Yes, you read that correctly. Bourbon, Bacon, Beer, and Barbecue all under the same roof! I had heard about the 1st Annual 4B Festival taking place in New Haven when it was first announced. I dropped the ball on getting tickets before they sold out so was super excited when I saw Stephanie from CTBites was hosting a giveaway for them. And I won!! I think this was my first giveaway win (it’s about time) and a pretty awesome one at that.
The 4B Fest was held in an old factory in New Haven, Connecticut. It was marketed as the “largest indoor festival celebrating two cornerstones of American heritage:Fermented grains & Salted meats!” (www.4bfest.com) There were a ton of local vendors signed up including some of my favorite local restaurants.
I’ll start with my absolute favorite treat from the entire event. Ready for it??
A Maple Bacon Cupcake from Alyssa’s Cakery. It was to die for!
Alyssa’s Cakery is in Wallingford, Connecticut. She was sampling an Orange Allagash cupcake that was really delicious too. Her other flavors included Irish Car Bomb and Red Velvet. On top of the cupcakes she also had cake pops and push pops!
Another favorite booth was The Jerky Hut. They had a ton of different flavored jerkys they were sampling. I tried the sweet flavor as well as the bourbon flavor. We decided to buy some of the bourbon flavored jerky. It was bit pricey though!
I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked. It was super crowded and almost everything had long lines. Some other favorites not pictured…
Black Rock BBQ: They had the most generous sized samples of their delicious pulled pork. Black Rock BBQ is a catering company who specialize in southern style barbecue cooking.
Two Roads Brewing Company: Two Roads is a local brewery right in Stratford, Connecticut. My favorite brew was their Worker’s Comp Saison!
Drinx Unlimited: Drinx Unlimited is a local beer distributor out of Connecticut. They were sampling a few different Founder’s Beers. My favorite was their Curmudgeon Old Ale brewed with molasses with a 9.8% abv.
Joey C’s Roadhouse: This is one of mine and Andy’s favorite barbecue restaurants in Connecticut. We didn’t even get to try what they were sampling because their line was so long the entire time we were at the event. Go Joey C’s!
Cabin Fever Maple Whiskey: Just as we were leaving this booth caught our eye. I am not a whiskey drinker but after Andy tasted it he convinced me I would like it. And I did! Anything maple has a good chance of passing a taste test for me. They have a pretty cool story too if you check out their website!
Overall, the event was pretty good. I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars. It has potential to be much more organized and maybe in a more wide open space. All of the vendors we tried and met were awesome though. Great local products. Besides bacon and beer make everything better!
The Primal Yogi 