Food & Drink
2012-08-29 14:29:19
What's new at Midwest Beerfest 2012
Q- What can we expect to see at the Midwest Beerfest 2012?
A- What event allows you to taste more than 350 beers from around the world including great microbrews from Kansas, purchase tasty food from local restaurants, and bid on outstanding silent auction items — all while taking a “sip for a scholarship?” It can only be the 12th Annual Midwest Beerfest.
You will be able to join fellow brew-lovers and increase your beer knowledge from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept 22 at Century II EXPO Hall, Wichita, KS, for a “big brew” adventure and help celebrate the 12th year of awesome beers, food and fun.
This two-day event begins on Friday, Sept. 21 with the Beer & Food Lovers Beer Dinners. Choose from three amazing venues each hosting a stellar brewery. This year dinners are: Free State Brewery out of Lawrence with Guest Host Steve Bradt at the Wichita Marriott Hotel; Empyrean Brewing Company out of Lincoln, NE, with Guest Host Ben Matya at the DoubleTree by Hilton Wichita Airport; and New Belgium Brewing Co. out of Fort Collins, CO, with Guest Host Adam Satz at Larkspur Bistro and Bar. Guests will enjoy some of the finest regional beers paired with spectacular food selected to celebrate and enhance the flavors of these outstanding beers. The menus are available online at www.midwestbeerfest.com. Dinners begin at 7 p.m. and the cost is $55 per person. Reservations for both events are available only by calling (316) 682-5502. Seating is limited, so call now.
On Saturday, you can grab your ticket and get in line. Doors open at 1 p.m. for the Midwest Beerfest Grand Tasting and Silent Auction. NEW THIS YEAR we are changing venues. Instead of being in Exhibition Hall, Beerfest has moved to EXPO Hall. Bigger venue, more space for fun and beers.
Also NEW this year is: The Reserve Room! Beer connoisseurs will have the opportunity to sample 17 to 20 high-end beers including Boulevard Smokestack Series, Love Child #2, Unibroue 17 Oak-Aged Grende Reserve Dark Ale, New Belgium's Lips of Faith Series, Tart Lychee, and Ommegang Seduction Ale. Cost is $25 with your purchase of a Grand Tasting ticket. Must call (316) 682-5502 for this ticket.
Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $40 (inclusive of convenience fee) and can be purchased at Century II’s WichitaTix box office, by calling (316) 219-4TIX or online at www.wichitatix.com. Tickets entitle participants to a tasting mug, program guide and a key to the world of beers.
Back by popular demand is the “Midwest Wingfest” a chicken wing Cook-off contest featuring chicken wings prepared by local restaurants and chefs. Admission to the tasting is $5 (with your admission to the Beerfest) and all of the money raised will benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Via Christi Health. Your ticket entitles you to sample a number of different wings and vote for your “People’s Choice.” Also look for non-beer drinks, an array of beer-friendly food, a brew-lover’s Silent Auction with the opportunity to win lots of great prizes, and music. The Silent Auction is a benefit for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH).
CMNH helps children throughout Kansas (primarily western and south central Kansas) without regard to illness, ability to pay or physician’s hospital affiliation. Families connect with CMN resources through a network of six regional hospitals serving more than 50,000 children each year in 64 counties. Since 1984, CMN in Kansas has raised more than $17 million — 100 percent stays here in Kansas — to help children in need.
The Midwest Beerfest, sponsored by the American Institute of Wine & Food, Wichita Chapter, features beers, ales, lagers and more from your favorite breweries and microbreweries from all over the world. Monies raised benefit the AIWF-Wichita Chapter’s Terry Palmer Memorial Culinary Scholarship Fund for local culinary or hospitality students, chefs, or those in the food and beverage industry pursuing education.
The American Institute of Wine & Food, Wichita Chapter is dedicated to understanding and celebrating the pleasures, benefits and traditions of the table! The Wichita chapter, founded in 1992, is one of more than 24 chapters nationwide, producing more than 300 mission-related programs each year. Educational programming is the core of The AIWF and the vehicle for fulfilling the Institute's mission. It’s also lots of FUN!
For more information visit: www.midwestbeerfest.com or call, (316) 682-5502. Must be 21 years of age to attend. No strollers. I.D. will be checked at the door. Designated drivers get in for $15!
