For about 9500 years, beer has been one of the world’s most popular alcoholic beverages for both men and women.
In the perspective of Dave Barry, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and writer, beer is the greatest invention ever made by man. It’s no surprise that the biggest beer festival in the world has become an integral part of society.
Beer now surpasses wine in terms of diversity and complexity and is appreciated by millions of beer fans across the world at home, in local pubs, and at major beer festivals throughout the world today.
Read on to learn about the biggest beer festival in the world if you wish to join in the festivities and pay tribute to the drink.
As promised, here are the biggest beer festival in the world dedicated to honoring the world’s favorite beverage.
1. PINT Bokbier Festival
- Location: Amsterdam
- Month: October
PINT, the largest beer festival in The Netherlands, is a must-attend event. What began as a campaign to raise awareness about traditional bock beers has grown into a community of beer lovers with more than 70,000 members.
Bock beers from Heineken, Grolsch, and other major brewers are on display at the event, which includes more than 50 types. There’s also nonstop live music to round off the festivities.
2. Oktoberfest
- Location: Munich, Germany
- Month: Every September
Every September, Munich, Germany, hosts the biggest beer festival in the world. Since 1810, Munich welcomed the month of October with the annual celebration known as Oktoberfest.
Munich, the city where the festival takes place, is perhaps the best place in the world to adore the modern-day beer that has been produced.
Both pilsner and weissbier, which were initially made in the Czech Republic, are traditional Bavarian beers. However, visitors to Oktoberfest don’t just partake in local brews.
Craft brewers from across the world compete for a position at the event, hoping to have their beers included in the 6.6 trillion liters of beer consumed by festival visitors.
The biggest beer festival in the world, Oktoberfest has been the subject of several depictions in popular culture.
Beerfest, for example, tells the story of two brothers who travel to Germany each year to participate in the annual celebration, which takes place every August.
3. NYC American Craft Beer Festival
- Location: New York City
- Month: April
This festival may be small compared to other festivals, but that does not detract it from its potential to amuse. When it comes to microbrews, Lexington Avenue Armory in Manhattan is the place to go.
At times, American independents and microbreweries dominate the lineup for the event. For a single fee, guests receive a tiny cup and an infinite supply of the frothy elixir.
On the other hand, the Connoisseur pass gives you admission to both the standard exhibits and the special items.
4. Belgian Beer Weekend
- Location: Brussels, Belgium
- Month: September
There is no comparison between Belgian waffles and Stella Artois beer, as anyone who has had a taste of the latter will tell you.
Probably because of this one misperception, Belgium holds one of the biggest beer festival in the world, the Belgian Beer Weekend.
The Belgian Brewer’s Guild organizes the Beer Weekend in Brussels. This includes over 350 top Belgian beers from 51 small and big local brewers on the first weekend in September.
5. Montreal Beer Festival
- Location: Montreal, Canada
- Month: May-June
The Montreal Beer Festival is locally known as the Mondial de la bière. It will feature 637 beers from about 200 different brewers for its upcoming 20th edition from May 29th-June 2nd this year.
It will be hosted yearly at Palace Bonaventure. American craft beer is scarce at this event. However, the focus on South American brews at the Montreal Beer Fest ensures you’ll discover many beers you’ve never heard of.
Montreal Beer School experts are available during the festival to teach you about beer’s aromas and flavors. They also provide a refresher course in basic beer knowledge if you’ve already had too many pints.
6. Great British Beer Festival
- Location: London, England
- Month: September
Covent Garden hosted the first ever CAMRA beer festival in 1975, where 40,000 people sampled some of the greatest British ales.
To its success as “Britain’s Biggest Pub,” the festival has become an annual tradition. However, real ales still take center stage at this year’s festival, which has moved to the Olympia.
As large brewers have diluted the English market’s legacy, many people have forgotten that England is the spiritual birthplace of international beer.
When it comes to the history of English beer drinking, there is no better organization than the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The Great British Beer Festival is the place to go if you enjoy drinking beer.
