Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Suds and Sounds in Atlantic City June 4-5

The 2022 Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival returns to Bader Field (545 N. Albany Ave.) for two days of music and beers (and hard ciders, meads and more).

The Festival will feature Alkaline Trio with special guest Thrice for Session 1 on Saturday, June 4 (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.). At Session 2 on Sunday, June 5 (noon to 4 p.m.), New Found Glory makes their long-awaited return to the Jersey Shore with guests Four Years Strong. The festival also plays host to an acoustic stage that features eight local artists, unplugged and acoustic.

Jersey City's Departed Soles Brewing Company will have at least one of its gluten-free beers at the Festival. (If Sunken Silo Brew Works in Hunterdon County confirms that it will have gluten-free Crazy X American Pale Ale there, I'll update this post.)

Confirmed cideries and meaderies include Armageddon Brewing (New Jersey), Austin Eastciders (Texas), Blake's Hard Cider Co. (Michigan), Original Sin (New York), Moonlight Meadery (New Hampshire) and Romilly Cidre (France). California's Flying Embers will have hard kombucha.

If beer and music aren't enough, the festival will also feature cuisine from Atlantic County restaurants, area food trucks, culinary demonstrations, educational seminars, sideshow acts and other activities. There will be two all-gluten-free food trucks at the Festival: Philly's own Fox & Son and Wholly Bowls.

In addition, the 2022 festivities will host a carnival-like atmosphere. Attendees are invited to enjoy hot wing eating contests, larger-than-life games, Silent Disco, hatchet throwing and keg tossing. In addition, non-brewery vendors will offer unique beer-related apparel and goods.

The 2022 Hops Trot 5K will take place Sunday, June 5 at 10 a.m., starting at Ocean Casino Resort. This fun run will send racers down the boardwalk to some of Atlantic City's favorite watering holes, ending at Bader Field just in time for Session 2. Costumes are encouraged!

General Admission tickets are $70 in advance (plus taxes and fees) and can be purchased online. The festival also offers VIP tickets, group tickets and a Designated Driver ticket for $25 at the door to further encourage attendee responsibility. Although Designated Driver tickets are unlimited, keep in mind that the festival has sold out for the last nine years, so don't wait to get tickets.

The event is rain or shine, and parking is available on site at Bader Field for a fee.

All attendees are urged to taste responsibly. No one under the age of 21 will be admitted into the festival. Valid photo identification must be presented.