Leeds International Beer Festival is quickly becoming one of my favorite beer fests around. Having gone through the whole airplane/hotel/time-zone-change thing for beer festivals in the past, I love Leeds for its proximity to my house. Once again having the best boss in the world, I did a little happy dance as we made our way to the beer festival for the afternoon. Research, ya know?

Only in its third year, the Leeds International Beer Festival is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, it seems as though it has worked its way through the inevitable growing-pains. There were some improvements employed this year over last year and I think the changes are all great choices. Turning the lights down low and having smaller bars in the main room made it easier to breathe in there. Granted, I was only there for the trade session where we pretty much had the place to ourselves but it just seemed to have a better flow.

The US Craft Beer room was a big improvement over last year's,

Leeds International Beer Festival is quickly becoming one of my favorite beer fests around. Having gone through the whole airplane/hotel/time-zone-change thing for beer festivals in the past, I love Leeds for its proximity to my house. Once again having the best boss in the world, I did a little happy dance as we made our way to the beer festival for the afternoon. Research, ya know?

Only in its third year, the Leeds International Beer Festival is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, it seems as though it has worked its way through the inevitable growing-pains. There were some improvements employed this year over last year and I think the changes are all great choices. Turning the lights down low and having smaller bars in the main room made it easier to breathe in there. Granted, I was only there for the trade session where we pretty much had the place to ourselves but it just seemed to have a better flow.

The US Craft Beer room was a big improvement over last year's, in my opinion. Not only were there lots of great beers from Stone, Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues and the like, there were free video game consoles. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For free. Play until your hand is shaped like a claw. For free. Score!

Besides ventilation and old-school video games, I think that the biggest improvement to the festival--and what's going to put it on the map as one of the best beer festivals there are--is the beer selection. I feel that this festival seems to have a bit of a youthful edge to it (TMNT video games being a clear indicator of that) and the beers available reflect that better this year. There were some doozies from the likes of Siren Craft Brew, Tiny Rebel, and Ilkley Brewing. We also found some beauties like Little Things that Kill from Weird Beard Brew Co. and a dandelion and burdock porter from the great guys at London's Pressure Drop Brewing. Furthermore, exciting beers from Spain, Germany and Italy, among others, were welcome to flex their muscles on a big stage. With no "must be in cask" limitations, the patrons, the breweries, and the whole wide world win.

With great food coming from some of Leed's most creative restaurants, live music, DJ's and fantastic organization, the Leeds International Beer Festival is a proper celebration! This is no stuffy beer festival in a cramped hotel conference room. There is no room for "your beer must be like this and must be like that in order to be included." All are welcome and all are guaranteed to have a great time. I did. A little too much.

--Maggie

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