The Beer Dabbler Showcase

As the sun gets hotter and the days get longer, coolers will be packed and brew pubs with porches will be packed, too. Not only in the Twin Cities, but all over the state, beer drinkers will raise their sweaty mugs to another Minnesota summer.

The beer drinker in Minneapolis / St. Paul has a wealth of festivals and events to look forward to, but for the small town beer drinker in the far north or south, festivals are a day’s drive away.  This summer will be different.

Matt Kenevan, the founder of The Beer Dabbler Showcase, will take the party to them.

FAUST: What is the concept behind The Beer Dabbler Showcase?

KENEVAN: To bring a beer festival to cities that have not had beer festivals before. There will be 11 festivals running until mid-October and at each festival a local charity will get a partial profit. We were going to have 12, but had to cancel the Fargo festival due to flooding.

FAUST: Have you done anything like this before?

KENEVAN: I work for the Onion putting on beer events. I started Brewing for a Cause, an event with 15 to 20 breweries that raised money for charities.

FAUST: What can people expect at the festivals?

KENEVAN: Thirty to forty 10-by-10 foot tents with brewery representatives at each tent talking about their beer and having it there to try. There will be local / regional music with two bands playing at each festival.

FAUST: What kind of beers will be there?

KENEVAN: Some regional and some craft beers, but no domestic big boys. Each location will have a few different beers, they won’t all be the same.

FAUST: Will this become an annual event?

KENEVAN: We’ll see how the first year goes. We would like it to evolve into more states and may have an operation soon in Colorado.

Festival Schedule

Burnsville: May 16

Stillwater: June 13 Totally canceled

Sioux Falls: June 27

Highland Fest: July 18

Brainerd: Aug. 1

Winona: Aug. 15

Duluth: Aug. 29

Mankato: Sep. 19

Rochester: Oct. 3

St. Cloud: Oct. 10

Woodbury: Oct. 17