Beer Festivals at the Philadelphia Zoo

As a beer lover, brew festivals are some of my most anticipated events throughout the year. They provide an excellent opportunity to get together with friends and try a bunch of new beers and breweries.

When a festival has a fun setting, the entire experience is elevated.

This is why the beer festivals at the Philadelphia Zoo are some of my favorites each and every year. Each year, the zoo puts on two beer festivals that attract some of the best craft breweries in the region and country. The first and longer-running festival is the Summer Ale Festival. This festival runs in the summer months; this year it is scheduled for June 22. The second beer festival is Oktobearfest, usually held in mid-September.

Both festivals offer the chance to try many different beers while surrounded by wondrous animals. The zoo does an excellent job mixing breweries from different regions and sizes, so it is easy to find different posts with a wide variance in beer to try.

The Summer Ale Fest is the larger of the two and usually quicker to sell out. Typically there are tiers of access, including general admission, early access to the festival and non-drinker passes.

My favorite part of the festival, not considering all of the new beers I will try, is the evening animal viewing. This lets guests see certain nocturnal animals that are usually sleeping during business hours.

General admission for the festivals usually hovers around $50, with a small surcharge applied for an early access ticket.