Uh, for tasty beer, duh? That’s just one part of the answer to the question of why millennials (defined as those between 18 and 33; for this study, that means legal drinkers between 21 and 33) shell out their hard-earned cash for beer festivals.

Event platform Eventbrite recently released a study diving deeper into millenials’ reasons for attending food, wine and beer events; we teased out the beer-related info to find out the motivating factors that get young drinkers out of their houses or off the bar stool and into beer festivals.

Reason one they’ll attend a beer event: exposure to new beers or breweries (96% of respondents cited this as a reason). This means that festivals need to keep interest levels high, bringing new and exciting breweries into the fold and offering beers that drinkers can’t get elsewhere. Number two: doing something fun with friends. Well, yeah, no surprise there. Reason three: meeting the brewers or people behind the brewery. This is an interesting answer, because it suggests that breweries should send their brewers or founders to events as much as possible, rather than relying on reps. It’s also the only beer-related response to the survey that varied by gender: 60% of male drinkers vs. 48% of female drinkers cited this as a reason to attend a beer event.



And how much are student loan debt-laden millenials willing to spend to attend these events? A ticket price between $36-$50 was the most popular pricing category, with 40% of respondents willing to pay more for special pours or a VIP experience.

As for what those beer events should look like, 94% of millennials said their favorite type of beer event is a big festival that brings many breweries together. In second place are combo food-and-beer fests centered around a theme, like bacon or sausages. At the bottom of the list, niche festivals that focus on a certain type of beer are only appealing to approximately half of the respondents. Do these findings match your own beer event motivations? Tell us in the comments and help us create a world of fest perfection.