Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

We’re entering the season of the beer festival: great gatherings of breweries and beer fans celebrating the vast diversity of today’s craft beer scene. Unfortunately, too many attendees go the full St. Patrick’s Day at these festivals and turn them into amateur hour. This does nothing to bring people into the craft beer community, and only makes it harder for more events to be established later. Today we’re going to lay down some simple rules for attending a beerfest. Follow these simple bits of advice, and you’ll have a great time while keeping yourself out of trouble.