Aug 18

Aug 18 Bier Fest 2022 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Review and Vlog!

Bier Fest is a weekend event at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that runs from August 12 to September 5 (Labor Day). You’ll find lots of local craft beers and exclusive food options. In addition, the event has live music performances around the park.

Here’s our review:

The Food

Overall, the food quality is pretty good. The best item we tried was the Irish nachos from Grogan’s Pub. The spicy lager wings and the beer bang shrimp from the Biergarten (near the Lorikeet Glen Aviary) were also fantastic. The pretzel bites from the outdoor England bar (Cobblestone Ale & Spirits) were disappointing, but it seemed like our sample may have been sitting out for an extended period.

The Beer (and Cider!)

You won’t find the best of the best Virginia breweries (e.g., The Veil) at Bier Fest because, typically, those are microbreweries that likely can’t supply on the scale required for this kind of event.

But there are still plenty of pretty good local craft beer options!

When checking beers on Untappd (a social beer app), most average ratings hovered around 3.5 to 3.75 out of 5. Everything we tried seemed to line up with the public ratings.

If you’re interested in trying a wide variety of beer, you’ll definitely want to get a 10-drink sampler card ($40) which you can use for 6oz beer samples or 7oz cocktail samples. Without the sampler card, it seems like your only option is to get a full pour.

Some of the beers we liked:

Cobblestone Ale & Spirits (England)
- Sandbar by Sly Clyde Ciderworks
- Munich Dunkel by New Realm Brewing Company
Beer Garden (behind the Lorikeet Glen Aviary)
- Extra Plenty Gose: Pina Colada from Steam Bell Beer Works
- Tropical N Cream Milkshake IPA from Canon & Draw Brewing Company (best beer we tried!)
Bier Row (near DarKastle)
- Peach Party by Blake’s Hard Cider Co.
- Watermelon Gose by Three Notch’d Brewing