The Grove Craft Beer & Wine Festival

Best craft beer fest I’ve been to in quite some time!
Normally when a new beer festival gives it a go, there are some logistical issues and things that need tweaks. Well this was the first time they threw this festival, and I honestly didn’t find much to fault them on.
Parking was well organized. There was a free parking lot across the street and buses taking people from the parking to the fest.
Demographic skewed slightly older but it’s to be expected in Glenview. Glenview is my hometown and I had a strong feeling most fest goers would be a bit older than my friend and I.
Awesome selection of breweries including many local favorites and others from around the nation, 35 in total. I have a feeling they could get even more breweries on board next year! They could also add some more food vendors for next year. Tickets were $ 35 – 50 depending when you purchased them and proceeds went towards supporting The Grove. The Grove was a perfect venue with vendors spread out enough so there wasn’t congestion and I never had to deal with lines for beer more than a few people long. I did wish there were more rare beer offerings, but was still happy with the selection. Also, even though the fest went until 10pm, most places ran out of beer at 9pm and they ran out of the good/​more rare/​fancy beers just a hour in around 8pm.
Other good points of the fest is they had ample seating, way more than enough. I’ve been to so many beer fests were they simple did not provide anywhere to sit and it was torture. The live music was really good with many solid covers being played — everyone was having fun! When it got dark out, they brought out huge lighting — they were well prepared. We actually had volunteers come up and ask us what we thought of the fest, how they could improve, etc. Never have I seen such a thing at a beer fest! Loved, loved, loved this!
The Grove Craft Beer & Wine Festival was so well organized, well spread out, great music, great beers, beyond amazing staff and just was a win overall — great value for the ticket.
I absolutely will be going next year.