours.
One of the joys of beer fest is that many of the distributors have small giveaways at their tables, beads, pins, bottle openers and the like. And, at the end of the party, many giveaway the table decorations and whatever else they have left. Two years ago, since we knew someone who was serving for one of the distributors, we walked out with a mixed case of imported beers. Most of the time, the giveaways are inflatable beer bottles and advertising signs.
The raffle at the end of party also features great prizes, like patio umbrellas, bicycles and scooters. The bar hires a band to play for the afternoon, though the music is secondary to the mingling and drinking. For many part-year residents, beer fest is a first chance to reconnect for the fall semester.
Another perk of beer fest is that distributors use it to gauge the popularity of new products that are being considered for the market or test marketed. Last year, that meant lots of combo drinks that were energy drinks with alcohol. Anheiser Busch also test marketed a fruity beer combination. It was pretty tasty.
Although the event is called beer fest, distributors are invited to bring any form of malt beverage, so the event appeals to non-beer drinkers too. Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Zima always have very busy stands as do Guinness and Samuel Adams. It was at a beer fest that we discovered an affection for Sam Adams Cherry wheat.
Though it is not the main focus of the day, the barbeque is also a highlight. Great Boars of Fire is one of several local barbeque teams to have previously been names a champion at the Memphis is May World Barbeque Championships. The pulled barbeque is slow-roasted and the caterers baked beans and potato salad are also very good and help people prevent over-indulging in the alcohol outside. The bar also offers free soft drinks to the designated driver, popcorn, and football on the big screen for people who need a break from the heat outdoors.
For some unknown reason, the other big party in Carbondale in September is almost always the same weekend as beer fest. It must be because beer fest is only a four-hour event and the Main Street Pig Out is all weekend long.
While not as condensed and direct as beer fest, the Pig Out is another excuse for Carbondale residents to get together and drink beer and eat barbeque.
For the Pig Out, downtown businesses close the biggest parking lot along The Strip and turn it into a barbeque competition and big party. Award-winning barbeque teams from around the region are invited to the barbeque cookoff and to sell their wares to visitors. A beer distributor or two, and a soft drink vendor, are brought in as well and several bands put on shows over the course of the three-day event.
The Pig out itself is a bit of fun and a little more family oriented than beer fest, with events planned for children, such as face painting. However, as a local resident, Pig Out is a nightmare. It means that on the main north-south thoroughfare, a two-lane highway, pedestrians will be walking out into traffic without much regard to their personal safety.
And, it means that any hope of retiring early those nights is shot, since the bands play until about midnight and you can hear the bands and loudspeakers for several blocks from the actual event.
Worse yet, unlike beer fest, where I pay a cover charge and then everything is free, at the Pig Out, you have to buy tokens and trade tokens for food and drinks. And, like so many festivals, the quantities in which the tokens are offered is never the same as the quantity you need to buy something. And, there’s no refunds on left over tokens.
My other complaint about the Pig Out is simply the price. Two of us can go to beer fest for $36, have a fun afternoon and dinner while we’re there. For the same amount of money at the Pig Out, we would likely get one, possibly two beers each, and a pulled barbeque sandwich, probably without the side dishes.
It isn’t that the Pig Out fun and a great deal on most weekends, but since it has chosen to compete head to head with beer fest, we haven’t been back to the Pig Out. It loses by comparison every time.
The third Carbondale event we visit most years in September is Arts in Celebration, a community-wide event to draw attention to the fine arts. There are walking tours of the local art galleries, music in the park, and a huge art show. There are also events planned so people with no hands-on experience with art can get their hands dirty and take home something they created.
Of the three events, this is the most family-oriented and the one I would feel best about bring children to. There is no alcohol involved, just a fun weekend in the park, and in the downtown appreciating the creativity of friends and neighbors. I enjoy the event every year.
Carbondale has diverse activities throughout the year and September is no different. For four years now, we have made plans every September to head to Pinch Penny Pub for Beer Fest and this year will be no exception!
