Update: Michael Jackson Tutored Tasting at Penn

Back when I first heard that Randy Mosher author of, Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink, would be guiding the tasting for the 20th Annual Michael Jackson Tutored Beer Tasting at Penn I jumped over to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology website to get more details. Oddly nothing was listed on their calender of upcoming events. The only information out there was from other bloggers and those in the beer biz.

However yesterday I uncovered a link to ticket sales. Philly Beer Fests.ticketleap.com . This seems to point you in the right direction to make a purchase but it still didn't offer anymore than the general information that's already out.

I don't get it. For such a well known and professionally run event so far the overall promotion of it is terrible. You would think the promoters would want the word out in a big, big way. I'm most surprised that the Penn Museum calender of events for March still doesn't have it posted. This isn't 2 or 3 months out it only a month away. We can only hope things improve in the next couple weeks. I hate to see a great event end up having a less than great turnout.

General Admission

Session times

1:00, 3:30 & 6:00pm

Each tutored tasting is 1 hour followed by a 2 hour general tasting of over 100 different beers.

Ticket cost $50.00

Michael Jackson Tutored Tasting is On for the 20th Year

I am more than a little beer geeked up over the news that the University of Pennsylvania is hosting the Michael Jackson Tutored Beer Tasting on March 13. This is the 20th year for the event and beer author Randy Mosher will conduct the tastings. I first read the good news on Mr. Sixpack's site and tripped across it again while perusing Mr. Curtin's Liquid Diet.

If you are a beer fan (being here I assume you are) and have not had the opportunity to attend in the past make it a point to go this year. This is not the overly packed, fight for your beer and then wait, wait, wait type of beer event. It's very well run. Three start times during the day and a limited amount of tickets help to lessen the crowds. The first hour is a tutored tasting which is followed by a 2 hour general tasting session of over 100 additional beers in the Chinese Rotunda. Even with the large number of people who attend there's not much of a wait when trying to get a beer. Since the event takes place in the University of Pennsylvania's Archaeology & Anthropology Museum there's sort of a grand feel to the whole affair. A good mix of beer culture and history.

I've made it to the tasting 4 times and it's one of my favorite beer events. The first time I attended was still the most memorable. I met Michael Jackson and amazingly I wasn't even aware of the general tasting. After the tutored tasting a friend and I were preparing to leave when they announced the start of the general tasting. To my surprise I had two more hours to sample more amazing beer and managed to have a few words with Michael Jackson. Picture telling a kid who has opened all his Christmas gifts that there is a second room of gifts and Santa is handing them out. That was my excitement level. Still one of my best beer days ever.

The details of this year's tasting are still hard to come by. Hopefully in the upcoming weeks ticket information will become available on the Penn Museum website or a sponsor's site. I'll post it when I get it.