Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest
- Dates
- Expected May-June 2027
- Status
- Expected
- Venue
- Paso Robles Event Center
- Price
- Not announced
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Aug 23, 2026
Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest comes to Paso Robles, CA, Expected May-June 2027. Froligo tracks ticket prices, attendee feedback and travel details.
What to eat & drink
You must try…
Crowd favourites and signature dishes are being verified. Check back before you go.
Festival weekend in pictures
The people, producers and atmosphere around the festival.
Watch before you taste
Food tours, crowd favourites and festival highlights.
The experience
What's special
The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest is widely regarded as one of the most coveted craft-beer tickets in the United States: an invite-only, one-day main event at the Paso Robles Event Center where roughly 70 hand-picked breweries from around the world pour rare and limited beers, and where the brewers and owners themselves, not volunteers, often stand behind their own taps. The all-inclusive format covers beer and food samples from area restaurants, a commemorative glass, and live music, with net proceeds benefiting the local Paso Robles Pioneer Day nonprofit. Tickets have historically sold out in minutes, and the 2026 Saturday main event sold out as well
What people love
Attendees consistently single out the curation and the access: a tightly chosen field of elite breweries with the actual brewers pouring and talking through their beers, rather than the sprawling, anonymous pour-lines of a typical festival. Despite selling out, the event is repeatedly described as comfortable and well-paced, with shade, misters, and seating helping people spread out, and a strong spread of restaurant food to pair with the beer. The overwhelming sentiment is that it lives up to its reputation as a destination fest worth traveling for
Last time around (2026)
The 2026 edition, the 13th annual Firestone Walker Invitational, ran over the May 29-31 weekend, with the Saturday main event at the Paso Robles Event Center selling out. Attendee accounts describe a full day of rare beer, food from around 20 restaurant vendors, live music, and 'relaxing vibes,' with the venue's shade, misters, and seating keeping the crowd comfortable through the afternoon. The recurring note was that the fest 'absolutely lived up to the hype,' with brewers and owners on hand pouring their own beers
Music & entertainment
Lineup not yet announced. Email me the day it lands.
Getting there
Nearest airport SBP.
How do I get to Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest?
By car
Most people drive to Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest. The nearest major airport is SBP, and from there it is a straightforward drive to the venue. Check current road and traffic conditions before you set off, and see parking below.
By train
Amtrak runs from the San Luis Obispo station to the Paso Robles station (North County Transit Center, 800 Pine St, Paso Robles) roughly once daily. Fly-in attendees to San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) reach the SLO Amtrak station downtown by a short taxi/rideshare hop (~10 min) before boarding. From the Paso Robles station it is about a 1-mile taxi/rideshare or ~20-minute walk to the Paso Robles Event Center at 2198 Riverside Ave
Book / info →By bus & public transit
RTA Route 9 runs from the San Luis Obispo Transit Center north to the North County Transit Center in Paso Robles. There is no direct bus from SBP itself; a fly-in rider transfers via the Government Center/downtown SLO to reach Route 9, so the airport-to-Paso trip involves at least one connection. Route 9 alone (SLO Transit Center to Paso Robles) is about 1h 10m; the full airport-to-Paso journey with transfers runs closer to 2h 24m and is the budget, not the fast, option
Book / info →Taxi & rideshare
Uber and Lyft operate across SLO County including SBP and Paso Robles. A direct rideshare from the airport to the Paso Robles Event Center covers roughly the same 36-minute drive as a rental car up US-101 North. Given the festival's own emphasis on not drinking and driving, a rideshare or the festival's complimentary hotel shuttle (see lodging block) is the practical way back after the tasting
Book / info →Taxis and rideshare such as Uber and Lyft can be limited near the venue, especially late at night or in rural areas. Agree a pickup point and time in advance and keep a backup plan.
🅿 Parking
Cost A parking fee applies.
🚙 Car hire
Compare car hire at SBP
Paso Robles wine country has no rail-to-venue and only an indirect, multi-transfer bus from the nearest airport (SBP). Fly-in attendees combining the fest with the surrounding wineries typically rent a car at SBP (all major rental firms are on-site), but because the event is a full-day drinking festival with a hard 'no drinking and driving' message and a car-retrieve-by-9am-Sunday rule, a car is best for the wider trip and NOT for the venue commute itself; the festival's complimentary hotel shuttle or a rideshare is the intended way to and from the tasting
Search car hire →Live price search coming soon.
Where
Venue
Paso Robles Event Center
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest?
No on site camping. Here is where to stay nearby.
Hotels nearby 7
Shuttle The festival offers a COMPLIMENTARY shuttle to and from the event from select Paso Robles hotels, first-come first-served. The specific hotel pickup list and schedule are posted in the event's 'Transportation' section when finalized (marked 'coming soon' as of capture), so this is a genuine, officially-documented festival-run hotel shuttle, but the exact stop list is TBD and should be confirmed against the official page closer to the date
Link coming soonAirbnb & private camping
Paso Robles is a wine-country short-term-rental market with abundant listings in town and among the vineyards. The 2026 fest fell on the Memorial Day long weekend (May 29-31), which stacks a holiday-weekend surge on top of already-strong late-May wine-country demand, expect elevated nightly rates and early sell-out of in-town units. Property-level festival-weekend pricing was not collected, so this is a seasonal-pattern note, not a cited per-listing figure
Search Airbnb →Paso Robles wine country has a healthy supply of Hipcamp-listed private-land camping, glamping, and vineyard-stay sites in and around the AVA, a viable alternative to a hotel for attendees who want to camp near the wineries and shuttle/rideshare into the fest. No festival-weekend-specific availability was collected; this is a general area-supply note
Search Hipcamp →Pricing
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