2026 Brews, Bourbon & BBQ Festival

If you want to discover local breweries, and a few bourbons, this is a great way to do that. The number of tastings that you get is worth the price of admission. I got the general admission beer ticket and my husband had the general admission bourbon ticket.

2026 was my third year attending this event. In 2024 and 2025, the event was held at the MAPS Museum in North Canton. The museum was a much better venue, and I hope the organizers will return there next year. The set-up at the stadium was really crowded and very loud--difficult to navigate. I also really missed the food trucks. The BBQ vendors were VERY limited this year, and some of the BBQ dishes were sold out before 7:00 (VIP entry opened at 5; general at 6). However, I was happy to see some favorite vendors, like Akron Honey and the pickle guys.

A note about the "Master Class tickets: There were some "master classes" that you had the option of signing up for this year, for an additional cost. One of the people in my party paid for the Pavs Ice Cream and Bourbon pairing class. It was scheduled really late (8:30) and they weren't made aware that it would be that late until a couple of days before the event. They had assumed it would be a walk-thru kind of experience that they could do at any time since there wasn't a time listed when they purchased the class. More detailed information at the point of purchase would have avoided this confusion.

I did only the beer experience, not the bourbon. I liked it but I could have loved it with a few changes. One of my friends who also attended said something about too many foo-foo beers. I agree. I know these vendors want to show off their craft but I'd like to see more vendors provide a more traditional style, and not always an IPA. I realize that is something you can't control but it could be a suggestion. Also it would have been nice to have an online/ downloadable vendor list that shows what each vendors taste offering will be. Helps to plan one's path through the event. There were enough people to make navigation around the ring a bit tight but not terrible. And the music could have been turned down as well. Also seems they ran out of the main food staple rather quick (brisket). Son was disappointed. Some tweaks can be made to improve it. I give it a grade of B.

What a fun event. The location was great. Plenty of space on the concourse at the rubber ducks stadium and places to get food and relax too. Great music, and friendly vendors. We will return.

A great time once again. The new venue was very nice .

Overall we had a great time. The only negative would be the 7 distilleries that weren't there. Kinda purchased the tickets based on who was on the list and 5 we really wanted to sample were missing.

This experience was overall very good, with an orderly process to service many people, a friendly atmosphere, and high-quality vendors. However, the BBQ was disappointing. Two suggestions for improvement are: 1) Locate the bourbon vendors and the beer vendors at opposite ends of the facility; and 2) Provide higher-quality and more choices for BBQ.

We were blown away! So many great brews and high end bourbons! I got to meet some new folks too! The food options were quite extensive, and the venue was perfect. We will definitely buy tickets for next year!

Had a great time. Would have been nice to have a VIP option for only the bourbon (or beer) rather than having to buy a ticket for everything.

Slight disappointment in a couple bourbons expected to be at the event that weren’t but in all a nice variety of selections. Beer selections were varied for any taste. Food was OK but pricey. Good value for the price. See ya next year if the ticket pricing holds. Cheers.

7-17 stadium was much more of a pleasant experience than MAPS museum. There was more room to navigate around. Lines were better managed d/t having more space. More seating options were available. This made it nice when you wanted to grab a bite to eat. Food was much better than last year. Farmers Rail did a great job. Lines were shorter and moved faster this year.