This month, Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20, 2011, Get Real NY is creating a new reason to frequent New York with this year's Craft Beer & Food Festival, the "all-you-care-to-taste" event will include the Cask Bar with more than 80 cask ales, pouring stations featuring local craft beers, and food tastings ranging from lobster and crab to pizza and wine and cheese. With tickets ranging from $65 general admission to VIP access for $80, the event will take place at the Altman Building, with two sessions each day, from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Get Real NY will donate a portion of the proceeds to The New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH), which works toward meeting the immediate food needs of low-income New Yorkers.
With ales from top craft breweries and homebrewers, with the full brewery list to go up on Get Real's website later today, we are officially excited. General admission includes a souvenir class, access to brewery discussion panels and live music entertainment; VIP tickets include one-hour early access to the festival, access to a VIP tasting room featuring rare and hard-to-find beers and access to brewery tasting panels and discussions. Look out for the "Locals Only" section featuring beers including Brewery Ommegang and Brooklyn Brewery, alongside Greenport Harbor Brewing, Kelso of Brooklyn and Sixpoint Craft Ales. New additions include NYC beer-focused bars like Rattle N Hum, Jimmy's No. 43 and The Stag's Head, as well as Brickyard Gastropub, Idle Hands Bar and Manchester Pub, who will be at the festival serving up specialty beers and some bites.
Similarly, the festival's food selections have also expanded as part of the festival's food pairing program. Food connoisseurs will appreciate NYC's restaurant, bar, food trucks and food artisans array, including, but not limited to, Café D'Alsace, My Friend's Mustard, Kings County Jerky Co., alongside Frites 'n' Meats, Grandaisy Bakery, La Bella Torte and Petite Abeille.
For tickets, visit http://getrealny2.eventbrite.com or www.beermenus.com/events/39-ticket-to-get-real-ny/tickets.