Witchstock 2018

[Esquandolas]

Bellwoods Brewery has previewed the lineup for their second annual Witchstock festival scheduled for Saturday September 29, 2018 at their Hafis Road brewery.

This year’s featured international breweries include:

A La Fut (QC)
Beavertown (UK)
Cantillon (Belgium)
Cloudwater (UK)
Dieu De Diel! (QC)
Dunham (QC)
Evil Twin (Denmark)
Foam (VT)
Forest & Main (PA)
Four Winds (BC)
Gueuzerie Tilquin (Belgium)
House of Fermentology (VT)
J. Wakefield (FL)
Other Half (NY)
Oxbow (ME)
Pend Druid (VA)
Speciation (MI)
The Viel (VA)
Trillium (MA)
Triple Crossing (VA)
TRVE (CO)

More participants are to be announced including Ontario breweries.

LINK: http://ontariobev.net/bellwoods-brewery ... tock-2018/

[Cadbury102]

Incredible line up. I can hardly wait.

[Quotashun]

Should be incredible. Glad I still have a few tokens left over from last year's event too lol.

[Beer'n'gin]

Any idea when tickets go on sale? I'd like to get a pair and will be coming from a bit of a distance away.

[Napalm Frog]

No word yet, but they says they will give plenty of advance notice.

[Napalm Frog]

Ticket sales for Witchstock 2018 will go online beginning at 10AM on Tuesday August 7th. Please follow the link in our profile to the ticket site, which also has a lot more info!

This year we will be doing away with drink tokens (and especially token lines). Tickets will be $120 (plus applicable taxes and service fee), and will include admission and ALL of your beer during one of the following sessions on Saturday September 29th:

Session 1: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 2: 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Confirmed participating breweries:

@microbrasserie_a_la_fut
@bissellbrothers
@brasseriecantillon
@cloudwaterbrew
@brasseriedieuduciel
@dunhambrasserie
@eqbrewery
@eviltwinbrewing
@foambrewers
@forestandmain
@fourwindsbrewco
@gueuzetilquin
@homesbrewery
@houseoffermentology
@jwakefieldbeer
@otherhalfnyc
@oxbowbrewingcompany
@pendruidbrewing
@speciationales
@theveilbrewing
@tiredhandsbrewing
@trilliumbrewing
@triplecrossing
@trvebrewing

In addition to these out-of-province breweries, we will have some special offerings available from some of our Ontario friends (list TBA).

[Craig]

Sounds really good, but they are not messing around with that price tag. 120 (probably what, 150 after the taxes/fees?) for a three hour event is steep. It was $45 last year, though you had to buy tokens after that.

Also worth noting that last year they limited it to 350 people per session, this year that's been upped to 750. I wonder if they moved stuff around a bit to make more space?

[JerCraigs]

The line up looks great. I had a great time last year and have had this on my calendar since they first announced the date. I doubt I will be going this year.

Maybe I'll change my mind, the lineup is certainly tempting. We shall see. That's a steep price point that I assume is reflective of what it takes to bring in those beers, and I'd consider paying it (times two people) under different circumstances but wow.

Unlimited samples is frankly not a selling point for me. Quite the opposite - I'm not sure I personally want unlimited beer for ME, let alone wanting to be in a crowd with a bunch of "I gotta get my $120 worth!" idiots. Especially if they are increasing the numbers from last year.

Trying not to be negative about it - I hope it's a great event for those that go - but I'm pretty disappointed in the format personally.

[beerstodiscover]

I too am not a fan of the format change.
However, I do think last year was a bit of a steal at $50 + $3 per sample and I still managed to spend about $50 on beer. The pay-per-sample structure did nothing to deter me from sampling as many beers as possible — and I wasn't the only one with this modus operandi. We're talking about bucket-list, unattainable beers here!
For comparison, I've seen super premium beer events like this in the US and Europe charge over $120 and NOT include beer (or maybe a few sample tokens).
But damn, last year was SO good. I was planning on doing both sessions this year, but now will just stick to one.
They are allowing more people this year, but the outdoor space will be larger and there will be more breweries. So I think (hope) the atmosphere will be similar.
Given the price, nature, exclusivity and size of this event I'm not too worried about people showing up and chugging Cantillon till they puke.
My main wish is that the sessions would be longer.

[jeremyg]

witchstock is the best beer festival in ontario by miles and they've only done it once haha

caskdays used to be such a joy but the last couple really turned me off, especially last year. we got tix to the saturday aft session and literally none of the beers i really wanted to try were left. the only redeeming part was the keep6 table. the event itself has become too busy, too much of a "scene". i'm out.

the collective arts one was pretty nice

[Gedge]

If you pay $120 to go to this event and you feel you got your money's worth, then you got your money's worth.

I can't see myself feeling that way though. Most I can drink in 3 hours is 6 pints - maybe. That's $20 a pint. Yes,l there's great/rare beer but I can pop over to Lewiston and get 15-20 cans (or more) comparable beers to enjoy at home in a much calmer environment.

[portwood]

Unlimited samples is frankly not a selling point for me. Quite the opposite - I'm not sure I personally want unlimited beer for ME, let alone wanting to be in a crowd with a bunch of "I gotta get my $120 worth!" idiots. Especially if they are increasing the numbers from last year.

yup

[portwood]

If you pay $120 to go to this event and you feel you got your money's worth, then you got your money's worth.

I can't see myself feeling that way though. Most I can drink in 3 hours is 6 pints - maybe. That's $20 a pint. Yes,l there's great/rare beer but I can pop over to Lewiston and get 15-20 cans (or more) comparable beers to enjoy at home in a much calmer environment.

Not only that but the main attraction of these events is spoiled (i.e. sour) beer ... which doesn't float my boat

[Quotashun]

Gonna pass on it this year too. Aside from the price, just the fact that so many more tickets are available turns me off (crowd level last year was perfect), even if they somehow create more space this time around.

It's pretty much guaranteed that Volo will end up with a bunch of kegs from some of the breweries coming in, so I'll try whatever they have left over.

[sprague11]

Love Bellwoods, but I gotta buy some brakes for my car. Hard pass.

I'll try my luck the day after the fest.