Wisconsin Hosts One of the Best Beer Festivals in the US this Summer

Beer festivals are really fun events to check out in the summertime. Nice weather and sampling beer, what more could you ask for? And over in Wisconsin, they've got one of the best beer festivals in the country, according to USA Today's 10Best.

ALSO READ: Target Field One of the Cheapest for the 9-9-9 Challenge

Best Beer Festivals in the US

I would image there are tons of beer festivals that happen all across the US. To determine which ones are the best of the best, USA Today "asked a panel of beer experts to nominate their top picks, then readers voted to crown the winners."

So yes, part of it is a popularity contest, but the voting starts with a paired down list nominated by experts in the field.

The Great Taste of the Midwest Beer Festival

The Wisconsin beer festival that ended up being crowned the 9th best beer festival in the US is the Great Taste of the Midwest. And lucky for us, the festival is coming up this summer!

For 2026, the festival is happening on Saturday, August 8th at Olin Park in Madison. Gates open at 1 PM and ends at 6 PM. Tickets are $70 and you get to sample around 1,400 beers. Yeah, 1,400. That's nuts!

There's also tons of local food vendors, live music, and a lot of the time, the brewers themselves who made the beer are at the festival, so you can learn more about the beer you're drinking.

Also, like the name suggests, this is a festival featuring beers from across the Midwest, not just Wisconsin. So yeah, it seems like a pretty big deal.