Are you ready for the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival?

We sure are! We’ve already been eating our way all around the festival and although we’ve had all the cheesy carbs in Germany, sipped on some bubbly at Shimmering Sips, and checked out all the merchandise, we’re not done yet! So let’s head on over to the Hops and Barley booth to see what fine fare this festival booth is cooking up this year!

Menu

You’ll find the Hops and Barley booth near American Adventure in World Showcase. The menu here has some pretty interesting eats like the Chesapeake Crab Slider and the Hot Beef Sandwich, and as its name suggests, some beer too!

Two of the menu items this year are new, so let’s get to eating!

Food

We’re starting out with the brand new Chesapeake Crab Slider with tangy coleslaw and Cajun remoulade for $7.

We really enjoyed the crab cake part of the slider — it was cooked well and was crispy on the outside but juicy in the center. We didn’t really taste a whole lot of the Cajun remoulade, which we actually enjoyed because we were able to taste more of the crab flavor, though it could have used a bit of spice. The tangy slaw was a refreshing crunch and much-needed to cut through the richness of the crab cake. Our main complaint is that the bun was stale and hard.

The Hot Beef Sandwich with horseradish cream and pickled vegetables for $6.50 has returned this year. We LOVED this sandwich last year, but be warned — it packs some heat. Those pickled vegetables include Jalapeños, Celery, and Carrots. Whew!

They’re really not kidding when they say HOT beef sandwich — the heat definitely sneaks up on ya with this one. The beef is sliced thin and extremely tender and the pickled peppers add a sourness that pairs well with the saltiness of the beef. We LOVE the horseradish cream that comes on this sandwich, and we wish there was more of it! No stale bread here — it was soft and delicious.

We’re big fans of the Freshly Baked Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing for $4.50. This classic keeps coming back for a reason — if you love carrot cake, you HAVE to try it! The icing is super creamy and isn’t too sweet thanks to the cream cheese aspect.

The cake itself is moist and you can really taste the carrot pieces and nuts that are in it. We have no complaints about this dessert!

But we need to wash all that down with something, so let’s get to the drinks.

Drinks

The new ale at the booth this year is the Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale for $5 or $9 depending on what size you get. Sometimes pumpkin beers can be pretty heavy, but this one was surprisingly light! We definitely tasted the pumpkin flavor, and it did give us those fall vibes one usually gets from pumpkin-flavored things.

There are also some wine options, including the returning Longevity Chardonnay from California for $5. You can also grab the Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon from California for $5.

We’ve had the Beer Flight for $1 in the past — it’s a great way to try all three beers, including the 81Bay Brewing Co. Strawberry and Lime Wheat Ale, the Lord Hobo Brewing Boom Sauce DIPA, and the Bold Rock Roast Coffee Hard Cider from Mills River, NC.

You can also get each of these beers for $5 for a 6oz. pour or $9 for a 12oz. pour.

Overall

We enjoy this booth year after year, and luckily feel the same way this time around too! The Hot Beef Sandwich is filling and has so many excellent flavors, and that carrot cake is truly a work of art. If you’re looking for some heartier eats at the Food & Wine Festival, stop by Hops and Barley to get your grub on!

Are you feeling overwhelmed by everything at the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival? It’s okay, you can purchase our FULL GUIDE that will give you the rundown of everything you can do and eat at the festival! We also have a free EPCOT Food and Wine Festival downloadable that you can use to help you get around!

Need to learn more about the Eat to the Beat concert series? The full line-up is here, and here is all the information you need about the Eat to the Beat dining packages!

Follow Along as We Explore the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival

What food booth are you most excited to try at the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival? Let us know in the comments!