Overview Cap City Beer Fest is a dog-friendly craft beer tasting on Fourth Street in downtown Baton Rouge, with the Louisiana State Capitol behind it, and every dollar goes to the parish's only open-intake animal shelter. It falls on the first Sunday of November. Ticket holders get a commemorative tasting glass and unlimited samples of local, national and international craft beer and homebrews, and their dogs come along on leash. Companion Animal Alliance, a nonprofit founded in 2010, runs both the festival and the shelter, which takes in more than 9,000 animals a year in East Baton Rouge Parish. On site The street closes between North Street and Spanish Town Road. Tasting runs from 2 to 5 in the afternoon, and VIP ticket holders get in an hour early. Wristbands go only to guests 21 and over with ID, though anyone can walk the street without one, and designated drivers buy their own ticket and get a sticker. Pours run from stouts, pale ales and sours to meads and seltzers, with coffee and nonalcoholic options, beside eight to ten food trucks, giant lawn games and a DJ. Homebrewers compete for a judges' prize and two people's-choice awards, and every attendee gets two voting tickets at check-in. Audience The crowd walks the tasting tables with its dogs, and several of the giveaways are made for the dogs: bowls, pet tags, bandanas and tennis balls. Every ticket holder leaves with a souvenir bag. Track record The festival started in 2015, and the 2025 edition was billed as the 10th annual. In its 2025 sponsorship guide CAA put the total raised since 2015 at nearly $400,000; in 2024, 225 Magazine reported that ticket sales usually bring in around $80,000 a year. Brand presence The presenting sponsor's name goes into the event logo as "presented by," and that logo runs on the t-shirts, the step-and-repeat backdrop and the ticket page. The package adds two booths, two seats on the homebrew judges' panel, mentions from the DJ booth and a year's plaque on a kennel at the shelter. The homebrew sponsor's name is printed on every voting ticket and engraved on the awards. Other sponsors put their mark on what people carry away: tote bags, tasting glasses, koozies, 1,000 bottle openers, wristbands, frisbees, the dog gear, and 2,500 coasters sent out to local bars before the day. Every level includes booth space and VIP tickets, and each sponsor gets first refusal on its slot the following year.