Tuesday, September 18, 2018
The Great American Beer Festival Alphabetical Challenge
The routine for many at the Great American Beer Festival is simple: Scout out the breweries you absolutely have to hit, get a few more recommendations on the floor, leave satisfied that you've sampled from the hippest and best breweries in the country. I've done it for many years, and it's produced a wealth of valuable tasting experiences.
What I've never done in the 17 years I've attended the festival, however, is to acknowledge that every brewery at the Colorado Convention Center has some story, some effort that has drawn them to compete in this wonderful science fair of beer-making - and to give myself over to truly letting chance determine which beers I sample and discover. That, however, changes this year.
On Friday, I'm opening myself to what I call the GABF Alphabetical Challenge - a self-made opportunity to discover the beer that I've never discovered before and the breweries that I never thought to glance at a second time while I was running to get in line at New Glarus or Bell's. And in some ways, I feel like I'll get to experience America's best beer festival for the first time.
The rules are thus: I plan to start at one end of the floor plan that lays out 4,000 beers from 800 breweries and try the first beer that I find that begins with the letter A. Then I'll wander until I find a beer that begins with the letter B - and so on, down the alphabet. Realizing that even the seemingly boundless creativity in brewers' naming games has limits, I'll allow myself to drink beers that have any of the Scrabble 8- or 10-point letters (J, Q, X, Z) anywhere in their names. And I'll do this, stopping only for food, throughout the night until the Brewers Association rings last call.
Why would I handcuff myself in this way, you might say, potentially passing over star breweries and star beers that no one should walk by? In short, it's an acknowledgment that too much about the GABF and the week before it has become a pull to the known beer makers and the hot styles without opening myself up to the chance of finding that brewery I love by searching beyond a short list. I can still remember randomly discovering Six Rivers Brewery of California - maker of the best chili beer in America and a host of other brilliant offerings - some 12 or 13 years ago when I just happened to stop by its booth out of curiosity. I've gone back every year since, but the number of "secret treasure" breweries in my stash hasn't expanded much.
I also tend to spend the vast majority of my time seeking sours and barrel-aged beers, big hop bombs and concoctions with strange ingredients - to the point where I try to list my favorite lager at the end of the festival and find that there's only two or three that I even tried. The array of American beer styles continues to grow and widen, and GABF is one of the few festivals in the world where you can dive thoroughly into all of them in one place - an opportunity that shouldn't be squandered.
Finally, I realize that people who have just one 4-1/2-hour session to see the show won't want to leave up to chance what they will find there. But as a member of the media, I get entry to three separate sessions (and access to photos like the one I have at the top of this blog). Thursday night is always spent chasing the hottest beers and trends out there, and Saturday afternoon is typically awash with my chasing award winners and trying to interview them. But I have the true privilege of getting the chance to cover the festival and to learn from it, and I want to make sure I'm doing so without blinders as to what may be out there.
So, how will this turn out? I don't know. I could find the next hidden gem in America. I also could find a rack of imbalanced IPAs or uninspired amber ales (assuming someone still makes those). But the most important thing is that I will discover, and that discovery will include flavors and breweries I haven't known before.
If this all bores you, I'm not offended. But if you're curious how it turns out, check back to this blog after the festival, or follow my Twitter account at @MtnBrewBook, as I'll try to post updates throughout the night.
As for me, I may be more excited about Friday night's session than I've been about attending a GABF session since my very first one back in 2001. There are no expectations and no checklist that I have to knock off for the first time in a long, long time. And in there lies freedom to find out in a new way what makes the American beer scene so special. Cheers.
The routine for many at the Great American Beer Festival is simple: Scout out the breweries you absolutely have to hit, get a few more recommendations on the floor, leave satisfied that you've sampled from the hippest and best breweries in the country. I've done it for many years, and it's produced a wealth of valuable tasting experiences.
What I've never done in the 17 years I've attended the festival, however, is to acknowledge that every brewery at the Colorado Convention Center has some story, some effort that has drawn them to compete in this wonderful science fair of beer-making - and to give myself over to truly letting chance determine which beers I sample and discover. That, however, changes this year.