You get to enjoy it the way it was supposed to be before major brewers like Carling, Carlsberg, and Fosters started selling mixes.
7. National Winter Ales Festival
- Location: United Kingdom
- Month: January
The National Winter Ales Festival is the winter counterpart to the Great British Beer Festival described above. It promotes the stouts and porters that are generally only accessible in the winter.
The Sheridan Suite will host the National Winter Ales Festival from Wednesday, 23rd to Saturday, 26th January, which is the second biggest beer festival in the world.
8. Portland International Beerfest
- Location: Portland Oregon
- Month: July
Portland, Oregon, has long been known as the Craft Beer Capital of the United States. If you’re seeking scarce craft beers, the Portland International BeerFest should be high on your list of compulsory events.
Over 150 Double IPAs, stouts, barrel-aged beers, and sour ales from 16 different countries may be found at the PIB, which is open to the public.
The festival’s tagline, “Taste the Greatest Beers you’ve never heard of,” means that if you haven’t heard of it, you’ll find it there.
9. Great American Beer Festival
- Location: Denver, Colorado
- Month: October
The Great American Beer Festival is held yearly at Denver’s Colorado National Convention Center. Over three days, it attracts an average of 50,000 beer-lovers, making it one of the biggest beer festival in the world.
At this event, visitors from across the world may sample over 2,000 distinct American craft beers. They may also sample over 1,000 different international beers made by more than 500 different brewers.
10. Oregon Brewer’s Festival
- Location: Portland, Oregon
- Month: July
The Oregon Brewer’s Festival, one of the biggest beer festival in the world, takes place in Portland, Oregon, on the Willamette River’s west bank.
It attracts more than 80,000 beer lovers for five days of sampling from more than twenty different breweries. There will also be live music, home-brewing demonstrations, and enough tasty food to go around.
11. Qingdao International Beer Festival
- Location: Qingdao, Shangai Province, China
- Month: July-August
Asian beer is generally disregarded in the West, yet this is a huge error. China, Japan, and South Korea are home to some of the world’s most refreshing beers.
The Qingdao International Beer Festival is a celebration of all things Asian. It showcases not just the biggest names in the Asian brewing sector but also some of the more fascinating smaller brewers.
As Asia’s counterpart to Oktoberfest, the 24-day celebration specializes in both beer and entertainment. Every July, Qingdao transforms into a cultural hotbed, attracting visitors from all over the world, not just those interested in beer.
Many of the world’s most well-known beer festivals demonstrate that beer drinking has become a popular pastime across many countries and cultures.
Beer has the power to bring people together, from renowned beers that have taken entire countries by storm to festivals that have inspired games, products, and entertainment.
12. Cannstatter Volksfest
- Location: Stuttgart, Germany
- Month: September-October
More than 4.2 million thirsty guests attend the Cannstatter Volksfest, one of the biggest beer festival in the world. It is held each year at the Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart, Germany, for the three-week festivities.
Seven large beer tents capable of accommodating over 5,000 people each, a fairgrounds, rides, and lots of fair-worthy cuisines are included in the festival’s attractions.
13. Czech Beer Festival
- Location: Prague, Czech Republic
- Month: May
Even if the Czech Beer Event isn’t one of the biggest festival in the world, it still has an important role in the evolution of world beer as well.
During the 1830s, Plzen, a tiny Bohemian municipality, was experiencing a beer identity crisis. Back then, anyone in town could start their brewery and sell their beer to the local pubs.
However, subpar beer made its way into pubs and bars, and the locals began to complain about the poor quality of their beer.
When the decision was made to centralize the brewing, the top brewers from the town traveled to East Anglia, England. They tried to study everything they could about hops and the brewing process.
They returned with a wealth of knowledge. A Pilsner Urquell was born as a result of this process. As soon as the first Pilsner was brewed, breweries in America, Britain, and Germany began producing their beer versions.
