Bier Fest at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Menu Items & Event Info for 2022

I don't have the Busch Gardens, Williamsburg location anywhere in the Mealtrip directory... but curiosity peeked my interest when I saw a post on Twitter about what is being called "Virginia's Largest Craft Beer Festival" — and how it compares to what SeaWorld Orlando's Craft Beer Festival and the Busch Gardens Tampa Bier Fest. (The SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks are managed by the same ownership group.)

Since it seemed a little disingenuous to put this in the main news feed (seeing as how I don't really cover any of the dining locations in Williamsburg), I've created a little side news category over here for the occasional interesting things I find every now and then.

For starters, the Bier Fest at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sundays between August 12th, 2022 and September 4th, 2022. The festival will also take place on Monday September 5th, 2022 (the only Monday on the schedule... because it's Labor Day here in the US). Here's a quick link to their site if you're interested in purchasing tickets, a Sampler Lanyard, or making reservations to a special event.

After reviewing all the info, it seems pretty similar to the other festivals. I think we have "slightly" more food options here at SeaWorld's Craft Beer Festival, but they seem have more beer selections up in the Williamsburg park. They have some live music and so do we… although it's more "local bands" this year than in year's past... at all the locations. They do also have a couple of cool "extras" that (as near as I can tell) we don't have.

There is a Williamsburg Bier Fest Sampler Lanyard (yay), which I'm sure makes buying samples at their event - just as fun as it does here in Central Florida. The 10-Item Sample Lanyard for the Bier Fest at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is just $40 (plus tax) — wait, whaaaat??? The SeaWorld Orlando Craft Beer Festival 8-Item Sample Lanyard is $55 (plus tax). That makes the Williamsburg Bier Fest Sampler Lanyard seem like a great deal!

So what does the food menu look like? Well let's see…

Biergarten Reserve

• Spicy Lager Wings - Fest Favorite
  Tossed in Sriracha wing sauce
• Beer Bang Shrimp
  Tossed in sweet and spicy chili IPA-infused garlic sauce
• Cheddar Ale Nachos
  Tortilla chips topped with spiked cheddar sauce, jalapeños & cilantro lime crema
• Lemon Shandy - NEW
  Cocktail infused with lemon & lime
  

Cobblestone Ale and Spirits

• Pretzel Bites
  With Welsh rarebit cheese
• Margarita - NEW
  With a splash of Sly Clyde SandBar Cider

Grogan's Pub

• Irish Nachos
  House-made potato chips topped with chili & cheese
• Pub Pretzel
  With Guinness® pimento cheese

Brauhaus Craft Bier Room

• German Meatballs
  German-style meatballs in a lemon caper sauce
• Pub Pretzel
  With cheddar ranch beer dip

Beer & Bites

• Giant Pretzel - Fest Favorite
  With bacon salt
• Bratwurst Burger - NEW
  With pub mustard, sauerkraut & gherkin in a pretzel bun
• Sangria - NEW
  White wine infused with grapes, apples, oranges & wheat beer

Pretzel World

• Loaded Pretzel Bites - Fest Favorite
  With beer cheese & bacon

The Islands

• Frozen Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Triple Jam
• Frosé
• Peach Bellini
• Strawberry Daiquiri
• Bahama Mama

Technically, all of those items listed (above) aren't "food" items, some are cocktails … but they didn't really fit into my list anywhere else. There's really only 9 food items.

So what about the beer? Well there's 69 local, regional, and domestic breweries that are represented at the festival that will feature over 125 unique beers and ciders at the festival. They don't seem to publish a specific list of what's available… instead, they list the breweries. Much like the Bier Fest in Tampa, the selections that are available will change from day to day.

Virginia Breweries

• 2 Silos Brewing Company® | Manassas
• Alewerks Brewing Company | Williamsburg
• Back Bay Brewing Company | Virginia Beach
• Billsburg Brewery | Williamsburg
• Blue Mountain Brewery | Afton
• Bold Rock® Hard Cider | Nellysford
• Bull Island Brewing Company | Hampton
• Buskey Hard Cider | Richmond
• Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co. | Hampton
• Cannon & Draw Brewing Co. | Richmond
• Cape Charles Brewing Company | Cape Charles
• Center of the Universe Brewing Co. | Ashland
• Devils Backbone Brewing Company | Roseland
• Hardywood Park Craft Brewery | Richmond
• James River Brewery | Scottsville
• Legend® Brewing Co. | Richmond
• Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery | Goochland
• Midnight Brewery | Rockville
• Nost Brewing Project | Fort Monroe
• O'Connor Brewing Co. | Norfolk
• Old Bust Head Brewing Company | Vint Hill
• Port City® Brewing | Alexandria
• Sly Clyde Ciderworks | Hampton
• Smartmouth Brewing Co. | Norfolk
• Starr Hill Brewery | Richmond
• Steam Bell® Beer Works | Chesterfield
• That Damn Mary Brewing Company | Hayes
• The Original Larry’s Hard Lemonade Brewing Co.® | Yorktown
• The St. George Brewing Company | Hampton
• The Virginia Beer Company | Williamsburg
• Three Notch'd Brewing | Charlottesville
• Tradition Brewing Company | Newport News
• Wasserhund Brewing Company | Virginia Beach

