Summer Beer Dabbler

I bought tickets 2 months in advance. My wife’s parents were coming from out of the country so we bought two more tickets for them. However, jobs over in Europe weren’t permitting them to continue their plans with a USA trip, and unfortunately they had to return their airline tickets. So I attempted to return their (2) Beer Dabbler tickets, and was told by the promoter, which btw has it nowhere listed on any of the sites where you purchase the Beer Dabbler tickets that there is a No Refunds policy.
So this is just a buyer beware to only buy tickets that you know for sure you will be able to use, as the promoters (ExtremeTix Inc.) for this show certainly want no reputation for being friendly to it’s patrons, and when they have your money, they consider it mission accomplished and won’t part with it.
Too bad that this is the character they show, as we enjoyed going to the Summer and Winter Dabblers in the past, however no longer will we do this. Not our loss, there are 70+ breweries in MN to visit.

I love the Beer Dabblers! I’ve been to the summer one once and the Pride one once. Both were great! I think I’m more of a fan of the summer one since it’s more spread out and along the river in St. P, but I’ll go back to both.
I have had mixed experiences at this type of event in other locales. I feel like a lot of time, the pours are small and the lines are long. I feel like the pours are perfect at the Dabblers… it’s plenty to get a couple good swigs but not enough to start to get warm if you’re standing around for a bit.
Another great thing is that, either by accident or on purpose, the most popular brew spots are spaced in between less popular ones. This means that you can grab a less popular beer to sip on while you wait in line for the ones that are most coveted, so you’re rarely without beer. As a result, you get to try some great new brews that you may not have thought to try before. Regardless, though, I don’t think I waited in line for more than a few minutes, even at the most popular stands.
The food is also great. Good food truck selection. Although I got a hot dog (Nate’s, I think?) and was talked out of adding ketchup by the condiment master. I felt like he was guilting me about it. But ketchup is one of my favorite foods!!! I know people fall on one side or the other of chefs limiting what people can add to their food so as to not destroy their desired blend of flavors… but it’s a hot dog outside… on a hot day… I was slightly miffed. However, that has nothing to do with the Dabbler itself.
Another great thing about this year’s summer Dabbler was that they had a free breathalyzer machine. Not that any in my group had any delusions about being drive-​capable after several hours at the Dabbler. Twas fun to try to predict where we’d fall though. I was eerily accurate… don’t know if that’s a good thing or a red flag :-/​
I also like that there is great music, and it’s loud if you’re close to the stage and not loud at all if you wander down to the other end of the park. Gives a great range of ambience. I’ve got sensitive ear drums so I liked being able to avoid it if I wanted.
Super friendly group of people, too, although I’m sure that’s not surprising given that it’s in Minnesnowtah. And beer makes you even Minnesota nicer.
I’ll have to try out the winter one this year! Love the Dabblers!!!

If you’re a true beer geek (and I am) the dabbler is an event not to be missed. On the flip side of that coin — if you’re looking to expand your beer repertoire and try some new brews, the dabbler is the perfect opportunity. After attending the winter dabbler this past year, I knew I couldn’t miss the summer dabbler. The local and craft beer scene is booming, and the dabbler showcases just that. We got some great weather this year even though it was a little on the hot side. No worries, there are plenty of beers available to keep cool and the beer booths were under huge tents for shade. The food trucks were a welcome addition, and cranked out a ton of tasty creations for the beer drinkers. My buddy and I actually bumped into actor Josh Hartnett at the Hola Arepa food truck, which we thought was kind of cool.
My experience with the dabblers is that you can make them as low key or adventurous as you desire. If you want to simply mosey around and try beers, that’s totally cool. Or you can follow the dabbler guide they’ll give you upon entry and check off every beer on the tasting list while registering your notes and votes. If you really want to dive in, spend some time talking with those that pour your beers since they generally have quite the appreciation for their product. You can also try the single barrel brew available from the brewery that wins the previous dabblers first place — known as the prestigious «lord dabblers cup «, this is voted on by the festival-​goers. Your beers are always served in your very own souvenir two ounce tasting glass, so don’t worry about having to stumble home in a beer-​buzzed haze. You can take it easy and still enjoy a remarkable assortment of beers.
Overall there’s a lot to love about the summer beer dabbler/​highland fest! Cool scene, tons of craft brews, and everyone is customarily easygoing. The live music and food trucks certainly round out the experience. You can trust me as your Cicerone of all things beer related when I tell you that the Dabbler is definitely a great time. I’ll see you there.

Well this one was not as fun as the winter dabbler could be because it is not near my place and all the main streets were closed but well it was fun. The crowed seem to be smaller and the people seem to be more relaxed and not as excited as the winter one. The layout was great and the bathrooms were clean. I found lots of great beer. The winter one should take notes from this event. The line to get in moved very quickly and it was well organized. I think that because 94 was closed it had a huge impact on the event. I look forward to coming back next year.

The Highland Beer Dabbler is a great event. Unlike the fridge Winter Dabbler this one is set in the heat of the summer. This event seems to be a bit more low key and less crowded than the winter version but still a lot of people, beers and music. The size of the Highland Dabbler make it a lot more enjoyable too, no lines for bathrooms, (might be because it was in the 90s that day), Very short to no lines for the various beer vendors and you don’t feel overly crowded.
There are a lot of beer vendors out there to sample a lot of beers I would guess that there were close to 40 or 50 vendors and each having several beer options. There is also food and live music later on in the evening. The Dabbler is a joint event with the Highland Fest that showcases foods, crafts and services from local businesses. This is a great event for groups to hang out and enjoy some great beers.
Poem:
If it’s beer you want the Dabbler is for you,
Summit, Surly, Schells all the local brews.
It might be hot it might be cool,
But rest assured the Dabbler will have a brew for you.
Come one, come all, well 21 and older actually
For beer, food and live music even if you’re the DD.

I’ve been to a few events put on by Beer Dabbler and to this event two of the three years it has been running — it seems like they’ve figured out most of the formula for running a successful tasting event:
— Staggered entrance times with plenty of volunteers guiding the masses.
— Large beer selection (though only a few diamonds in the rough and mostly many of the usual suspects from liquor stores with decent selections and/​or other tasting events).
— Homebrew competition.
— Live music during the entire event.
— Food trucks (Chef Shack, Magic Bus, Fork in the Road and Cupcake were all in attendance for 2011’s event).
— A better showing of brewery and distributor reps that are knowledgeable of their wares.
— The grounds at Highland Fest were large and accommodating considering the number of attendees.
Other than the grounds being pretty muddy from unseasonable rain the night before and a lack of what I would call an awe-​inspiring beer selection, this is definitely one of the better beer tasting events in the Cities for the price.