Brats, Beer And Beats

The world’s largest Brat Fest opens its gates once again, at the beautiful Willow Island in Madison, Wisconsin. The first experience I had with this iconic Wisconsin festival was seeing an unusual bright yellow t-shirt hung up in my wife’s closet, on it was the now recognisable cartoon brat. Ever since then I have been waiting with anticipation to check out the festival full of brats, beer and musical beats.

The smiling brat face is very striking and could even described as timeless in its appearance, as it appeals to the whole family but this is just one of the many reasons why hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the states capitol every year since 1983. The obvious initial attraction for the festival is the food, the famous brat cook out rustles up millions of tasty treats for the masses, including hog and vegan brats. What better way to wash down a brat on a summer’s day, than with a beer, my choice being a local brew from Capitol Brewery. The sweet taste of the golden amber nectar complimented the delicious brat from the first bite.

While chomping down on food and drink, there was plenty of music to sit back and enjoy for free! There were four stages to check out from a verity of artists, from rap to rock. As well as music, there was a grand car show, carnival ground and plenty of activities for the children. After hitting the festival with the in laws on the Saturday I and the wife decided to go back for a second day on Sunday... Mainly because of the free firework show but also more brats and music, how could we resist. Also with it being Memorial weekend it is a good way to bring people together to remember those we may have lost.

If you haven’t been to Brat Fest before or want to experience a taste of real American culture, then this festival should be on your summer to do list. I certainly cannot wait until it rolls around again, however I am hoping for some little improvements in the festival for the future. It would be nice to see more things to do at the festival, more staggered stage times, more food types at better prices such as Brat flavours. With that said this festival is home grown and free, helped along by an army of volunteers and some generous charities.

So next year start the summer right with some beer, brats and beats in the summer solstice.