You may well have been to a beer festival that turns into a bit of a zoo. But have you been to one at an actual zoo?

Oglebay Resort & Conference Center's Good Zoo in Wheeling -- named for a nature-loving 7-year-old, the late Philip Mayer Good, whose family started the zoo in the early 1970s -- is holding its first "Brew Zoo" beer festival from 7 to 10 p.m. Aug. 7.

Up to 400 attendees, who must be 21, can taste brews with local foods and listen to music, all while visiting the animals. Tickets -- $35 in advance (or $30 for Good Zoo and OVConnect members), $20 for designated drivers and $40 at the door (if any are left) -- can be bought at the zoo or via goodzoobrew.com.

You'll find there a full list of the 30 brews being poured, including one brand I'm not familiar with: Starr Hill of Crozet, Va.

This event, proceeds of which support the zoo's mission, is held in partnership with OVConnect, an organization of young and young-thinking business-minded individuals who desire to improve the Ohio Valley region (OVConnect.org).

Closer to home, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation holds its fourth "Brew at the Zoo" from 7 to 11 p.m. Sat., Aug. 21, at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.

Attendees, who must be 21, get a chance to taste their choice of hundreds of brews (including local homebrew from TRUB, the Three Rivers Underground Brewers), sample food and get live entertainment, too, along with admission to the zoo. VIP tickets are $75 (and you get to go to a pre-party and enter a VIP line), advance tickets are $50 and designated driver tickets are $25. All proceeds benefit research towards a cure for mitochondrial disease.

Pre-registration is strongly recommended (the event sold out last year). Visit thezoobrew.com or call 1-888-817-UMDF (8633).

Meanwhile, on Aug. 14, the Millvale Brew Festival unfolds, also for the fourth year, at Millvale Riverfront Park. This fest has two sessions -- 1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. -- and tickets to each are $30 in advance or $35 at the door for the early session and $35 in advance or $40 for the late one (designated drivers pay $12). Proceeds help revitalize the community via nonprofit Millvale Borough Development Corp. and Millvale Main Street. Get 'em at millvalepa.com/BrewFest.aspx.

Seems like everybody is doing beer-tasting fundraisers. The Mt. Lebanon Public Library is holding a "Battle of the Brews" from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 28 in a "biergarten" set up in the courtyard there. Pay $25 (tickets are available at The Book Cellar at the library) in advance or $30 at the door and you get to try a dozen brews (imports, Pennsylvanians and other crafts) with savory treats and you get a $5 coupon to spend in the Cellar; all proceeds benefit the library. Call 412-531-1912 or e-mail msingalls@msn.com.

The rumble you hear might be the rollout of Thunderhop IPA. The Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville first brewed this way back in 2006, but the brew got held up by hops shortages. Starting earlier this month, it's finally being widely distributed in cases.

Fat Head's Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Wheat Beer, brewed in Cleveland but proudly on tap in Pittsburgh this week, was named the most refreshing summer beer in America by connoisseurs in the Brewing News' 3rd Annual Global Warming Open. Follow the brackets at brewingnews.com/gwo.

A tasting tonight at 6 p.m. at the Sharp Edge Bistro at 922 Penn Ave., Downtown: Five rare (some never before available here) brews from Downingtown's Victory Brewing: Helios Ale (a Belgian-style saison), Scarlet Fire Rauchbier, Kolsch, Braumeister Pils and a firkin of Pursuit Ale, usually found only at Victory's own brewpub.

Don't forget: Tickets for the Sept. 11 Steel City Big Pour -- the fourth annual beer- and food-tasting fundraiser at Construction Junction in Point Breeze -- go on sale ($55) at 9 a.m. Aug. 2: steelcitybigpour.org. One of the 35 participating brewers -- Sprague Farm & Brew Works in Venango, Crawford County -- recently had the silo of the former dairy barn where it makes and serves its brews wrapped in neon by neon artist and Big Pour co-founder Hugh Elliot, who wanted the place to be visible from passing planes. The neon, outlining the cylindrical body and an attached "handle," makes part of the silo look like a giant glowing beer mug.

Sam Adams is once again letting beer drinkers pick a new beer for its lineup, choosing between a Belgian-style India Pale Ale and an American Rye. Beer Lovers Choice tasting events (updated at samueladams.com/promos/BeerLoversChoice2010/blcevents.aspx) include several locally, including from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Beer and Pop 4 Less in Moon; 9 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Smokin' Joe's, South Side; 7 to 9 p.m. July 30 at Mr. Bones in Greensburg; and at Brew at the Zoo on Aug. 21, noted above.

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