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All aboard! Next top... Sudsville!
People have a loving fascination with old fashioned steam trains. It hearkens back to the Wild West days when the locomotive was the preeminent way to travel from Point A to Point B in luxury. It sure beat riding a smelly horse or getting bounced around in a covered wagon!
And we all know people love beer.
If you combine the two not only do you have a winning combo, but you also have the makings for one of the most unique beer festivals in all the land.
The Rails & Ales Brewfest is back! In case you've never heard of it - shame on you! - here's what this very off-the-grid, one-of-a-kind beer fest is all about:
A Rio Grande scenic train leaves Alamosa, Colorado, at 9:00 AM sharp on Saturday June 26th and takes passengers on a 2-hour ride up to a pristine mountain meadow situated at just under the 10,000 foot elevation mark. There, everyone hops off the train to enjoy the wares of 20 breweries (over 80 different beers), live bands playing on the boxcar stage, and enough BBQ'd grub to fill the hungriest bellies. There's nothing like craft brews at altitude! Last year over 500 attended; they're expecting 700 this year.
Tickets cost $68 (for the Dome car) or $58 (for coach). This gets you a round-trip train ride, a commemorative beer glass, all the samples you can drink, great music, and spectacular scenery. With just over a week away only a very limited number of tickets are still available. Visit the Rio Grande Scenic railroad website or call the ticket office at 1-877-726-RAIL for all the details.
I'll be on hand along with the Beer Tap TV crew. Come join us!
Cheers!
For more info: San Luis Valley Brewing Company is the main sponsor of this event. Check out their website for details about them (they're walking distance from the train station) and the fantastic beers - best Hefe ever! - they make!
Comments
This seems like an epic event! It's going on the calendar for next year, not missing this again.
Ryan, it was very unique. Well worth the effort. As to be expected, there were some hiccups, but with the logistics of the event it's understandable. Look for my followup article coming soon. Also, there's an Oktoberfest version on October 2nd that we're going to try and make, which is different from the summer version. I'll be writing more about that as I get the details.
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