Now in its fourth year, the Untapped Festival in Dallas proved on Saturday that it's a prosperous time to be a local craft brewery in North Texas.
Twenty-eight of the more than 100 breweries featured at this year's Fair Park event call the area home. But with over 400 beers from around the world on tap, even the most avid hop heads were able to find new ones to test out on Saturday.
The all-day event, which officials said was the biggest edition yet with more than 9,000 attendees, didn't stop at beer tastings. Untapped also featured a full concert lineup and a plethora of food trucks and vendors.
The spacious outdoor grounds of Fair Park felt just right: the crowds at the breweries and the stages had enough room to stretch out without congesting walkways, all while enjoying the crisp fall weather. If you missed Untapped this year, here's what you should know about the festival:
Seasonal brews: Many breweries rolled out their autumn and winter offerings, which ranged from pumpkin-spiced brews like Lakewood's Punkel and Brooklyn's Post Road Pumpkin Ale to more non-traditional flavors like Bishop Cider's Crackberry Cider and Buffalo Bayou's Peppermint Gingerbread Stout. Sampling these delicious festive beers worked well with Saturday's cooler temperatures. A personal favorite was Revolver's Cinnamon Girl.
Eclectic lineup: The colorful music lineup featured multiple genres including rock, hip-hop, pop and a DJ set to keep the party going. The always entertaining Elle King played her gritty pop-rock tunes early in the day, followed by hip-hop group the Pharcyde, whose beats provided a funky soundtrack to usher in evening. One of the standout performances came from the rock band Dr. Dog -- its upbeat and relatable sound kept the attention of a large crowd for nearly an hour.
Local love: As mentioned above, almost one-third of the featured breweries were based in Dallas/Fort Worth. Some of the longest sample lines trailed from local favorites such as Peticolas, Rabbit Hole and Revolver. Many breweries brought exclusive beers made especially for the event, including 903's sour version of their popular toasted coconut ale, The Chosen One. The verdict? Let's just say if you're the adventurous type, this tart combination of smooth butter, sweet coconut and sour hops is right up your alley.
Endless entertainment: For those who wanted more than a buffet of beer samples and live music, there were plenty of other activities to help stay entertained. The FC Dallas tent showed Dallas spirit with a photo booth and an array of outdoor games like giant Jenga, cornhole and foosball. College football fans could catch their Saturday games at the Earth Day Texas recycling trucks. The Deep Ellum Brewery hosted a live DJ and a silent disco -- onlookers enjoyed watching the crowd dance to music only they could hear from their light-up headphones.
The Flaming Lips: If you haven't seen the Flaming Lips live at least once, you're missing out. The psychedelic rock band from Oklahoma City puts on a colorful and eye-popping show filled with inflatable human mushrooms, aliens, rainbows and showers of confetti and balloons. Frontman Wayne Coyne is a true ringleader who isn't averse to risks. During Saturday's set he crowd-surfed inside his human hamster ball and swung a caged light bulb above his head all while delivering his band's spacey, experimental rock 'n' roll.
Brenna Rushing is a Dallas freelance writer.