On Friday, I'm opening myself to what I call the GABF Alphabetical Challenge - a self-made opportunity to discover the beer that I've never discovered before and the breweries that I never thought to glance at a second time while I was running to get in line at New Glarus or Bell's. And in some ways, I feel like I'll get to experience America's best beer festival for the first time.
Why would I handcuff myself in this way, you might say, potentially passing over star breweries and star beers that no one should walk by? In short, it's an acknowledgment that too much about the GABF and the week before it has become a pull to the known beer makers and the hot styles without opening myself up to the chance of finding that brewery I love by searching beyond a short list. I can still remember randomly discovering Six Rivers Brewery of California - maker of the best chili beer in America and a host of other brilliant offerings - some 12 or 13 years ago when I just happened to stop by its booth out of curiosity. I've gone back every year since, but the number of "secret treasure" breweries in my stash hasn't expanded much.
I also tend to spend the vast majority of my time seeking sours and barrel-aged beers, big hop bombs and concoctions with strange ingredients - to the point where I try to list my favorite lager at the end of the festival and find that there's only two or three that I even tried. The array of American beer styles continues to grow and widen, and GABF is one of the few festivals in the world where you can dive thoroughly into all of them in one place - an opportunity that shouldn't be squandered.
Finally, I realize that people who have just one 4-1/2-hour session to see the show won't want to leave up to chance what they will find there. But as a member of the media, I get entry to three separate sessions (and access to photos like the one I have at the top of this blog). Thursday night is always spent chasing the hottest beers and trends out there, and Saturday afternoon is typically awash with my chasing award winners and trying to interview them. But I have the true privilege of getting the chance to cover the festival and to learn from it, and I want to make sure I'm doing so without blinders as to what may be out there.
So, how will this turn out? I don't know. I could find the next hidden gem in America. I also could find a rack of imbalanced IPAs or uninspired amber ales (assuming someone still makes those). But the most important thing is that I will discover, and that discovery will include flavors and breweries I haven't known before.
If this all bores you, I'm not offended. But if you're curious how it turns out, check back to this blog after the festival, or follow my Twitter account at @MtnBrewBook, as I'll try to post updates throughout the night.
As for me, I may be more excited about Friday night's session than I've been about attending a GABF session since my very first one back in 2001. There are no expectations and no checklist that I have to knock off for the first time in a long, long time. And in there lies freedom to find out in a new way what makes the American beer scene so special. Cheers.
Labels: Bell's Brewing, Brewers Association, Great American Beer Festival, New Glarus, Six Rivers Brewery
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Best of GABF, 2012
Picking the best beers at this year's Great American Beer Festival was like trying to discern the best team in baseball this season. Though there wasn't a single standout that everyone was talking about, there were a lot of things there to like, some from unexpected sources.
So, as all of our taste buds slowly begin to function at normal speed again, here is one man's annual toast to the best he found among the 580 breweries and 2,700 beers that called to everyone on the GABF floor.
Beer of the Festival: In a sea of sour beers that seemed willing to push taste limits, The Bruery's Sans Pagaie - a sour blonde ale barrel-aged with cherries - struck a near-perfect tone of tartness with just a hint of creamy softness to make it even more palatable. The California brewery had a full lineup of standouts, but this well-deserved medal winner was the one that sent quite a few members of the Fearless Tasting Crew away remarking it had outdone itself.
Very Close Runner-up: Of all the Texas beers that stood out this festival - and, yes, there were a lot - North by Northwest's Barton Kriek had the tart excitement of a cherry blast that was pushing boundaries but was grounded enough to make you come back again and again to try more.
Best Hop Bomb: Tribute beers can sometimes be overdone by breweries trying too hard to make them memorable. But Pizza Port Carlsbad's 547 Haight, brewed for the The Toronado San Francisco's 20th anniversary, was an imperial red ale that squeezed every grassy ounce of its ton of hops and laid it on a chewy malt under-beer to find a zingy yet balanced wallop.
