Generally, we leave talking about music to our friends at DC9, but the food and booze this weekend's Untapped Festival at Gilley's may actually be more interesting than the music. Sure, Cake will be there, and Polyphonic Spree is going to show up in their robes, but that should only be a fleeting concern as you think about exactly how you're going to drink more than 300 beers without dying or getting arrested.
Untapped Fest travels around Texas with their bands and booze, and this weekend's stop in Dallas looks to be much larger than their Houston and Fort Worth shows when it comes to both. Breweries from all over the world, including Austin's 512 Brewing Company, Brooklyn Brewery, and Blanche De Bruxelles, will each have samples of their beers for the tasting, including some that aren't available to the general public.
Dallas breweries will also be making a strong showing at Untapped, including Community Beer, Revolver, and Four Corners. If you haven't had a chance to try the local brews that are constantly winning awards at beer competitions in the United States and beyond, this would be a damn fine opportunity. And, you won't have to worry about whether or not you've wasted spending $8 on a beer that you're not even going to like, because you're going to be trying each brew two ounces at a time.
You can thank Texas state law for that. Apparently, Untapped Fest is only allowed by law to give patrons 24 ounces of beer at a time, which really just seems like a challenge for people who are good at convincing others that they're sober and haven't exceeded their twelve-sample limit. Two ounce samples of each beer might seem like the Untapped booths are being stingy with the beer, until you realize just exactly how many brews you're going to be able to taste. Once you've exceeded your sample limit, brews will be available for purchase.
Because it is inadvisable and probably unsafe to have a beer-centric festival without food, Bolsa Mercado and Hypnotic Donuts will be serving up food that is just going to get more delicious as you get more drunk. No details yet on exactly what either restaurant is bringing, but you can bet it is better than those orange-cheese nachos and stale bags of popcorn that you're used to buying at fests.
Tickets for Untapped Fest are still available on Prekindle, and starting at $35, seem pretty damn reasonable. A $65 VIP ticket will get you access to an early tasting event, access to rare keg tappings, and your very own souvenir cup. You should also probably plan to make room in your budget for an Uber, too.
