8th Annual Brew Ha Ha

I love it when a party comes together. And make no mistake, the 8th Annual Brew Ha Ha provided one helluva fun party! Music, food, games, weather, and (most importantly) great craft beer fused together to create a magical event for enthusiastic patrons.

Venue

Oak Canyon Park, located in Silverado, CA, hosted the 8th Annual Brew Ha Ha. With 17 acres and ample shade trees, Oak Canyon Park provided an ideal location to handle the Brew Ha Ha festival size. In addition, the park infrastructure included ample seating and picnic tables, a spacious lawn area, an abundance of parking, and easy freeway access. Furthermore, the clear sky, mild temperature and cool breezes ensured a pleasant day for active outdoor fun.

Photograph by Brewin’ Bill

Game areas dotted the park and included Foosball, Cornhole, a climbing wall, giant Jenga, and beer keg toss. Ample outdoor water coolers dispensed chilled water throughout the day. Most importantly, the overall event was expertly and efficiently organized – including security.

Photograph by Brewin’ Bill

Craft Beer and Food

This year’s Brew Ha Ha Festival featured over 90 breweries and more than 250 beers. Brew Ha Ha attendees had unlimited beer samples available. And the lines for beer at most brewery tents were usually short (3-4 people max). Even the longer lines moved quickly. Furthermore, I can’t think of an Orange County beer festival that has offered the depth of range and quality of beers provided by the 8th Annual Brew Ha Ha.

Photograph by Firkin Ron

Noble Ale Works provided one of my favorite beers – “The Juice Is Out There” Double IPA. The Galaxy and Citra hops incorporated in this brew combined to deliver bursting flavors of juicy fruit, tangerine, and pineapple.

Photograph by Brewin’ Bill

And for the first time Brew Ha Ha offered a ‘Rare Beer Section’. The Rare Beer Section allowed craft beer fans willing to pay an extra ticket fee to sample extremely rare and special release beers. The Rare Beer Section was tucked away in a quiet event area under lots of shade trees. One of my favorite beers from this section was the Firestone Walker 20th (XX) Anniversary Ale. This blended ale was produced exclusively in 2016 to celebrate the brewery’s anniversary. Firestone Walker blended together 250 oak barrels and five different beers to create XX Anniversary Ale. The blend resulted in a smooth, but complex drinking delight. Flavors of brandy soaked cherries, chocolate, molasses, caramel and cinnamon caress your palate while complemented with boozy new American oak notes.

Photograph by Brewin’ Bill

Also, a host of food trucks catered the 8th Annual Brew Ha Ha. And they provided a wide range of food for purchase. Food options included BBQ, pizza, burgers, Mexican, vegetarian and more.

Photograph by Brewin’ Bill

I had a delicious vegetarian falafel pita sandwich from Falasophy Food Truck.

Photograph courtesy of Falasophy

Music

Nothing elevates a party or event more than some epic music. The Spazmatics delivered and infused the 8th Annual Brew Ha Ha with energetic fun and verve. Seems like they compelled anyone within listening range to dance and sing. I especially enjoyed their rendition of a-ha‘s song “Take on Me”. And when The Spazmatics weren’t playing, 95.5 KLOS played some excellent tunes to keep the energy going.

Photograph by Firkin Ron

Final Thoughts

The Brew Ha Ha organizers put a lot of thoughtful planning into this event. This planning included getting people home responsibly and safely.  Taxi and limo services were readily available and visible in the parking lot. And designated drivers could easily enter to pick up passengers. In addition, Brew Ha Ha offered a free shuttle service to take attendees from the event to the Tustin Metrolink Station. From there, patrons could catch a Lyft, Uber, cab, bus or train to their final destination.

Overall, the day was filled with some great craft beer, good food, rocking music, and loads of fun. Furthermore, some of the proceeds benefited Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and Inland Empire.

All in all, it was a great day to be a craft beer drinker!

Photograph by Brewin’ Bill

*A big thank you to The ACE Agency for arranging event access.