Best Big Dark Monster: Barrel-aging seems to be reaching its historical peak, with more breweries understanding how oak, whiskey and other characteristics can truly make a beer better. To that end, Sun King's Batch 333: The Velvet Fog brought the biggest hammer down on drinkers, blistering them with a Belgian quad soaking up both the earthy darkness of the aging barrel and lighter, fig-like flavors that made it intriguing and complex.
Best Spiced Beer: Six Rivers Brewery's Chili Pepper Ale is the best chili beer in America, and that point may not even be debatable anymore. This year's offering was pepper-spiced to dance on every taste bud again, but the solid, fuller body underlying it gave just the right cushion to render it challenging and highly enjoyable.
Best Colorado Beer: Both Avery's Oud Floris and Strange's Zora Pale Ale woke a lot of taste buds. But the honor here goes to New Belgium's NBB Love Felix, a sour blonde ale aged in oak foeders that was reminiscent of the best Belgian-style beers ever made in Colorado in its assertive yet citrus-splashed body. Here's hoping to seeing more of this beer around.
So, as all of our taste buds slowly begin to function at normal speed again, here is one man's annual toast to the best he found among the 580 breweries and 2,700 beers that called to everyone on the GABF floor.
Beer of the Festival: In a sea of sour beers that seemed willing to push taste limits, The Bruery's Sans Pagaie - a sour blonde ale barrel-aged with cherries - struck a near-perfect tone of tartness with just a hint of creamy softness to make it even more palatable. The California brewery had a full lineup of standouts, but this well-deserved medal winner was the one that sent quite a few members of the Fearless Tasting Crew away remarking it had outdone itself.
Very Close Runner-up: Of all the Texas beers that stood out this festival - and, yes, there were a lot - North by Northwest's Barton Kriek had the tart excitement of a cherry blast that was pushing boundaries but was grounded enough to make you come back again and again to try more.
Best Hop Bomb: Tribute beers can sometimes be overdone by breweries trying too hard to make them memorable. But Pizza Port Carlsbad's 547 Haight, brewed for the The Toronado San Francisco's 20th anniversary, was an imperial red ale that squeezed every grassy ounce of its ton of hops and laid it on a chewy malt under-beer to find a zingy yet balanced wallop.
Best Big Dark Monster: Barrel-aging seems to be reaching its historical peak, with more breweries understanding how oak, whiskey and other characteristics can truly make a beer better. To that end, Sun King's Batch 333: The Velvet Fog brought the biggest hammer down on drinkers, blistering them with a Belgian quad soaking up both the earthy darkness of the aging barrel and lighter, fig-like flavors that made it intriguing and complex.
Best Spiced Beer: Six Rivers Brewery's Chili Pepper Ale is the best chili beer in America, and that point may not even be debatable anymore. This year's offering was pepper-spiced to dance on every taste bud again, but the solid, fuller body underlying it gave just the right cushion to render it challenging and highly enjoyable.
Best Colorado Beer: Both Avery's Oud Floris and Strange's Zora Pale Ale woke a lot of taste buds. But the honor here goes to New Belgium's NBB Love Felix, a sour blonde ale aged in oak foeders that was reminiscent of the best Belgian-style beers ever made in Colorado in its assertive yet citrus-splashed body. Here's hoping to seeing more of this beer around.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, New Belgium Brewing, North by Northwest, Pizza Port, Six Rivers Brewery, Strange Brewing, Sun King Brewing, The Bruery
Friday, October 12, 2012
Some Thoughts on GABF 2012, Day One
It's certainly a bigger, bolder festival this year, and the beers that were being poured proved that quite amply.
* Everyone, it seemed, is bringing a taste bud-wrecking barrel-aged big stout. Fiftyfifty Brewing's Eclipse Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout was black as night and twice as thick. Goose Island continues to pour on a shockingly drinkable Bourbon County Brand Stout. And (512) Brewing showed off a Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter that managed to be both sweet and highly, highly alcoholic.
