When it comes to beer events in this town, the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival is one of our favorites. And it's not just because we think cans are the best vehicle for delivering ice cold beer to our mouths.
This year's festival, which will be held Saturday, May 17, will bring more than 250 canned beers to Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza. In addition to more than 80 breweries, the event also will offer live entertainment, food trucks, and beer Olympics.
See also: 3 Reasons Why the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival Is the Best in Arizona
The festival also includes the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Championship, a competition judged by group of over 110 certified beer judges who sampled over 200 beers at Hotel Valley Ho. This year's contest featured more than 200 beers representing 10 different states. Here are the winners:
India Pale Ale Gold: Modus, Ska Brewing Silver: Happy Camper IPA, Santa Fe Brewing Bronze: Solis IPA, Mike Hess Brewing
American Pale Ale Gold: Lumberyard IPA, Lumberyard Brewing Silver: Knotty Pine, Lumberyard Brewing Bronze: Hop Knot, Four Peaks Brewing
English Pale Ale Gold: Lumberyard Red Ale, Lumberyard Brewing Silver: ESB, Ska Brewing Bronze: 8th Street Pale Ale, Four Peaks Brewing
Wheat Ale Gold: Hefeweizen, SanTan Brewing Silver: El Hefe Speaks, DC Brau Brewing Bronze: EOS Hefeweizen, Nebraska Brewing
Stout & Porter Gold: Double Brown Stout, Deep Ellum Brewing Silver: Penn Quarter Porter, DC Brau Brewing Bronze: Buffalo Sweat, Tallgrass Brewing
Amber & Brown Gold: G'Kights, Oskar Blues Brewing Silver: Kilt Lifter, Four Peaks Brewing Bronze: OB-1, Snake River Brewing
Gold / Blonde / Pilsner & Light Lager Gold: Claritas, Mike Hess Brewing Silver: The Tradition, DC Brau Brewing Bronze: Trout Slayer, Big Sky Brewing
Fruit Beer Gold: Summer Solstice, Anderson Valley Silver: Mr. Pineapple, SanTan Brewing Bronze: Hell or High Watermelon, 21st Amendment Brewery
Specialty Beer Gold: Black Thunder, Austin Beerworks Silver: Monk's Blood, 21st Amendment Brewery Bronze: Rye IPA, Black Market Brewing
In addition to these brews and more, the festival will host six local food trucks: Grilled Cheese Truck, Brat Haus, Carte Blanche Tacos, the Traveling Monk, Arizona BBQ Club, and Honey Bear's BBQ. Live music will be provided by Sugar Thieves, Dry River Yacht Club, Take Cover, and DJ Slippe.
General admission to the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival costs $35 in advance or $45 at the gates. Tickets include a souvenir 4-ounce sampling can and and 20 beer samples.
VIP tickets, which cost $100, include early entrance to the event, access to exclusive VIP beer garden, souvenir 4-ounce sampling can and 20 beer samples, catered food, and private bathrooms.
General admission for the 21-and-over event begins at 1 p.m. The event, which is rain or shine, will end at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival website.
For a list of participating breweries, click through to the next page.
New breweries to the festival include: Alaskan Brewing Angry Orchard Armadillo Ale Works Australian Avery Ballast Point Barrio Bell's Black Market Black Tooth Cedar Creek Deep Ellum Destihl Dog Tag Epic Founders Griffin Claw Guinness Hangar 24 Hops & Grains Johnny Appleseed Cider Mike Hess Nebraska Redstone Meadery Rogue Twisted Tea Uncharted Cider Upslope Utah Brewers Cooperative Wild Cider
Returning breweries include: 21st Amendment Abita Anderson Valley Austin Beerworks Big Sky Blue Moon Bohemian Boulder Beer Breckenridge DC Brau Fort George Four Peaks GoodLife Goose Island Grand Canyon Joseph James Kona Leinenkugel Lumberyard DSC_0302Marble Maui Mudshark New Belgium NOLA Oskar Blues Prescott Redhook Sam Adams Santa Fe SanTan Shock Top Sierra Nevada Ska Snake River Sun King TailGate Beer Tallgrass Two Brothers Uinta Widmer Woodchuck