I had soooo much fun at the Strong Beer Festival this year! It was my first time attending and my first beer festival in AZ. I felt fortunate that we had amazing weather and a great turnout of brews and brewers for the day.
As much as I wish I had purchased one of the VIP tickets, the $45 GA ticket served me just well. I believe with my group, we each got thru roughly half of our 40 tickets given to us. Some brewers don't necessarily care to take tickets, some over-pour more than the 2 oz line... All in all makes for a wonderful & fun, buzzy afternoon! I was surprised some national brewers were allowed in since my understanding was this was for more "local"-ish brews. Nonetheless I tried many, tried to remember their names [mostly failed].
The mass entrance area for GA was a bit of a disorderly mess. However I made sure to have my ticket and ID ready which made walking thru a breeze for myself. Don't even bother trying to park in the area - it's definitely worth to spend $4 on the light rail. My only minor concern was a need for more food concessions.
Can't wait to come back in 2018!