* The lines at the name breweries continue to get longer each year - and sometimes with disappointing results. After waiting 10 minutes for Cigar City's Cucumber Saison, I got a beer that seemed to be all vegetable and no Belgian spice. Yet, festival goers seemed to ignore a lot of the up-and-comers. You could slip right in and taste a fantastic barrel-aged quad (Batch 333: The Velvet Fog) from last year's most awarded brewery, Sun King. And while everyone I ran into - literally, everyone - was talking about Destihl brewpub of Illinois becoming the new sour king with superb creations like its Sour Strawberry Ale, that line was never more than four or five people long. These are trends of which drinkers should take advantage.
* At a time when chili is becoming a more common ingredient - and often a good one - Six Rivers Brewery continues to stand far and above the crowd with a solid-bodied Chili Pepper Ale that somehow exudes spicy balance. Mad River Brewing brought its A game too with a more kick-you-in-the-teeth Super Chili Pepper Madness.
* Once the sole domain of Blue Moon Brewing - which still serves its Peanut Butter Ale solely at the GABF - peanut butter is showing up as a more common ingredient these days in beers. And there seems to be a clear secret to its success: The darker the body, the better it blends. Beer Engineers of Alabama used it perfectly in its Leadbelly Peanut Butter Porter. Meanwhile, when Catawba Valley Brewing of North Carolina tried to make a lighter-bodied PB&J, every ingredient was too quiet.
* Finally, in the often-discussed category of sours, it seems that people are cranking the pucker meter up a few decibels this year. Just try Allagash's Coolship Resurgam, a spontaneously fermented ale that is golden and tart like a sour pixie stick. Or go to Cambridge Brewing and find its Cerisse Cassee, a beer of the show from a few years back, even more jarringly good - and with a distinct barrel taste this year.
* Everyone, it seemed, is bringing a taste bud-wrecking barrel-aged big stout. Fiftyfifty Brewing's Eclipse Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout was black as night and twice as thick. Goose Island continues to pour on a shockingly drinkable Bourbon County Brand Stout. And (512) Brewing showed off a Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter that managed to be both sweet and highly, highly alcoholic.
* The lines at the name breweries continue to get longer each year - and sometimes with disappointing results. After waiting 10 minutes for Cigar City's Cucumber Saison, I got a beer that seemed to be all vegetable and no Belgian spice. Yet, festival goers seemed to ignore a lot of the up-and-comers. You could slip right in and taste a fantastic barrel-aged quad (Batch 333: The Velvet Fog) from last year's most awarded brewery, Sun King. And while everyone I ran into - literally, everyone - was talking about Destihl brewpub of Illinois becoming the new sour king with superb creations like its Sour Strawberry Ale, that line was never more than four or five people long. These are trends of which drinkers should take advantage.
* At a time when chili is becoming a more common ingredient - and often a good one - Six Rivers Brewery continues to stand far and above the crowd with a solid-bodied Chili Pepper Ale that somehow exudes spicy balance. Mad River Brewing brought its A game too with a more kick-you-in-the-teeth Super Chili Pepper Madness.
* Once the sole domain of Blue Moon Brewing - which still serves its Peanut Butter Ale solely at the GABF - peanut butter is showing up as a more common ingredient these days in beers. And there seems to be a clear secret to its success: The darker the body, the better it blends. Beer Engineers of Alabama used it perfectly in its Leadbelly Peanut Butter Porter. Meanwhile, when Catawba Valley Brewing of North Carolina tried to make a lighter-bodied PB&J, every ingredient was too quiet.
* Finally, in the often-discussed category of sours, it seems that people are cranking the pucker meter up a few decibels this year. Just try Allagash's Coolship Resurgam, a spontaneously fermented ale that is golden and tart like a sour pixie stick. Or go to Cambridge Brewing and find its Cerisse Cassee, a beer of the show from a few years back, even more jarringly good - and with a distinct barrel taste this year.
