Sunday, June 22, 2008

American Craft Beer Fest - It Was AWESOME!!


OK the event was as great as expected. I beat my friends to the fest so I had a few minutes alone inside the festival. The festival served beer from the left center and right with food and porta potties in the wings. Sorry no pictures because I forgot a camera. I immediately hit a few stands I had targeted from the website and instantly I knew I was in trouble. I had hit 6 stands in about 10 minutes and the pours were bigger than the 2oz advertised. I also figured out it would be really hard to track all the beers I was trying so I gave up pretty quickly, but here are the notes on the ones I tried. Not full reviews because honestly I couldn't due a review on a 2oz beer justice:
Avery Brewing Company, Ellie's Brown Ale Boulder, CO - A chocolate smokey brown. Similar to a porter.
Bear Republic Brewing Co, Crazy Ivan Healdsburg, CA - honeyish, despite the great name, disappointing
Brewery Ommegang, Ommegang Ommegeddon, Cooperstown, NY - belgian ale, very similar to La Fin Du Monde
Great Divide Brewing Co, Titan IPA, Denver, CO - a very light IPA, only a hint of hops
Lagunitas Brewing Co, Hop Stoopid, Petaluma, CA - very bitter and hoppy.
Mayflower Brewing Co., Mayflower Pale Ale, Plymouth, MA - very light pale ale
Newport Storm Amber - light, honeyish terrible
Port Brewing Co., Shark Double Red Ale, San Marcos, CA - very alcoholly red ale
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Prohibition, San Francisco, CA - wheaty grain taste light, no real malt flavor
Tuckerman Brewing Co., Tuckerman Pale Ale, Conway, NH - very light and fruity almost flat.
Of course I had more than this, but I couldn't keep up with my in depth notes from above (yes it appears all the beers are "light". I did have to finish off the night with a Harpoon IPA to go out on a high after my second to last beer was terrible. I didn't walk away with a new favorite beer which isn't surprising after all I tasted 20+ beers and they eventually all mashed together. The Duck Rabbitt Craft Brewery received rave reviews from my friends. All in all a great event and worth attending next year.

2 comments:

jay said...

If I remember correctly, by the end of the night you started describing beers as "alcoholy"... that about sums it up..

Mike said...

Additional reviews from another participant:

- Duck Rabbit Amber, Brown Ale, and Milk Stout - All three were fantastic. These guys have really limited distribution, so they aren't available in a lot of places. They are based out of NC.
- Rock Bottom Cinco de Mayo Jalapeno Lager - awful. There is no other word. Awful.
- Victory Wild Devil - basically their Hop Devil with a different strain of wild yeast. Good beer, not too over the top. Interesting, sort of sour aftertaste.
- Pennichuck Shouboushi Ginger Pilsner - very light, good change of pace.
- High and Mighty Beer of the Gods - very tasty, cloudy beer. Lighter than I expected.
- Cape Ann Brewing's Greenhorn Double IPA - really good, though quite strong.

The event was a bit confusing, to be honest. It was really crowded at the start, and it was hard to find certain brewers. All things considered, it was a great time.