4 ounce tasting mug

As many of you know, the Orange County Beer Festival was held yesterday at Irvine Lake. As promised there were lots of breweries, lots of beer to drink and plenty of heat.

Since it was so hot – the thermometer in my car showed 100 degrees – I was shocked at how many people had on jeans, closed-toe shoes and dark shirts. However, most people seemed to be aware we were in the middle of a heat wave and dressed as such. Thankfully there was shade to be had and the vendors that happened to be in the shade produced a crowd.

Our purpose was to try beers we’d not had before. I sampled 14, but did not entirely drink them all. Some were just too heavy for such a hot summer day. I tried to stick to lights, wheats, whites, etc. plus that’s what I tend to prefer. Although, one of my favorites was none of those, exactly. MateVeza an organic beer with caffeine.

More photos and commentary after the jump.

All of the vendors were extremely knowledgeable, not only of their own brews, but beer in general and were fun to talk to.  They often asked what we liked and were genuinely interested in our responses. There were over 50 microbreweries and probably more than 200 different types of beer.

OC Beer Festival - notice how everyone is in the shade. The beer vendors were set-up under the tents that lined two sides of the grounds as well as the center, creating two large grassy aisles. The food trucks were in the parking lot next to the lake.

The immense pyrocumulous cloud from the Station Fire is visible from many locations in Orange County

Metal Shop, an '80s cover band entertained the crowd and a passing bicyclist.

The live band, Metal Shop, was a lot of fun and in my opinion perfect for this type of event. They provided fun energetic sing-along 80’s glam rock. Plus, ya gotta love the throwback outfits/hair, which I took to be a little tongue-in-cheek. My only complaint: they didn’t play Nightrain, although this song is more hard rock than glam rock. Metal Shop played lots of Bon Jovi and Poison.

Two Down ... on our way out we noticed two people who looked like they didn't drink enough water, nor did it look like they were dressed properly. God, I sound like my dad. Ack!

I am so glad free bottled water  and iced tea was provided. We frequented that booth more than any. If I didn’t drink lots o’ water that’d be me in the above photo. Food – burgers, sausages, desserts, etc. – was for sale at a reasonable price. The In-N-Out cheeseburger totally hit the spot and also prevented me from ending up horizontal.

There were also plenty of porta-johns available. I’ve been to many events when this is not the case. Thumbs up for this.

I thought the venue of Irvine Lake was nice, but if the event were much bigger it would’ve been a tight squeeze and an even bigger traffic nightmare. I estimated a crowd of about 1,000-1,500. Getting to Irvine Lake is a bit of a challenge as well. Basically there is one two-lane road, Santiago Canyon Road, in and out. The easiest way to get there is off of the 241 toll road and that is the way most people came, including us. We sat in at least a one-mile back-up. Traffic was creeping along until the OC sheriffs rolled up and took over traffic control. The only other alternative was to come via El Toro Road, which changes to SCR at Cook’s Corner.

One thing I wish was available was a tasting menu. I did take a little notepad to jot some thoughts and list the beers I tasted, but an entire list of all of the beers available and the brewery’s that produce them would’ve been nice. Oh well, what do I know? Other than that I really don’t have any complaints.

All-in-all for $40 a ticket/$80 per couple – heck we spend at least that when we just go out to dinner – you really got your money’s worth, unlimited four-ounce pours, live music and free non-alcoholic beverages. Speaking of tickets, I’d like to add a BIG thank you to Frazgo for the heads up/tickets for this event. He is an author for LA Metblogs.

The husband and I had a great time and are considering making the drive up to LA for Septemberfest. Anyone else?

Overall I think the event was well attended and well organized. So OC metblog readers, did you attend the Beer Festival? If so, what did you think?