A taste of Brooklyn Pour 2012

Feeling like something non-alcoholic? Try unfiltered ginger ale with fresh ginger rather than oleoresin or ginger oil, which most other manufacturers use. Bruce Cost's Ginger Ale uses only natural ingredients, including pure cane sugar, and comes in four varieties. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Last year's inaugural event was so popular that the 2012 festival had two sessions. Both sessions featured an Octoberfest Stein Hoisting presentation by Sam Adams with a grand prize trip to Munich's 2013 Oktoberfest Celebration. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

A server doles out a taste of Angry Orchard Hard Cider, which is made in Cincinnati. Other featured brewers included Allagash Brewing Company, Asahi Beer, Brewery Ommegang and many others. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Rockaway Brewing Company, of Long Island City, N.Y., gets high praise for its ESB variety, a light-bodied and nutty English-style ale. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Greenhook Ginsmiths, a small artisan distillery located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, offers a well-balanced spirit packed with a mix of juniper, elderflower, chamomile and Ceylon cinnamon. It also packs a punch at 47 percent alcohol by volume. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

The festival's venue, Skylight One Hanson, was formerly known as the 37-story Williamsburg Savings Bank. It still utilizes original features like bank lamps and teller booths from its 1929 opening. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Not happy with the offerings? Well then, make your own brew -- and the Brooklyn Brew Shop allows you to do just that. For just $40, wannabe brewers can try their luck with flavors like grapefruit honey ale, chocolate maple, summer wheat, coffee & donut stout and bruxelles blonde. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Brewed at a factory in Rochester, N.Y. that has been producing award-winning beers for more than 125 years, Narragansett Brewing Company's lager and cream ale were big hits. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Hundreds upon hundreds of beer aficionados pack every nook and cranny of the event space, which also featured an outdoor food court with sausages, pretzels, tacos and much more. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Hops, seen here, are female flower clusters that give beer its complex flavor and add stability by balancing malt. The bitter, tangy plant has been used to make beer for more than 1,000 years. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Want a taste of Scotland? Try Innis & Gunn, a hearty brew with hints of vanilla, toffee and oak that's aged at least 77 days before it'll hit your mouth. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

Also on hand was author Joshua M. Bernstein, who signed copies of his new book "Brewed Awakening," an extreme yet easy-to-digest guide on how to make your best brews at home. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

New York's Chelsea Brewing Co. had a drink for every discerning palette, including its Checker Cab Blonde Ale, Black Hole XXX Stout, Alpha 5 Pale Ale and Chelsea Pumpkin Ale. (Joshua Rhett Miller)

New York's 508 Brewery also had several complex varieties on hand with its Sour Dark Ale leading the way, followed by the Montezuma Imperial Stout and its IPA. (Joshua Rhett Miller)