Mt. Crested Butte Chili & Beer Festival
25th annual Chili & Beer Festival
The Lil Smokies
to perform at the Mt. Crested Butte Chili & Beer Festival!
Blending virtuosic instrumental acrobatics with riveting lyrical craftsmanship, The Lil Smokies have earned a reputation as one of the most electrifying acts in modern American roots music thanks to their exhilarating live show and critically acclaimed studio output. Since forming on the streets of Missoula, Montana, where the group got its start busking back in 2009, the band has performed everywhere from Red Rocks to The Rialto and captivated festival audiences at Telluride, High Sierra, LOCKN’, Freshgrass, FloydFest, and countless more. Their latest album, 2020’s Tornillo, showcases the hard touring four-piece at its most adventurous, teaming up with producer Bill Reynolds (The Avett Brothers, Band Of Horses) for a genre-bending joyride from the hills of Laurel Canyon to the wide-open deserts of West Texas.
The Lil Smokies are: Andy Dunnigan – Dobro, Vocals, Matthew Rieger – Guitar, Vocals, Jake Simpson – Fiddle, Vocals, Jean-Luc Davis – Upright Bass.
The Black Canyon Ramblers will be opening Chili & Beer Festival!
Here's the schedule:
Black Canyon Ramblers 12:00 - 1:30pm Changeover 1:30 - 2:00pm The Lil Smokies 2:00pm - 3:45pm Curfew 4:00pm Please note: The Mt. Crested Butte Chili & Beer Festival tickets include the performance by The Lil Smokies. Tickets and lodging discounts!
The 25th Annual Mt. Crested Butte Chili & Beer Festival is a celebration of locally made Chili and Colorado brewed beer that draws both locals and visitors to Mt. Crested Butte for a day of music, chili, and beer. Held on September 9, 2023 in the base area of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, amateur and professional chili cookers battle for the "best of" in a variety of categories while craft breweries from around the state compete for "best of" and cash prizes in several categories.
Please note: The Mt. Crested Butte Chili & Beer Festival is NOT a dog-friendly event. Dogs on leashes are welcome in Mt. Crested Butte and the Crested Butte Mountain Resort base area, but will not be permitted inside the Mt. Crested Butte Chili & Beer Festival venue. While Mt. Crested Butte is a very dog-friendly community, the density of people inside the festival venue makes dogs too challenging to manage.
Thank you for understanding!
Registration for brewers and cooks is open, see links below!
Tickets are on sale!
Stay in Mt. Crested Butte
We are looking for Chili Cookers and Brewers!
Chili Cookers
In order to ensure success for all, we require chili cookers to make a minimum of 5 gallons of chili and encourage you to make at least 10 gallons.
The first 20 cookers to sign up for the festival and guarantee 10 or more gallons will be eligible for ingredient reimbursement. Receipts must be provided for reimbursement.
- 10 or more gallons will receive up to $125 ingredients reimbursement.
- 20 or more gallons of chili will receive up to $250 ingredients reimbursement.
We will provide dishes, utensils, napkins, paper towels, and 3oz serving ladles (for portion control). You will need to provide a list of ingredients prior to the event. This list will be displayed at your booth as an allergy and food sensitivity notice.
There is no charge for cookers to participate in this event. Both professional and amateur cooks are welcome at this event.
$200 CASH REWARD FOR EACH CATEGORY!
The chili will be blind taste tested and judged in the following categories:
-> International Red
-> Green
-> Vegetarian
-> Speciality
Brewers
In order to ensure the best experience for everyone involved, brewers must meet the following requirements:
-Bring at least two types of brew, each in 15 gallon kegs or canned equivalent. If participating in VIP hour please include an additional type of brew exclusive to VIP hour.
-Provide a 10x10 pop up tent, 8 ft. serving table, and TIPS certified pourer.*
*If you are concerned about staffing your booth at this event, let us know! This year we will be hiring locals to help our vendors out if they can not bring enough staff with them.
-If interested in selling merchandise at your booth, you will be required to obtain a Mt Crested Butte sales tax license before the event and fill out and submit a Mt. Crested Butte Sales Tax form following the event. We will send more information on this process in the near future.
There is no charge for breweries to participate in this event. However, if you register for this event and cancel after August 20, 2023 you may be charged a cancellation fee and excluded from future events.
$200 CASH REWARD FOR EACH CATEGORY!
The award categories this year will be:
We are looking for Volunteers!
Want to help out with this fun local event? We have tons of opportunities to do so, including a few PAID positions!
When you volunteer for Chili & Beer, you receive a complementary GA entry!
Sign up to volunteer today!