Jake's Beer Festival October 2024 - Menu Items and Pricing

The fall version of Jake's Beer Festival takes place on Friday, October 4th, 2024... and just from carefully reading the info from Loews, it sounds like the VIP Ticket has changed a little bit from what it had been. More on that in a minute (below the menu).

Jake's Beer Festival is a "sip and stroll" style event and is three hours long (from 6pm to 9pm). It features 50+ craft beers and hard seltzers from local and regional breweries, along with some fun tapas-sized food pairings. The featured breweries for the October 4th event are Tactical Brewing Company (Orlando, FL), Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company (Orlando, FL), Crooked Can Brewing Company (Winter Garden, FL).

The festival takes place in a mostly covered area known as the "Wantilan Pavilion" behind Jake's American Bar at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort. There's a small band stage and the live music for this festival will be provided by the Beth McKee Band. Seating is limited but — there's a VIP option that might get you closer to the band and a dedicated seating area (more on that below the menu).

The food and beer samples are "all-you-can-enjoy" over the course of the three hours, so you can try as many pairings as you want! Here's a look at the food menu for the Jake's Beer Festival for October 4th, 2024.

Food Stations

• Chicken & Waffles
  Crispy chicken cutlets, fresh made waffles, bourbon maple syrup and candied bacon.
• Jake's Pretzel Rods
  Four cheese stout fondue and tangy mustard.
• Grilled Prawns
  Roasted corn purée, grilled sunchokes, popped quinoa, fennel pollen, toasted coriander vinaigrette.
• Roasted Butternut Squash & Honey Ricotta Flatbread
  Roasted butternut squash, honey ricotta, shaved crispy Brussels sprouts, balsamic vinegar.
• Grilled Beet & Burrata Salad
  Grilled red and yellow beets, burrata cheese, spiced cider vinaigrette.
• Porter Braised Short Ribs
  Vanilla parsnip purée, broccoli purée, braised pearl onions, crispy sweet potato spirals.
• Orange Glazed Mini Pavlova
  Meringue shell, orange pastry cream, mandarin orange segments.
• Blueberry & Apple Tarte Tatin
  Caramelized apple, fresh blueberry, cinnamon sugar, puff pastry.
• German Chocolate Stout Cake
  Chocolate cake, coconut and pecan filling, salted caramel.

VIP Food Stations

• Chipotle Salmon
  Kale salad, crispy garlic, toasted pumpkin seeds, sour cherry vinaigrette.
• Sous Vide Veal Tenderloin
  Chanterelle mushroom, roasted corn and Fresno salsa, celeriac chip, blood orange gastrique.
• Black Forrest Roulade
  Chocolate will roulade, brandy cherry filling, chocolate ganache frosting.

An extensive beer list isn't really published before the event starts — but we know the three breweries mentioned above will be bringing several of their beers to sample…

Local Featured Breweries

• Tactical Brewing Company (Orlando, FL)
• Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company (Orlando, FL)
• Crooked Can Brewing Company (Winter Garden, FL)

Soooo... there are two ticket levels. The General Ticket ($75.00 +$6.88 fee / +$5.32 tax) includes of all-you-can-enjoy food and beer samples listed above, but in a "stand and stroll" format (i.e. seating is not guaranteed, and is quite limited).

Then there's the VIP Ticket. The VIP Ticket used to get you access to a special air-conditioned reception area called the Clipper Room. But that's changed this time — and I actually think this might be a good change. For this October 2024 event, VIP Guests are grated access to … "a special reception area on the private croquet lawn with additional beer offerings and appetizers paired with beers from Tactical Brewing Company".

Okay... so it seems like we've lost access to some air-conditioning — but, the Clipper Room was actually pretty far away from the main festival and was never really big enough to fit all the VIP's in at once. Not only that, but the extra food offerings were kind of hit-and-miss. While I'm not exactly sure where the "croquet lawn" is — outside areas tend to be larger than inside areas and they've actually published a list of the extra VIP Food items this time (plus, they sound like three solid food items).

VIP Ticket Guests also still get access to a special seating area closest to the live entertainment outside, under the Wantilan Pavilion (and naturally, all the food and beer offerings that the General Ticket guests get as well).

Ticket Levels and Prices

All ticket sales end on October 3, 2024

• General Ticket — $75.00 (+$6.88 fee / +$5.32 tax)
  Includes all-you-care-to-enjoy beer tastings, festival foods and live entertainment. Self-parking is also included (not valid for overnight hotel guests).
• VIP Ticket — $99.00 (+$8.48 fee / +$6.99 tax)
  Includes everything you get with a general ticket, plus: special reception area on the private croquet lawn with additional food and beer offerings, as well as seating closest to the live entertainment. Valet parking is also included (not valid for overnight hotel guests).

If you want to see photos from a previous Jake's Beer Festival event, click here.

More information and a direct link to purchase tickets is available directly from the October 2024 Jake's Beer Festival ticket page (which is actually an "Eventbrite" page) — click here to open that in a new window.