Winter SKOLstice Beer Fest sure to wet your whistle

The Winter SKOLstice Beer Fest will be held Saturday from 1-5 p.m. at TCO Stadium at Viking Lakes in Eagan as part of the Minnesota Ice Festival.

This 21-and-up event features unlimited samples from more than a dozen local breweries. The beer fest and its 3-ounce samplers will be on the north side of the concourse and gated off from the rest of the festival, which is open to all ages. Day-of tickets are $65, but you can save $15 by buying your ticket ahead of time. Tickets to the beer fest include entry to the ice festival.

If beer isn’t your first choice in bar beverages, try some hot cocoa from the warming house or take it to one of the ice festival’s two ice bars. Designated drivers receive complimentary entry into the beer fest, so your friends won’t have to leave you behind to get sauced. Designated drivers still need to purchase a ticket to the ice festival.

The beer fest’s maximum occupancy is 1,000 people.

In addition to trying out beers, festivalgoers can check out ice-themed activities like the Guinness World Record ice maze, which measures more than 18,000 square feet. Other attractions include an ice rink about half the size of an NHL sheet with a skate rental, 18-foot-tall ice slides and more than 100 ice sculptures.

The Minnesota Ice Festival runs until Feb. 16, but the beer fest will only be around on Jan 25. For ticket and event information visit minnesotaicefestival.com.