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Raise Your Glass to These February Beer Festivals in Arizona, Ohio and Quebec

February 2, 2012 at 12:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

Besides the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day—we could take or leave that last one—February doesn’t have too much going on. It’s a great month to head somewhere warm to escape the winter weather, but it seems like this season hasn’t even been that chilly or snowy. That’s why we’re suggesting the old standby—drinking—to get you through this month. Here’s three beer festivals where you can toast to February:

Cincy Winter Beerfest

They’re preparing plenty of kegs, glasses, and other beer paraphernalia in preparation for this month’s frothy festival in Cincinnati. The fun takes place on February 10 and 11, and there are still plenty of tickets available for you and your drinking buddies. This year tickets will set you back $35 in advance of the party, and that’ll get you a snazzy souvenir cup—capable of holding five ounces—that you can refill up to 25 times. Things get underway each evening around 7:30pm, and the last call is just after 10pm so be sure to pace yourself.

The drinking take place at the Duke Energy Convention Center, and this year’s festival marks the end of the inaugural edition of the city’s beer week. Expect at least 300 different craft beers from here, there, and everywhere, and organizers are hoping for at least 10,000 beer fans to be in attendance. Brewers like Dogfish Head, Elevator, and Three Floyds are just some of the attendees planning to show off their lagers and ales. Organizers even have a spreadsheet of those planning to attend, so you can even take time to prepare your plan of attack.

Arizona Strong Beer Festival

There’s an entire beer week running throughout Arizona from February 18 through 25, but the week’s biggest event is the Strong Beer Festival. The taps are scheduled to start flowing at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix on February 18, and it’s all presented by the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild. Tickets to the suds shindig will set you back $30, and that’ll get you admission to the event between 1pm and 5pm. Obviously getting a designated driver is a must, but there’s also a light rail stop conveniently located right next to the action.

Admission gets you access to 15 different sips and swigs from your four-ounce tasting glass, and of course the cup becomes a souvenir by the time you’re ready to head home. The festival is focusing on strong beers—those with high alcohol contents—but they promise that there will be some weaker options as well. They’re still finalizing the official list of brewers, but Big Sky, Dave’s Electric, Lost Coast, and Phoenix Ale are just a few expected to be in attendance. As usual, there will be plenty of food vendors on hand, and there will even be some live music to provide a little ambiance while you’re sipping and savoring.

Winter Warmer Montreal

Unless you plan on going skiing, north during the winter months is usually not the preferred direction of travel. However, this month we’re suggesting differently, as it’s time to head to Canada to attend this year’s beer festival in Montreal. The annual fun all takes place at the city’s Théâtre Plaza, and things are scheduled to run on February 23, 24, and 25. Tickets will set you back a little more than most beer festivals, but here you’re getting unlimited beer samples as well as all the food you care to enjoy. It’s $95—pretty much the same in USD—per person, but you do need to get them in advance of the festival.

Take a nap before you arrive, as the party runs from around 3pm until 1am. There’s definitely plenty of hours to get your money’s worth, so just be sure to take your time as you sample vintage ales, barley wines, and other specially conditioned ales. They’ll be a range of options from microbreweries in and around Quebec, so you’ll definitely be in store for local flavor. We only wonder if there will be somewhere serving up some poutine, because that probably goes really well with unlimited beer.

[Photos: Les Coureurs Des Boires and Arizona Beer Week]

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