PORTLAND -- Getting ready for the Maine Brewers Festival doesn't require a lot of planning -- but it does take some, according to Scott Ruby of Gorham.

So Ruby and a couple of friends were ready -- with pretzels on a string, draped around their necks to help them weather the arduous task of waiting in line for yet another beer.

"You've got to stay hydrated and have some food," Ruby said, sample glass in hand, waiting to taste another Maine handcrafted brew and munching on one of the pretzels.

Ruby and his friends weren't the only ones with the pretzel-necklace idea, nor were they anywhere near alone at the event.

The 16th edition of the festival was another sellout, with more than 4,500 brewery employees, food vendors, other sponsors and, of course, beer fans filling the Portland Expo for a Saturday afternoon "happy hour" and evening session.

"We could pretty easily sell at least another 1,000 tickets, but then we wouldn't be able to hold it intown," said Jay Riley, who runs the festival and said he likes to keep it close to Portland's restaurants, hotels and, of course, brewpubs.

Maine's event has been such as success that it's expanded, he noted, with the inaugural New Hampshire Brewers Festival coming next weekend in Manchester, N.H.

Riley said Maine has an abundance of handcrafted beer and that was evident at the festival, which featured 17 different breweries offering 60 different brews.

It was enough to impress Jason Boyce, a relatively new Portland resident who has been to brewery festivals in New York and California and said Portland's event matches up favorably.

"I've got my work cut out for me," Boyce said, looking over the list of beers available with his friend, Mike Dougan of Cumberland.

In its initial years, the festival was important for breweries like Shipyard because the company needed to introduce its products to thousands of people who had never tasted its beer, said Alan Pugsley, shipyard's master brewer and co-owner.

Now that the brewery is established, it's just fun, he said.

"It's a lot of work, but it's an event we really enjoy," Pugsley said, stepping away from taps dispensing Shipyard's "Signature Line," including the seasonal "Smashed Pumpkin" brew.