Craft and micro brew lovers are converging on our valley for a celebration of tremendous scale. The 4th annual Big Tap In Beer Festival starts with a special VIP tasting at 1PM Saturday with the general session starting at 3PM. The event is being held at The Shepherd Center on South Avenue.

The VIP tickets sold out within a few hours of release, but there are still a few general session tickets left as of press time. Event orgnanizers Phill and Sandy Reda expect those tickets to be gone very soon and are encouraging people not to wait until the last minute to avoid being shut out.

Everything about the event is larger this year. There are more breweries puring more beers than ever before. Including some beers so unique and exclusive that they will likely never be aviable outside of the event. The Big Tap In continues to gain international recognition from the beer industry. This year Samuel Adams' Brewmaster James Koch will address the crowd at the Shepherd Center.

The pre-party has been underway since Monday and there are cool beer tastings each night leading up to the event, an after party on Saturday and post Tap In tastings on Sunday. The event has grown into a two week long celebration of the suds!

Here's a look at what's going on locally tat VE over the next few days:

Bitchin' Bourbon Ale Tasting - 7PM Wednesday

Head Brewer from Full Pint Brewing Co - Cask Tap 7PM, Open Mic Night 8PM Tur

Columbus Brewing Company Cask Tapping - 7PM, Live Music "The Syndicate" Fri

You can learn more about the pre-events and The Big Tap In at these links:

www.bigtapin.com

www.vewinebeer.com

www.magictreepubandeatery.com

I will be covering the big tap in for The Vindicator on Saturday and a large print feature will be on the front page of the food section on Wednesday the 24th.