WATERLOO - Wearing Guinness T-shirts, Randy Robinson and Pat McGivern were happy to talk about what Guinness tastes like in Ireland, or the strong flavor of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Surrounded by tables of locally brewed beers, however, they were also pleasantly surprised to take a liking to something a little closer to home. By 7:30 p.m., they had a new favorite to add to the list: Iowa Pale Ale.

"It's nice to know we have local brewers that can be competitive to national or international brewers," McGivern said.

The sixth annual Brewfest, held Saturday night at the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum and benefitting the Grout Museum District, wasn't for the folks who might be satisfied with a cold Budweiser.

Or maybe it was. Dwight Dehl, who was on hand pouring samples of 14 specialty beers from distributor Glazer's, said people won't know if they like something until they step out of their comfort zone - and that's a relatively new trend.

"Up until 10 years ago, we did not have the selection we have now," said Dehl, who manages Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits on Kimball and Ridgeway avenues.

Now that the Cedar Valley has caught up to the selection of beers that bigger cities boast, more people are branching out, and tasting parties like Brewfest are a great way to find out which kinds you like without buying a six-pack of an unknown, he said.

"You gotta have the opportunity to experience these products so you can make an educated guess," Dehl said.

Around 250 people had taken that opportunity by the middle of the night, which was lower than organizers had expected. For $20, patrons got a complimentary tasting glass and unlimited samples, plus music by The Dynaflows and a roving magician from Las Vegas.

"When we started six years ago, there weren't any brew fests," said Cindy Wells, chairwoman of Brewfest. "It's not like (customers) are just here to drink beers. They're very serious on what specialty beers they like."

Participants got score cards and were asked to vote on their favorites throughout the night. The winning brewer will receive a plaque.

Joann Price of Waterloo was able to attend for free with Jason Drahos, who won free tickets to Brewfest at "Takin' It To the Streets" Saturday afternoon.

"This one here we like," Price said, pointing to Amana's Millstream Windmill Wheat. "It's just a real light one."

Recognition is everything to the local breweries, who depend on word-of-mouth, media promotion and tasting events to get their name out.

Gregg Mattox of Marshalltown sells Sutliff Cider, a product brewed just south of Lisbon. It starts with100 percent apple juice from local farms, he said, goes through a 90-day cold fermentation and then is stored for nine months in oak wine barrels.

"They had 18 apple trees on their property and they got tired of making pies, and so they made a little hooch," Mattox said.