Labels: Blue Moon Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Six Rivers Brewery
Saturday, October 01, 2011
GABF, Day 2: Small Breweries' Triumph
The Fearless Tasting Crew waited through the endless line at Cigar City Brewing last night, grabbed some Guava Grove saison and collectively shrugged as the less exciting version of the beer it found last year. Then we wandered over to Captain Lawrence Brewing (of New York state), strolled up to the lineless booth and went back again and again. Everything - but particularly the Rosso e Marrone grape-fermented, barrel-aged ale - was that good.
It's a growing adage that is proving particularly true this year: A crafty brewery, no matter how small, can make products on par with the greatest beers in the world. And those wares are on display at this year's Great American Beer Festival.
Nobody seemed to be talking about McKenzie Brew House in Malvern, Pa., before the start of the show. But one sip of its Saison Vautour, a bitingly sharp barrel-fermented citrus explosion, and the conversations should turn to that brewpub quickly.
Ditto with Freetail Brewing of San Antonio, whose Bandito - a double honey red wheat ale aged in barrels from a local winery - provides a rich apple-like taste that jumps out as one of the most unique at the GABF.
More than one person has now fawned over Angry Birds, the American Belgo Rye IPA trucked out to the festival by Haymarket Pub & Brewery of Chicago. It really is as complex as it sounds.
And the too-often-overlooked Six Rivers Brewery of McKinleyville, Calif. may have the best combination of completely opposite styles of beer. Try the Chili Pepper Spicy Ale to see how a company makes a hot beer drinkable, and then wash it down with a Raspberry Lambic Style Ale to see how a brewery makes an ancient beer style relevant.
It isn't that the big guys didn't bring great stuff. Odell's Myrcenary IPA may earn its true place on the landscape if it rightfully captures a gold medal in the double IPA category today.
But the lesson is this: Don't spend all your time in the big lines at the biggest booths, as you'll miss some incredible finds at the smaller ones.
The Fearless Tasting Crew waited through the endless line at Cigar City Brewing last night, grabbed some Guava Grove saison and collectively shrugged as the less exciting version of the beer it found last year. Then we wandered over to Captain Lawrence Brewing (of New York state), strolled up to the lineless booth and went back again and again. Everything - but particularly the Rosso e Marrone grape-fermented, barrel-aged ale - was that good.
It's a growing adage that is proving particularly true this year: A crafty brewery, no matter how small, can make products on par with the greatest beers in the world. And those wares are on display at this year's Great American Beer Festival.
Nobody seemed to be talking about McKenzie Brew House in Malvern, Pa., before the start of the show. But one sip of its Saison Vautour, a bitingly sharp barrel-fermented citrus explosion, and the conversations should turn to that brewpub quickly.
Ditto with Freetail Brewing of San Antonio, whose Bandito - a double honey red wheat ale aged in barrels from a local winery - provides a rich apple-like taste that jumps out as one of the most unique at the GABF.
More than one person has now fawned over Angry Birds, the American Belgo Rye IPA trucked out to the festival by Haymarket Pub & Brewery of Chicago. It really is as complex as it sounds.
And the too-often-overlooked Six Rivers Brewery of McKinleyville, Calif. may have the best combination of completely opposite styles of beer. Try the Chili Pepper Spicy Ale to see how a company makes a hot beer drinkable, and then wash it down with a Raspberry Lambic Style Ale to see how a brewery makes an ancient beer style relevant.
It isn't that the big guys didn't bring great stuff. Odell's Myrcenary IPA may earn its true place on the landscape if it rightfully captures a gold medal in the double IPA category today.
But the lesson is this: Don't spend all your time in the big lines at the biggest booths, as you'll miss some incredible finds at the smaller ones.
Labels: Captain Lawrence Brewing, Freetail Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Haymarket Brewery, McKenzie Brew House, Odell Brewing, Six Rivers Brewery
Monday, September 20, 2010
Best of GABF 2010Change was in the air this year at the Great American Beer Festival. Yes, the long-time best breweries brought their game (Russian River with a still trend-setting pucker-worthy Supplication, New Glarus with its consistently unique Raspberry Tart, Great Divide shaking things up with its oak-aged Rumble IPA). But this seemed to be the year when five other breweries really stepped up to grab the spotlight.
