The festival was held in the Exhibition Hall at the Lane Events Center, aka the Fair Grounds, a large facility that is easy to get to and has copious parking. The hours were 5:00 to 11:00 on both Friday and Saturday. The doors opened precisely at 5:00, and there were only a handful of people waiting to get in. You had to be over 21 to enter, and they checked ID's at the door. Tickets were sold just inside the door, and cost $12 for entry or $22 for entry plus 10 tasting tickets. Once inside, additional tickets could be purchased for $1. You receive a wristband that enables you to leave and reenter, which was useful as the restrooms were in the lobby beyond the entrance.

The space was huge and crowds were not an issue. So, you don't have to worry about coming too late to come in, however several of breweries only brought single kegs of some beers which might run out early. The tasting glass holds 3 ounces and to fill it requires 2 tickets. A single ticket is supposed to get you a half glass, but each time we handed over a ticket we received a glass that was at least 3/4 full. Most of the volunteers and brewery representatives staffing the booths also carefully rinsed the glasses before filling them, a nice touch!

We mostly concentrated on IPA's, especially those from smaller breweries are difficult to find outside their local areas. There was plenty to choose from, and mostly top quality and in good condition. A minor disappointment was that two of the more distant breweries, Maui Brewing and 21st Amendment, brought beer in cans. In cans? At a Northwest beer festival? What are they thinking?

There was quite a variety of different beer styles to choose from. Even so, there were more than 20 IPA's, including the "People's Choice" winner, Hop Valley Alpha Centauri. 

There was also a special "Collaboration Brew" from 11 of the breweries. Each made their own version from the same ingredients donated by the same suppliers. The result was called a "Belgian Style Cascadian Dark Rye Ale". 

Besides plenty of room to wander between booths, there was also a generous seating area off to one side with large round tables and comfortable plastic chairs. This area was also well lit, and was great for taking tasting notes. There was also a large open area in front of the stage where live music was performed starting at about 7:30. Later, there were even some couples quietly dancing in this space.

There was food available in one corner of hall. There was only a limited menu from a single vendor, however. You may want to eat beforehand at one of the fine brewpubs in town.

Various brewery merchandise (T-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc.) were for sale at one booth. Also, there was a large area with tables displaying a huge number of used music CD's and vinyl records for sale.

For an indoor festival this was quite enjoyable. The attendees were well behaved. It was reasonably quiet, but still festive. There were opportunities to chat with people from many smaller breweries, and usually these were the brewers themselves. All in all, this was a great kickoff for our Zwickelmania weekend.