Brew ($$$) at the Zoo

I don’t know if inflation rose that much this year or if my beer festival-itis is such that any price would have raised my eyebrows but the 6th Annual Brew at the L.A. Zoo ticket prices seem a touch high, even for a charity event and especially considering that this year’s California Craft Brewer’s Summit with 180 breweries from across the State of California is $5.00-$15.00 cheaper and 140+ breweries heavier. And that’s not counting the VIP Zoo ticket ($125.00) which is more than the Firestone Walker Invitational general admission by $40.00 and with considerably less food than was on offer in Paso Robles.

That means that the animals and lush atmosphere of the Zoo has to be really spectacular because the brewery list (see below) is way behind those two marquee events above as well as such L.A. festival must attends like the Kick-Off Festival for L.A. Beer Week and the DTLA Beer Crawl. Not to mention that one winery is included in their list as well as Shock Top from SABInBevMiller!

Participating breweries* include Alosta Brewing Company, Alpine Beer Company , Angel City Brewing , Baja Brewing Company , Ballast Point Brewing , Barefoot Wine, Bootlegger’s Brewery , Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado, Common Cider, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Fireman’s Brew Company, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Golden Road Brewery , Goose Island , Great Divide Brewing Company, Green Flash Brewing Company , I&I Brewing , Indie Brewing Company , Iron Triangle Brewing, Kinetic Brewing Company, Knee Deep Brewing Co., Latitude 33 Brewing Co., MacLeod Ale Brewery, Mother Earth Brew Co., New Belgium, Pacific Plate Brewing , Pocock Brewing, Ritual Brewing Co., Samuel Adams, San Fernando Brewing Co. , Shock Top , Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., SKA Brewing , Stone Brewing Company, Surf Brewing , The Dude’s Brewing Company, The Traveler Beer Co., Transplants Brewing and Westlake Brewing Company.

Call me elitist if you must, but when the prices are that high, you really have to compare Brew at the Zoo to comparably priced events and frankly, it comes up short. My suggestion? They need to break down how much per ticket is going to the animals.