TAP craft brew festival at Hunter Mt.

More than 120 New York State breweries are bringing their best craft brews to Hunter Mountain next weekend for the 19th TAP New York festival. Meet the brewers, who are pouring 350+ of their finest brews.

Tap New York is the largest and longest-running single-state brew fest in the country, and gets larger each year as the craft brewing industry continues to boom, especially in New York State. This year’s event, April 23 and 24, features 25 new breweries.

The list of breweries includes Jonas Bronck Beer Co. of the Bronx and Kelso of Brooklyn.  See the complete list here.

In addtion to beer, there’s food. This year’s this year’s cuisine is The All-American Burger, featuring more than 20 different mouth-watering burger toppings. Passed hors d’oeuvres, including the extremely popular corndogs, are also included in the ticket price. Live music from local bands and artists accompanies attendees as they peruse the craft beer selection and indulge in delicious bites.

Tickets start at $72. Get tickets here.

New to the festival this year is the VIP Experience, which includes an exclusive seating area, exclusive food service exclusive bathrooms, and four beers on tap that are NOT available elsewhere on the festival grounds, a commemorative  pint glass, VIP parking, and one hour early admission.

VIP tickets are limited to 100 per day, and Saturday VIP tickets are already sold out.

Another addition to the festival this year is a smartphone app that replaces the printed program this year and includes a map of the festival grounds with a list of the attending breweries, information and history about the festival, opportunities to win prizes (including All the Beer You Can Carry), and up-to-the-minute announcements about the festival, such as the Brewers’ Cups ceremonies.

TAP New York also features a beer judging competition. Award ceremonies take place on both days of the festival outside on the Main Stage. The most coveted awards include the Governor’s Cup for the Best Craft Beer in New York State, the F.X. Matt Memorial Cup for the Best Craft Brewery in New York State, and the Matthew Vassar Brewers’ Cup for the Best Craft Brewery in the Hudson Valley.

Hunter Mountain is a four season resort in the Catskills, two hours north of Times Square. Great skiing in winter, great food, drink and music festivals the rest of the year.