The King of Prussia Beerfest Royal could be a case study on how local beer festivals should be planned.
Small and intimate, yet never feeling underwhelming with two stages of live music (with a fantastic musical selection spanning generations), over 100 beers to try, and culinary creations from many of the best restaurants and caterers this area has to offer.
There were even craft distilleries and wineries joining in on the fun with local wine tastings and creative craft cocktails.
This event spanned two days, with three separate sessions, a Thursday night (October 5th) Happy Hour session from 5:30pm-9:30pm followed by two sessions on Saturday (October 7th), one in the afternoon, the other in the evening. Located outdoors in the King of Prussia Mall Parking lot, across from the Crowne Plaza hotel, the event was easy to get to and parking was more than plentiful.
The Happy Hour session definitely seems to be the one to go to. Included in the (slightly higher) admission are the beer and gourmet foods, as well as a free cigar from locally grown and rolled John Hay Cigars.
On Saturday, food is available for purchase from vendors instead, and no free cigar. Even without that though, the entertainment and beer are top notch, and the event is worth attending no matter which day you go.
Organized by the King of Prussia District organization, all the proceeds from the KOP Beerfest Royale are used for physical improvement projects throughout King of Prussia.
The Best Breweries Around
This event was overflowing with amazing breweries. Brooklyn Brewery, Saint Benjamin Brewing Company, Cape May Brewing Company, Evil Twin Brewing, Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, Conshohocken Brewing Company, Free Will Brewing Company and Tröegs Independent Brewing pretty much make up my list of favorite breweries in the region.
I came across two new breweries (to me) as well, with Round Guys Brewing Company and Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company, and was pleasantly reminded that I need to visit Stable 12, a brewery right in my neck of the woods, less than a mile from my home. I’m somewhat embarrassed that it has taken me this long to visit them, having moved to the area over five years ago.
Following are a few of the tasting standouts from the evening (reviews definitely to come!):
Cape May Brewing Company
City to Shore IPA
From the boil to the dry hop, the hops blend in City to Shore hits all the right notes and tickles your taste buds. The sexy hops in this Double IPA bring a wave of citrus, grapefruit, and other exotic fruits to your face. Not as dry as our usual hop-bombs, we leave a touch more of the body behind to bring out the juicier hop profile. –Cape May Brewing Company
Conshohocken Brewing Company
Puddlers Row ESB Strong Bitter
Puddlers Row Extra Special Bitter is a classic English-style ale with a mellow roasteflavor that’s rounded out by a toffee-like caramel sweetness. Puddlers row is well balanced between English malts and European hops. –Conshohocken Brewing Company
Tröegs Independent Brewing
Jovial Dubbel Ale
Originally brewed for Chris’ wedding, we decided Jovial was just too good a union of dark stone fruit character and evocative notes of toffee, chocolate and molasses to make only once. You may kiss the beer. –Tröegs Independent Brewing
Participating Breweries
- Austin Eastciders
- Brooklyn Brewery
- Cape May Brewing Company
- Conshohocken Brewing Company
- Coppertail Brewing Company
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
- Evil Genius Beer Company
- Free Will Brewing Company
- Kurant Hand-Crafted Ciders
- Levante Brewing Company
- Manatawny Still Works
- Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company
- Round Guys Brewing Company
- Saint Benjamin Brewing Company
- Sly Fox Brewhouse
- Stable 12 Brewing Company
- Tröegs Independent Brewing
- Two Roads Brewing Company
- Weyerbacher Brewing Company
Culinary Standouts
I’m really really really (did I mention really?) happy with the food offerings available at this festival. There were as many food choices as there were breweries. I had a lot of what was offered, but I did miss out on some, and I still regret it. I wish the event were longer and my stomach were larger.
Pulled pork sandwiches from Morton’s were the first casualty of the evening in the war against hunger. Perfectly done, with a side of potato chips made from scratch.
Surprise of the evening came from Wegman’s Pub, of all places, with a fantastic spicy shrimp roll they prepared for us.
Seasons 52 was on hand with some fine desserts. I had a few of these – my favorite were the S’mores in the back, with a chocolate mousse topped with a marshmallow and chocolate-dipped graham cracker.
You can never have too many cupcakes. I certainly put that theory to the test that evening, as I continuously raided the DiaDoce Cupcake truck. I quickly understood why they won Cupcake Wars. Those little cupcakes were amazing.
Complete Food Vendor List
Here we have a full list of the restaurants and caterers that took part in this fabulous event:
- Bonefish Grill
- Cantina Laredo
- City Works
- Davio’s
- del Valle
- DiaDoce
- Duck Donuts
- Fogo de Chao
- Founding Farmers
- Maggiano’s
- Mission BBQ
- Mistral
- Morton’s Steakhouse
- Outback Steakhouse
- Paladar
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House
- Seasons 52
- Shake Shack
- Sullivan’s
- The Halal Guys
- The Melting Pot
- Wegmans Pub
- True Food Kitchen
- Woops
See you next year!
I do not plan on missing this event next year, already scheduled for October 4th and 6th, 2018. I can’t say enough great things about this event, the breweries, the food… even the cigar was amazing! Check out our complete photo gallery below.
Next year I plan on bringing some better equipment with me for photos, the lighting got a bit bad for a while there, but believe me, the event is worth experiencing again in person anyway.
Complete Photo Gallery
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