Volunteering at Rock Star Beer and Music Festival – Halloween Edition
Signing up to Volunteer
Looking to get more into the industry and learn more while volunteering, I googled craft beer events going on in San Diego. One of the first things to show up was the Rock Star Beer and Music Festival event. I looked into it some and it seemed like a great place to volunteer. I sent an email through the contact form and waited for a reply. About a week before the event I received an email saying that I was confirmed to volunteer. A few hours later I received an email with follow up information. It contained details such as the address, volunteer times, parking, and what to do when we got there. Since it was a Halloween festival, costumes were encouraged. As someone who never really celebrated Halloween growing up, I decided to not dress up.
Learning some from when I volunteered at the Adams Avenue Street Fair, I left early to try and get some good parking. One thing I didn’t take into account is that volunteers arrived much earlier than the gates opened to this event. Needless to say, I found ample parking and hit very little traffic. Since the event was next to a park in Liberty Station I walked around the park until it got closer to the time I needed to be there.
The First Hour
The Volunteer Sticker at the Rock Star Beer and Music Festival.
When it got closer to the time I walked back to the event and looked around for the contact person. I asked one of the workers and she led me to the contact person and I checked in. Myself and another volunteer were assigned a jockey box to pour at. Since we were there an hour before the event started we were allowed to walk around and check out the rest of the event.
We were also allowed to try some of our beer before the event started so we could talk about it. I was helping to pour Alaskan Brewing Company beer and we had two different types. We had the Hopothermia, their American Double IPA and their Raspberry Wheat Ale, which is part of their pilot series. Both of these beers were very good. The Double IPA was very drinkable without being overpowered by hop flavors. The Raspberry Wheat went down smoothly and was even enjoyed by “manlier men” who didn’t think they would like it at all.
It was sunny and warm when I first got there with a slight breeze so I left my jacket in the car. After standing there and waiting around for a little, it got chilly. Since we had over an hour until the VIP guest would be arriving, I was able to go to my car and grab my jacket. I’m glad I did, as it definitely got colder as the night went on.
The VIPs Show Up
The tasting cups at the Rock Star Beer and Music Festival.
As with a lot of events you could purchase general admission or VIP tickets for this event. The VIPs were allowed to enter the event an hour earlier, giving them quicker access to the beer. As soon as the gates were opened, people were pouring into the event. Some were heading straight for the tasting line, while others were walking around the rest of the festivals. I was at the first pouring station and was expecting to become overwhelmed right away. I was happily surprised that this was not the case. While we did hit some times when we had a line, most of the first hour we were ahead of the crowd and didn’t get backed up.
The Rest of the Crowd
After the first hour, the general admission ticket holders were allowed to enter the festival. This is when things started to get a little more crowded. We managed to stay on top of the crowd for a long time and were pouring the beer as soon as people showed up. At one point in the night, I needed to go to the bathroom so stepped away. The lines for the bathroom was pretty long, as I’m sure you can imagine.
When I got back to the pouring stations, the lines had gotten really long. I went back to work and started helping to pour the beer again. We got a lot of complements throughout the night on both the beers but mainly the Double IPA. We had many repeat customers throughout the night. At one point, we had people stand in the line, get their sample, and immediately get back in line for another sample.
The jockey box set up at the Rock Star Beer and Music Festival.
Each station had one keg of each beer so a total of two kegs each. A little while after I had gotten back, we emptied the Double IPA and were only left with the Raspberry Wheat Ale. While some people were upset they couldn’t get another sample of the Double IPA, they still got the Wheat Ale since they had been standing in line. Not too long after the Double kicked, so did the Raspberry.
Cleaning Up
With both of our kegs emptied, we cleaned up the station some. We turned off the CO2 and disconnected the kegs. After the kegs were emptied, we were free to leave, or enjoy the event some. Since I was already there, I decided to stay around a little bit and try some of the other beers. The volunteer stickers were a great thing to have on the rest of the night. These allowed us easy access to the kegs, even with long lines. Since I was a volunteer, I was able to try a good amount of the beer before finally leaving.
Conclusion
This event was a lot more enjoyable than the Adams Avenue Street Fair. I think this was due to many factors. For starters, the jockey boxes were a lot better at this event. The CO2 pressure and temperature were set up perfectly and we were pouring great pours. I also enjoyed interacting with the guest, where as at the other event, I simply ran beer back and forth. Finally, it wasn’t crazy packed the entire time with long lines. This allowed us to take some breaks and not feel overwhelmed, leading to a better experience.
I was able to learn more about the industry at this event, even though I wasn’t able to make any brewery contacts. I’m certainly glad I volunteered at this event and can’t wait for the next one.
Have you had any great experiences volunteering at beer festivals? Let me know in the comments below! Be sure to follow my social media and sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on my adventures!
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