[UPDATE: If you are looking for info on BEER WARS the movie, and attending the free screening at UCLA, click here]

Did you buy your tickets already? Tomorrow is the first day of the LA Beer Festival at Sony Studios. Saturday’s tickets have sold out, the event reached it’s capacity of 1500 earlier this week.  As far as I know, Sunday tickets are still available.

Although the Drink|Eat|Play event is bringing together an impressive list of California-based breweries, the event has been largely ignored by the Beer Geek community.  Maybe they’ve been scared off by the corporate megabrews from InBev/A-B, or they fear the “all you can drink” approach will attract the lowest common denominator, ala KROQ microbrew fest, where people come for the drinking, not the beer.

But a more likely reason for disinterest among the town’s true beer fanatics is the upcoming LA Craft Beer Festival, presented by LA CABAL (the Craft and Artisanal Beer Appreciation League), taking place at the Echoplex on May 9th.

Both events were independently planned, and in the works for several months before being announced.

As far as beer culture goes in LA, it’s encouraging that Spring 2009 has brought us dueling beer fests.  It shows us that LA has enough people interested in good beer.   Plus, it’s great PR for LA’s blossoming beer scene.

The great thing is, these two beer fests don’t have to be competitors.  If anything, Craft Beer Fest LA will only build off the success of the LA Beer Festival, and judging from ticket sales, this weekend’s beer fest is already a success.

Check back next week for pictures from the LA Beer Festival, tomorrow and Sunday at Sony Studios.