Domestic Breweries

• ACE® Cider | Sebastopol, CA
• Angry Orchard® Brewing Company | Walden, NY
• Anheuser-Busch | St. Louis, MO
• Bell's ® Brewery | Comstock, MI
• Blake's Hard Cider Co. | Armada, MI
• Blue Moon® Brewing Company | Denver, CO
• Blue Point Brewing Company | Patchogue, NY
• Breckenridge Brewery | Littleton, CO
• Cigar City Brewing® | Tampa, FL
• Coors® Brewing Company | Golden, CO
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton, DE
• Flying Dog® Brewery | Frederick, MD
• Golden Road Brewing | Los Angeles, CA
• Goose Island Beer Co.® | Chicago, IL
• Heavy Seas Beer | Baltimore, MD
• Lagunitas Brewing Company | Petaluma, CA
• McKenzie's Hard Cider | West Seneca, NY
• New Belgium Brewing® | Fort Collins, CO
• New Realm Brewing Company® | Atlanta, GA
• Pabst® Brewing Company | San Antonio, TX
• Samuel Adams® | Boston, MA
• Sierra Nevada® Brewing Co. | Chico, CA
• Southern Tier Brewing Company | Lakewood, NY
• Terrapin® Beer Co. | Athens, GA
• The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery | Farmville, NC
• Twisted Tea® Brewing Company | Cincinnati, OH
• Victory® Brewing Company | Downingtown, PA
• Yuengling® | Pottsville, PA

International Breweries

• Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma | Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico
• Guinness® | Saint James Gate, Ireland
• Hoegaarden® | Hoegaarden, Belgium
• Hofbräuhaus München | Munich, Germany
• Paulaner Brauerei | Munich, Germany
• Radeberger Gruppe | Frankfurt, Germany
• Sapporo Breweries | Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Japan
• Spaten-Franziskaner | Munich, Germany

Live Band Schedule

There is a published list of live bands that will be performing at the stage located near Das Festhaus. Each band is scheduled to perform Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm.

• Cornbread - August 12 – 14
  Country music for all ages
  
• Kevin MaC & The Homies - August 19 – 21
  "Southern Swag" country artist
  
• Forest Hill - August 26
  Modern folk rock with a vintage funk twist
  
• Morgan Lyndsey Band - August 27 – 28
  Energetic country/pop and rock ‘n roll
  
• Martin and Kelly - September 2 – 5
  Crossover country music standouts
  

Extras

So what about those "cool extras" I mentioned? There's a couple of meet and greet opportunities happening multiple times on each day of the festival. The series is called "Brewery Talks" and gives guests the opportunity to meet experts from various craft breweries and learn about the brewing process and culture at each brewery.

While there's not really a list of who's going to be where on each day, there are set times and locations for the series.

Brewery Talks at Brauhaus Craft Bier Room

• Saturday & Sunday: 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm
• Friday: 1:30pm, 2:30pm, 3:30pm

Brewery Talks at Grogan’s Pub

• Friday, Saturday & Sunday: 2:00pm, 3:00pm and 4:00pm

And while I don't think this next one will be limited to the Craft Bier Festival, there is a new Speakeasy Experience at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that sounds really, really cool.

Bürgermeister's Hideaway Cocktail Experience

The backstory is, there's a secret hideaway bar somewhere in the Germany’s Rhinefeld Village section of the park where the centuries-old secret bar, offers "a different type of counter service".

You'll have to pay (what amounts to a cover charge) $50 (per person, plus tax) and make reservations to get in — but once inside, you'll take part in a curated and seasonally inspired "flight" experience that includes 3 signature cocktail, mocktail, wine or beer options. (Personally, I'd go with the cocktails, because — beer is basically, everywhere else.)



Technically, that one is called the "Bürgermeister's Hideaway Cocktail Experience", and I think it's a really cool idea. I hope this series continues to evolve and be a part of future event themed periods as well. At the moment, it seems slightly pricey — but that may also just be because there's not a whole lot of information on what all is included. Hopefully, time will tell.

Wrap Up and Et Cetera

That about wraps up my overview of what's going on at the 2022 Bier Fest at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Naturally, to partake in any alcoholic beverage, you'll need a legal ID proving your 21 or older. All food and beverage is "in addition to" your normal park admission charge. And as always, everything is subject to change without notice.

For the most up-to-date and offical informaiton about the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Bier Fest (and to purchase tickets and a Sampler Lanyard) — head on over to the Bier Fest page on the offical Busch Gardens Williamsburg web site. (Click Here).

If you want to compare this event to what's going on at this year's Craft Beer Festival at SeaWorld, Orlando check out the Mealtrip Craft Beer Festival at SeaWorld page that contains all the food and beer menu items and entertainment offerings at the festival.

If you'd like to check out all the information that we have on this year's Bier Fest at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, check out the Mealtrip Bier Fest at Busch Gardens Tampa page — where we have all the food and beer menu items and concert lists for the festival.