“We have one goal: to give canned beer the spotlight it deserves.”

Dads are people, too. And we sometimes need to go out and not be Dad for a few hours to recharge our father batteries. This will ultimately make us better, more patient fathers… in theory. So that’s what four of us Reno Dads did this past weekend when we went to Canfest. Don’t worry Moms, Canfest didn’t forget about you… we ran into plenty of moms recharging their batteries, too.

If you haven’t heard of Canfest, it’s an annual event in Reno that spotlights great canned beers; to remove the stigma that only cheap beer comes in a can. There were more than 60 breweries from across the nation in attendance. Many local Reno/Tahoe breweries also made the trek to the Grand Sierra Resort.

Side note: the timing of this Canfest coincided with Burning Man, so upon entering the GSR, we were hit with the smell of patchouli. But there was “unlimited” beer to be had, so we persisted.

When I say “unlimited,” I mean it. Your ticket is exchanged for a 4 ounce glass that you can have filled 170 times or more. I know there were 170 different beers there as I entered to win one can of everything that was there. I lost. But, my raffle ticket money went to support The Reno Bike Project. Oh, and if you don’t like beer, there were distilleries there that can mixed drinks like gin and tonic, rum and coke and even Moscow mules.

Overall, it was a great event! We were impressed by the turnout, the food, the beer, the cocktails, the craft fair, the photo booth, the silent disco and the live band. If I had one complaint, it ended too soon. We didn’t get to sample all 170 beers!

Second side note: We were responsible dads and used Uber and Lyft to get to and from Canfest.