Festival · Winchester
Beer Cheese Festival in Winchester
The Beer Cheese Festival takes over downtown Winchester on the second Saturday of June, from 10am to 5pm. Entry is free, but you need tasting tickets, sold through the festival app or at on-site booths, to sample the beer cheese. The 2026 festival was on 13 June. The 2027 date has not been announced; the second-Saturday pattern points to 12 June.
- When
- Second Saturday in June, 10am to 5pm
- Where
- Downtown Winchester
- Entry
- Free; tasting tickets extra
- Since
- 2009
Dates
- 12 Jun 2027Second Saturday in June (date not yet announced) (expected, not yet confirmed by the organisers)
What Happens
The organisers bill it as the only festival anywhere devoted to beer cheese. Commercial and amateur makers set up along Main Street, and you taste your way down the line and vote for the People's Choice. There is a professional contest and an amateur beer cheese making contest. In 2026 Smokin Joe's won the professional title with a hot beer cheese, and Wild Bill's took the People's Choice.
Around the tastings are a music stage, arts and crafts and Kentucky Proud vendors, a food court and a children's area. The Beer Cheese 5K runs through Winchester's parks on the morning of the festival.
Tickets
Walking in costs nothing. Sampling tickets are sold through the Beer Cheese app and at ticket booths on site. Proceeds go back into downtown Winchester.
Getting There
Winchester is east of Lexington off I-64. On festival day, park and ride shuttles run from two lots into downtown, which is the easiest option once Main Street closes. The rest of the year, the Beer Cheese Trail keeps the tasting going in local restaurants.
History
The festival began in 2009. Beer cheese itself is credited to Joe Allman, who made it in the late 1930s for his cousin Johnnie's Driftwood Inn on the Kentucky River, and Kentucky recognised Clark County as its birthplace in 2013.
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Questions People Ask
When is the 2027 Beer Cheese Festival?
The date has not been announced. The festival is always on the second Saturday of June, which in 2027 is 12 June.
Is the Beer Cheese Festival free?
Entry is free. To sample the beer cheese you buy tasting tickets through the festival app or at the ticket booths.
Where is the Beer Cheese Festival held?
In historic downtown Winchester, Kentucky, around Main Street.
Official site: beercheesefestival.com/. Dates, hours and prices checked 22 October 2026; confirm on the official site before you travel. See all cheese festivals.