Location: Delaney's Tap Room and Restaurant @ 882 Whalley Avenue, New Haven
Date/Time: Saturday, July 14th 1PM - 5PM
Price: Tickets are on sale now, just head (HERE) for a link to purchase them now, or head down to Delaney's to buy one in person. If you buy your ticket in advance, it's only $30, which includes chili and two pints of beer, and all the samples you'd like to try! If you buy your tickets at the door, they're $35.
The Skinny: The 8th Annual Delaney's Chili Cook-Off and Beer Festival is almost here!!! Before I dive into all the savory and hoppy details, I need to divulge something. I went to this event for the first time ever, last summer. It instantly became my favorite craft beer event. It beats out the Great American Craft Beer Festival in Rhode Island and the Vermont Brewers Festival (which is located in a park next to Lake Champlain in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. This event is better than any Brewery visit or Tap Takeover I have attended.
This, to put it simply, is THE Event that I have been blabbing about to my friends and relatives (craft beer drinkers or not) since the moment I attended it last year. So, clearly I am very excited to both write about it and attend it again this year.
I'll try to paint the scene for those who have not been to this festival or Delaney's before. Delaney's is in the Westville section of New Haven (nowhere near downtown and more of a suburban area). The event is held outside. The beer tents are located on a closed off section of Central Avenue (that is maybe 100-150 feet long (SOOO much great craft beer in such a small area!!!). They plan to offer more than 100 different craft brews from breweries throughout the U.S. and even a few international brews!!! They offer unlimited samples, so please plan accordingly with transportation and as always, taste responsibly.
A large tent, located in their small parking lot covers an area of long cafeteria style tables (Some of the tables have the chilis lined up and some have chairs to sit at to taste the chilis, drinks some beers or just take break in the shade. Although they do have judges for the chili competition, they also do give out a people's choice award. So eat early, eat often and cast your vote! Also, if you head on down to Delaney's in the next week or two you might still be able to enter the chili cook-off! Just ask one of their friendly bartenders
The parking lot is also where you can try to get one of the Delaney's bartenders soaked in the dunk tank (which of course becomes more and more fun and more and more challenging as the hours go by). You can purchase some awesome BBQ (if the chilis aren't enough for ya) and listen to some great live music. As the event draws to a close, the tent area is also the scene of an awesome raffle (I highly recommend bringing a $20 or so as this event is for a several great causes and the prizes are fantastic too! (Yankees tickets, cases of craft beer, gift certificates etc)
All of the proceeds from this event will benefit three charities:
So with all that this event has to offer, you can probably see why it is my favorite. The beers are great and plentiful as are the chilis. There is awesome live music throughout. All of that is including in the modest admission price. If you bring along some extra cash, you can test your arm on the dunk tank, get some BBQ or try your luck at their fun raffle. And of course all of this is in the name of a three great causes!!! Perfect for a July Saturday afternoon.
