Why did you raise ticket prices? It was already too expensive!

Because if we didn’t, the event would lose money and then there wouldn’t an event at all. Believe it or not, the expenses that go into this event is almost $200,000. No joke.

On July 29th, we reached out to all our past ticket buyers with a 3 day presale where VID tickets were only $100 pre-tax/Eventbrite fee (a $5 increase from last year), as a show of appreciation for supporting the event. We kept GA prices as they were, plus the presale also had those ticket for just $55, which is lower than it ever was last year.

This all said, we asked for your feedback on what we can do to improve the event in the future, and we listened. You want more vendors, exclusive samples, better crowd management, and the whole cheese situation needs to be reworked - just to name a few notable requests. We have heard you, we working on it, and we have full confidence that the positive changes we are going to make will be worth the extra $5-15.

Okay, but why did you shorten the VID head start? That was the best part!

Because the vendors asked for it. We surveyed them as well, and 6 hours is too long for a lot of them to be excited about. You wanted more/better vendors. In order to make that happen we had to find middle ground by still giving VID early access and making the time commitment a little more manageable for the vendors. Four to five hours is the industry standard for unlimited sampling festivals. Even the Great Taste of the Midwest is only five hours (1-6 PM, just like us).

Update 12/3/2025 - We also reduced the number of VID tickets available. So yes, a shorter time, but you have less people to compete with during that time.

Well what positive changes are you making?

We’re still working on that. Unfortunately, the things we had to figure out quickly (entry time and pricing) are some of the first things that need to be locked in when you launch an event. Fun and exciting things like new cheese elements, competitions, merchandise, and beer vendor offerings take a little more time. Logistical improvements like crowd management and sampling efficiency protocol are neither sexy nor easy to showcase ahead of the event, but we know it’s something you want to see. It’s all coming.

It’s easy to be upset about the price and timing, they are concrete and easy to understand how that impacts you. We just ask that you give us a shot, and if we truly drop the ball, then we totally get it if we don’t see you again. The thing is, we know we’re going to knock it out of the park, and we will be seeing you for a long, long time.

Update 12/3/2025:

#1 - Way more cheese. Over 2000 lbs of cheese, 2150 lbs of cheese to be precise (as of writing this). That’s almost a full pound of cheese for each attendee that we project. We contacted cheese vendors from all over the state and have 11 cheese vendors who will be sampling out their cheesy wares. It was important to us to find vendors who are actually producing these cheeses rather than purchasing bulk cheese and putting it in a buffet (where apparently “cheese-hoarding” would take place). We are putting the “Cheese” back in Beer & Cheese fest.

#2 - New vendors. A third of our beverage vendors are new to the event, and hopefully you get to try something brand new and discover a new favorite at the fest.

#3 - As many vendors as we are allowed to have in the space. Seriously, we waitlisted beverage vendors because we couldn’t fit more in and still pass fire code. We have 81 beverage vendors currently rostered and 109 vendor booths in total.

#4 - Better/more food options. This was the single most mentioned improvement past guests were looking for (with better cheese options as a close second). We paid the venue extra so we could bring in our own food vendors. In January you will see soft pretzels, BBQ, crazy loaded baked-potatoes, tacos, fried curds, and Ian’s pizza to fulfill any snacky happenings.

#5 - Utilizing the event app. Did you know there was an official festival app last year (2025)? We are revamping that tool by having all vendors load their menu in ahead of time, have the ability to create a list of beverages you want to try to you can plan your pours, provide a digital map, schedule of events, and more. Instead of guessing whether a line is worth getting into, you can check and know if you want to skip it.

#6 - There’s plenty more, but you get the idea. We hired local Madison artist Triangulador to make a custom limited edition VID festival T-Shirt (and it’s awesome), we are bringing back more (responsible) drinking games, we are diversifying the entertainment so there can be something for everyone’s vibe.

Who even are you?

We’re Brothers Molloy Events, located right here in Madison. If you’ve been to the Madison Night Market, Art Fair on the Square, or Uncork Me Wisconsin, you’ve attended an event we helped make happen.

That’s just some of the local events we help execute. Specifically beer festivals, we are the logistical power behind The Vermont Brewers Festival, the Great Vegas Festival of Beer, the Las Vegas Downtown Brew Festival, and New Hampshire Bacon & Beer Festival, among others.

More than that, we’re also long-time fans and supporters of Beer & Cheese Fest, and we hope you will be too.

I get it, thanks for sharing all that.

Thanks for your understanding, it means a lot. If you’re feeling better about supporting the event, we will leave the ticket link here for you, but no pressure.

I’m still mad. Let me talk to the manager.

Are you sure? Okay, our contact information is info@brothersmolloyevents.com.