We've officially entered fall beer festival season | Around the Brew Bend

OK, OK, we know. The Aug. 10 Tallahassee Beer Festival next weekend isn't exactly happening in the "fall," but it does kick off a HUGE slate of beer events taking place between now and the end of 2024.

Of course, there's no bigger one by size than the TLHBF, which is entering its 6th year and expected to draw over 2,500 attendees and bring in over 100 beer, cider, mead, seltzer and hard soda brands once again. It's back at the Tucker Center as well, where it has been held for the last 4 years.

Although, a piece of us still misses its old location at the part-covered/part-open air Centre of Tallahassee - where it was held the first two years - but the way that potential entertainment complex for Tallahassee fell apart when the developer spearheading the project passed away unexpectedly a few years ago, is another column for another day.

The 2024 TLHBF starts at 1 p.m. for VIP ticketholders, who snatched up the premium passes quickly once again this year; VIP has been sold out for months. General admission ticketholders get in at 2 p.m. and can begin their quest of unlimited samples for the next 4 hours until the TLH Beer Fest ends at 6 p.m.

Try something new

And while it should go without saying, the best part of events like this is the ability to try TONS of different brands with zero pressure. It's pretty simple: If you find something you like, drink as much of it as you want during the time you're there.

And if you find something you don't like, don't waste a single second on it — dump it and move on to the next one. Because with 100 brands pouring - and each of them bringing 2-4 choices each — you're looking at an average of 300 different beers, ciders, meads and seltzers to pick from. Meaning, this this is your chance to really explore and find things you love and skip those you don't.

Of course, per tradition at this event, among those 100 brands pouring will be 20-plus homebrewing outfits from around the Southeast. So not only will attendees get to try mainstream, commercial brands, there will be an entire "Homebrewers Row" of beers and ciders to try that you will likely never be able to find again after the TLH Beer Fest. (We always give folks this #ProTip: "Hit the homebrewers up first — because most of them brew in small, 5-gallon batches, and those rations run out quickly!)

Celebrity judging contest

There won't be a Friday night Pre-Party this year like there was at Proof Brewing last year, but there will be a private, invite-only beer-judging contest with a panel of celebrity judges, including folks like City of Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey, FSU Broadcaster and Seminole Headlines host Jeff Cameron, local brewery leaders and even members of our Sister Society, the TLH Ladies That Beer.

The contest will have 4 categories - IPA, Stout, Lager and Sour - with a handful of entries from various local established breweries and homebrewers. Should be interesting to see who wins!

Moving the Tallahassee Beer Mile

One other wrinkle this year: The Tallahassee Beer Mile is being held the night before on Friday, Aug. 9, rather than the morning of the TLBHF like it has in the past. Y'all have probably read our stance on this event before in previous columns:

We think drinking 4 beers while running 4 laps in the oppressive August Florida heat - and THEN attending an all-you-can-drink beer festival - is certifiably insane. So when we heard they moved this to the night before (when it should also be cooler), this seemed like a super wise call.

New Drink Tallahassee Beer merch

As for us? You already know we never miss this event. We're debuting a HUGE new collection of #DrinkTallahasseeBeer merch - including some new hats and a killer new shirt design we think might just sell out before Hour 2 - and you can find us at our big ol' booth somewhere among the festival once again. The new collection of shirts and hats will be online at our website (tlhbeersociety.com) next week ahead of the festival and you can order there and pick up the day of TLHBF if you'd like.

And if you're one of the 2% of people in Tallahassee who STILL don't have their 2024 TLH Beer Society Membership Card yet - which unlocks perks and discounts to 85-plus local businesses around North Florida, South Georgia and South Alabama - then you're in luck: We'll be selling our remaining stock of them (roughly 40 total Golden Ticket Membership Cards) for just $20 each at the TLHBF.

You still have 5 months to use it, but with over half the year go, they'll now be half price the rest of the way. And, like always, a portion of the proceeds of every card sold benefits our good friends at the Leon County Humane Society.

It all goes down next Saturday at The Tuck! Hope to see ya there!

Other local beer events on the horizon

We mentioned that we're entering Fall Festival Season, so let's take a look at some of the other events coming up soon:

Sept. 7 - First-ever Thomasville Brewfest. This event is in its inaugural year and is being held at the Thomasville Fairgrounds. It has both VIP and General Admission tickets for sale. And we are considering charting a brew bus up and back for it if we get enough interest. If you're interested, email us at [email protected]

Sept. 27-28 - Ology's Oktoberfest. Ology plans to shut down the parking lot for 2 days at its Power Mill location and feature German beers, German food and German music.  Stay tuned to Ology's social media for full details.

Oct. 12 - Tallahassee Beer Society 7th Anniversary Party. We'll be holding our now-annual birthday party at The Hub at Feather Oaks, and it will once again feature at LEAST one beer from every local brewery we cover. We'll also have a host of great food trucks, games and live music. Tickets now on sale at TLHBeerSociety.com

Oct. 20 - 26th Annual Elder Care Oktoberfest. This is Tallahassee's oldest and biggest annual Oktoberfest. And for the third year in a row, it will be held at picturesque Cascades Park, which only allows ONE beer event to take place there all year - this one!

Nov. 9 - St. Marks Crafts & Drafts. This is part craft fair, part-beer festival. And it's a ton of fun. Last year was the first-ever event, and this year will be Round 2. It's held right by the water in St. Marks, and there is always great food and live music to go along with it. We'll be there once again, too! Might even bring back those #DrinkWakullaBeer shirts just for that event!

So there you have it! A full run down of all that's happening on our local beerfest scene for the rest of the year. And don't forget to get those 2025 SGI Brewfest tickets when they go on sale on Nov. 29 (Black Friday) at SGIBrewFest.com.

This event sells our QUICKLY every year, so you better grab your tickets early if you wanna join us for some beach and brews in 2025 on beautiful St. George Island!

Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: We've officially entered fall beer festival season