Burp Fest at Winter Beer Dabbler 2026

The Beer Dabbler was born in 2008 as a traveling craft beer sampling festival in the Twin Cities, created to celebrate and promote Minnesota's growing craft beer community. The Winter Beer Dabbler quickly became the organization's flagship event, embracing the uniquely Minnesotan tradition of celebrating outdoors even in the depths of winter.

The festival found its home at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds — a venue that holds almost mythic significance for Minnesotans. Hosting a beer festival there taps into the same spirit of communal celebration as the Great Minnesota Get-Together, but with a distinctly winter twist. Attendees bundle up and brave the February cold for an afternoon of sampling craft beers and ciders from across the Midwest.

Over the years, the Winter Beer Dabbler has grown from a niche craft beer gathering into one of the Upper Midwest's premier winter events. With over 130 participating breweries and cideries, it rivals any beer festival in the region for scale and variety. The Beer Dabbler organization has expanded into media, retail (Dabbler Depot), and community building, but the Winter Beer Dabbler remains the crown jewel — an annual tradition that proves Minnesotans never let cold weather get in the way of great beer.