Atlanta has seen its share of beer festivals come and go. There are so many events that launched with fanfare, built a following, then quietly then ghosted when the finances tanked or something else shiny popped up. It’s a tough market in a hardcore social media world, and the craft beer/booze/food festival model has proven harder to sustain than it once looked.
Which makes the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival’s 14-year run at Atlantic Station worth noting. While others folded, this one keeps coming back — and this year it’s bringing something genuinely unexpected to the table: 20 amateur boxing bouts presented by Buckhead Fight Club with every ticket.
A festival built around beer, bourbon, and bbq – all Southern comforts – now has a fun touch of sporting violence. Whether that reads as a natural evolution or a creative pivot to keep things fresh, it tells us that organizers aren’t content to run the same show on autopilot – that how fests stale out. There is new VIP Cognac Lounge alongside a Tasting Theater featuring seminars from Master Distillers, Brewmasters, and Pitmasters.
At its core appeal hasn’t changed: all-you-care-to-taste beer and bourbon sampling, a souvenir glassware and piles of brisket, ribs and pork- plus the returning Shrine of Swine with whole hog pork throughout the day.
Entertainment includes DJ CRU, The Atlanta Drum Academy, and Not Your Average Party Band on the main stage.
The 14th Annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival takes place Saturday, February 28th at Atlantic Station. General Admission runs $39 plus fees (2 PM – 6 PM), VIP is $85 plus fees with early entry at noon. Tickets and information at atlanta.beerandbourbon.com.
Fourteen years in, that’s not luck — that’s a formula that continues to work.
