I’m looking forward to attending the Seattle International Beerfest at Seattle Center, July 10-12 2015.  Hubby and I are even planning to take the day off work so we can get there right when they open at noon on Friday, to hopefully beat the crowds and ensure we get to taste everything we want.  This unfortunately isn’t an event which has representatives from the breweries & cideries (beer & cider is served by volunteers), but it is still a great opportunity to drink some cider (and beer).

Entry gets you a wristband, tasting glass, and a specific number of tickets.  Advance sales are $25 (10 tickets) or $45 (40 tickets).  At the door it is $30 cash (10 tickets).  Additional tickets are sold for $1 each.  Beer & cider tastes (4oz) cost between 1 and 7 tickets each depending on their cost, where most are 1-3 tickets.  There are also a few selections to get a full pint for only $3, including Crispin Blackberry (I assume they mean Blackberry Pear).  Note that not all selections are on tap (some are bottles).  There will be music and food trucks.  This event is appealing as it appears more spread out than many, which often crowd folks into a small location.  If you are going, I’d recommend planning ahead what you want to taste; this helpful map even includes their locations and the number of tickets each will cost.

Ciders they plan to have:

Ace Pinapple (draft, 5% ABV, from CA, 1 ticket) – a very sweet but tasty pineapple cider; I like this one

Aspall Dry Cider (bottle, 6,8%, from England, 3 tickets) – dry English Draft style cider; I haven’t tried anything from them, so it’ll be on my list

Ace Blackjack 21 (bottle, 9%, from CA, 4 tickets) – a Chardonnay barrel cider which was a special release for their 21st birthday; this one was pretty good, but not worth the $15+ a bottle in my opinion

Crispin Blackberry (draft, 5%, from CA, only available as a pint for 3 tickets?) – I assume this is blackberry pear; I like this one – yummy and easy to drink, not too sweet

Crispin The Saint (bottle, 6.9%, from CA, 2 tickets) – part of their artisinal reserves, and has beer yeast & maple syrup; not a fan of this one as it tasted a bit like beer

Crispin Venus Reigns (bottle, 6.9%, from CA, 3 tickets) – wine barrel aged pear cider; I like this one, and surprisingly didn’t pick up much red wine taste, more berry/fruit – see my review

Rev Nat’s Hopland #5 / Envy (draft, 10.2%, from OR, 2 tickets) – a hopped cider in his 7 Deadly Sins collection; I haven’t tried it as I don’t like hopped ciders, but this would be a good time to have a taste as this stuff is pricey ($15), and for 2 tickets that is a good deal!

Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider (bottle, 5%, from England, 2 tickets) – apparently a plain cider which I haven’t gotten around to trying, so this will be on my list; my hubby likes their fruit ales

Wandering Angus Unspecified Variety (draft, TBD, from OR, TBD tickets) – no info given; a new release?; I’ll try it, although I haven’t liked two others from them (Wickson & Bloom, both too dry for my tastes, Wickson moreso)

Wyder’s Reposado Pear (draft, 6.9%, from VT, 1 ticket) – tequila barrel aged pear cider; I like this one – very smooth, and goes well with Mexican food, which can not often be said about cider!