By Ann Greer
This Saturday, Nov 19, 2022 from 1 until 6 PM, the 10th Annual Props & Hops Craft Beer Fest takes place at the Palm Springs Air Museum located at 745 North Gene Autry Trail, between Vista Chino and Ramon Road in Palm Springs. Presented by Babe’s Brewery, PS Resorts and Hot Purple Energy, the tarmac of the Palm Springs Air Museum will once again be transformed into a magical Craft Beer Festival with live music, warbird planes landing and taking off; and luscious, tasty bites for sale to accompany the beer tastings. Attendees will be treated to the musical sounds of the John Stanley King Band and the throaty, sexy vocals of Desert Sol with lead singer Horace Miller. Media sponsors are NBC Palm Springs, the Desert Sun and Palm Springs Life Magazine. Food vendors are the The Big Easy Sandwich, Fries Galore, Dogos and Burgers, and Nick’s Pizza.
“We are very pleased that Props and Hops has become an annual staple of the local brewers” said Palm Springs Air Museum Vice Chairman Fred Bell. “A huge thank you to all our sponsors and supporters. This event supports the education mission of the Museum.” The Mission of the Palm Springs Air Museum is to educate future generations about Air Power and the role it played in preserving our freedoms, to honor our heroes and veterans, and to preserve our history and as many air-worthy authentic warbirds as possible. A flying museum and educational institution, the Palm Springs Air Museum currently has 7 aircraft licensed to fly, five of which can take passengers. For those wishing to buy a warbird ride, prices range between $125 for the C-47 up to $4,995 for the T-33 jet. Riders are encouraged to go online to book: PalmSpringsAirMuseum.org/warbird-rides/
The VIP Ticket at $75 includes early entrance, beer and appetizer tastings, 12 tasting tickets (instead of 8), and event glassware inside the 20,000 square foot General Kenneth Miles Korea and Vietnam Hangar. VIPs also have their own entrance! The VIP area opens at 12 noon, and those attendees will have one hour of private time before doors open to the general public ticket holders at 1 pm.
This year’s festival takes place again on the tarmac and in the 20,000 square foot General Miles Korea and Vietnam Hangar. The entrance to the festival is from the southern gate, and is separate from the museum’s front main entrance. Confirmed breweries are 29 Brews, 5174 Craft Beer, Abnormal, Babe’s Brewery, Ballast Point, Barrelworks, Big Bear Lake Brewing, Calidad Beer, Coachella Valley Homebrewers’ Club, Drake’s Brewing, Firestone Walker, Golden Road, Good Day, Hangar 24, Helix Brewing, Helmsman Ale, Hops and Spokes, HP Valley, Inland Empire Home Brewers’ Club, La Quinta Brewing, Luchador, Tarantula Hill, and many more.
General Admission tickets include Eight 4-ounce tastings & event glassware (while supplies last)– advance tickets are on sale online for $60; $65 at the door; PSPropsHops.com
Rare Beer Tasting Flights are available and the festival goers will be treated to flight exhibitions throughout the day. Warbird Rides are for sale, and the aircraft flying at the time of the writing of this story are the P-51 Mustang (the horserace of the sky, and the type of airplane that Tom Cruise flies at the very end of Top Gun: Maverick; the C-47 Skytrain, the T-28 Trojan, and the PT-17 Stearman. Rides may be purchased in advance through the Props and Hops website, PSPropsHops.com
Additional beer tasting tickets sold for cash on site. No one under age 21 will be admitted to the Festival so don’t bring your baby! – no exceptions! However, friendly dogs on leashes are very welcome. Homewood Suites Hotel in Cathedral City is the Festival Hotel. All attendees must have valid proof of age and must be over 21 years of age. Tickets to the Props& Hops CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL include entrance to the beer tasting areas only. Separate admission is required to view the other three hangers of the museum. The Museum currently has 91,000 square feet of climate-controlled hangar space containing over 70 aircraft inside and out. The Aircraft are from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the most recent Operation Desert Storm airframe, the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter inside the James Houston Pavilion.
The Palm Springs Air Museum is open daily 10 am to 5 pm, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and February 18, 2023. Kids 12 and under are free with paid adult admission. Palmspringsairmuseum.org
760-778-6262 and for Props and Hops – visit PSPropsHops.com