Call it the "line test." When you grabbed a one-ounce pour, where was it that you just wanted to turn around, head to the back of the line and wait, no matter how long, for another beer to see what else that brewer could do? Just within the confines of the Fearless Tasting Crew, these were those places: Cigar City Brewing, Six Rivers Brewing, Odell Brewing, Cascade Brewing and late-session find Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
And so, here is just one man's very abbreviated opinion of the best beers that could be found at the 29th Great American Beer Festival.
Best in Show: Based on its uniqueness as a cross between a sour and a saison alone, Cigar City's Guava Grove might have been the beer about which the most people left the festival buzzing. But what separated it from the sour genre and truly made it special was that the use of the guava for flavor, unlike sour cherries or raspberries, was not especially penetrating or intense. Instead, it just sat on the tongue, making this the most accessible and pleasing sour beer in a show where more and more made their way to the forefront.
Best hoppy beer: Judging by the fact that it, unlike most other types of hop, showed up in several beers' names, simcoe is the "it" hop right now. And nothing made better use of this edgy and intense floral flavor than Easton, Pa.-based Weyerbacher Brewing's Double Simcoe IPA. Introducing itself with a huge burst of flavor but leaving you with a more full-mouthed grassy rather than bitter backtaste, this beer, more so than any others of its genre, straddled the line between sweet and bite.
Best dark beer: Old-school stouts and porters seem to be on their way out. In fact the words "oatmeal porter" were about as rare this year as the term "light lager." But between chocolate-milk stouts and coffee-infused Russian imperial stouts, the taste that stood out the most was Six Rivers' Smoky Joe's Spicy Porter, which deftly weaved together mesquite, roasted malt and pepper spices into its own creation.
Best traditional sour: The three different barrel-aged creations that went into Odell's Friek looked at first like some strange blend of tomato and pineapple juice. But the raspberry-cherry overlap turned out to blend amazingly well and prove as refreshing as it was challenging. Kudos go as well to Cascade's Apricot Ale and its Kriek.
Best wheat/lager/lighter ale: At a festival that seemed to be all about barrels, coffee, smoke and limit-pushing new ingredients, it seemed that just about the only lighter beer turning heads was Dry Dock Brewing's Paragon Apricot Blonde. Accessibly fruit-tinged without being overpowering and without forgetting that the beer is more important than the additive, this calmed your taste buds and left you thinking "Mmm, session beer" more than anything else you tasted at the GABF.
Labels: Cigar City Brewing, Dry Dock Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Odell Brewing, Six Rivers Brewery, Weyerbacher Brewing
Friday, September 17, 2010
GABF, Day One: Six Rivers Needs Some Love
Lines were long on the first day of the Great American Beer Festival at such classic beer-geek gathering spots as the booths for New Glarus, Russian River and Lost Abbey. And they've started to stretch out at a couple of well-deserved new entrants into American brewing's upper echelon, such as Cascade Brewing and Cigar City Brewing.
But in a sight that becomes more baffling each year, there were no more than two or three people lined up at any given time to drink the haul of Six Rivers Brewery of McKinleyville, Calif. And that's a shame because it means a lot of people are missing out on one of the undiscovered gems of the country.
The seven-barrel brewery that now distributes only in California and Oregon first grabbed my attention a few years ago with its Chile Pepper Spicy Ale, in which it uses jalapeno, habanero, Serrano and Anaheim peppers to create an eye-openingly spicy but still very drinkable beverage. That beer is still around, and it's as good as ever.
But last night, the brewery laid out a trio of beers as good as any at the show (at least among the 65 I was able to taste), showing off its depth and abilities to create masterfully across styles.
The star of the quartet, and maybe of the entire festival, was Smokey Joe's Spicy Porter, which is the liquid equivalent of a mesquite grill wrapped in a starless night with pepper flakes to light up your tongue. Finding out that a local farmer grills the Indian peppers used in the beer made it only that much more appealing.
Its Sour Grapes was just sharp enough to be the perfect blend of a wine-barrel-aged sipper and acidic tongue biter. And its Raspberry Lambic-style ale was a smoother and tarter improvement on the classic Belgian style.
There's a lot to do and see with some 450 breweries in the same room. But taking the time to stop by this one brewery - something that not a ton of people appeared to do on Thursday - will greatly enhance your experience there.
Lines were long on the first day of the Great American Beer Festival at such classic beer-geek gathering spots as the booths for New Glarus, Russian River and Lost Abbey. And they've started to stretch out at a couple of well-deserved new entrants into American brewing's upper echelon, such as Cascade Brewing and Cigar City Brewing.
But in a sight that becomes more baffling each year, there were no more than two or three people lined up at any given time to drink the haul of Six Rivers Brewery of McKinleyville, Calif. And that's a shame because it means a lot of people are missing out on one of the undiscovered gems of the country.
The seven-barrel brewery that now distributes only in California and Oregon first grabbed my attention a few years ago with its Chile Pepper Spicy Ale, in which it uses jalapeno, habanero, Serrano and Anaheim peppers to create an eye-openingly spicy but still very drinkable beverage. That beer is still around, and it's as good as ever.
But last night, the brewery laid out a trio of beers as good as any at the show (at least among the 65 I was able to taste), showing off its depth and abilities to create masterfully across styles.
The star of the quartet, and maybe of the entire festival, was Smokey Joe's Spicy Porter, which is the liquid equivalent of a mesquite grill wrapped in a starless night with pepper flakes to light up your tongue. Finding out that a local farmer grills the Indian peppers used in the beer made it only that much more appealing.
Its Sour Grapes was just sharp enough to be the perfect blend of a wine-barrel-aged sipper and acidic tongue biter. And its Raspberry Lambic-style ale was a smoother and tarter improvement on the classic Belgian style.
There's a lot to do and see with some 450 breweries in the same room. But taking the time to stop by this one brewery - something that not a ton of people appeared to do on Thursday - will greatly enhance your experience there.
Labels: Great American Beer Festival, Six Rivers Brewery
Saturday, October 11, 2008
GABF Day Two
Just a few notes before I head back to finish off the murder of my liver and taste buds that I began on Wednesday night:
*I am firmly convinced that Six Rivers Brewery out of McKinleyville, Calif., is one of the great undiscovered gems in America. The Fearless Tasting Crew has made it a necessity to stop there every year for its chili beer, made with four types of chili and standing out as the best of its kind in the country. But last night we delved deeper and found a Sour Bomb that ranks as one of the most pucker-worthy of the festival and a robust porter with as deep a java taste as I've found.
*Every year there is a hip flavor that more breweries seem to be trying. This year, it's honey. And, wow, does it not work. I've tried a couple of honey lagers or ales, and the result is the same: The honey taste either is lost or just confuses what the brewer seems to be trying to do. I had a honey saison last night from a brewery that shall remain nameless that was by far the worst beer I've tried this show. Let's see if we can move past this trend as quickly as possible.
*Midwestern beers are not just the Milwaukee's Best clones of the world anymore. An increasing number of breweries from that region are generating talk and respect. Wisconsin's New Glarus, of course, has always been one of the attention stealers of the festival. But Goose Island, Jolly Pumpkin, Lakefront, Three Floyds and Upland are among those giving you good reasons to stay over in the far section of the convention hall after you've waited in the 15-minute line for your NG Raspberry Tart.
Just a few notes before I head back to finish off the murder of my liver and taste buds that I began on Wednesday night:
*I am firmly convinced that Six Rivers Brewery out of McKinleyville, Calif., is one of the great undiscovered gems in America. The Fearless Tasting Crew has made it a necessity to stop there every year for its chili beer, made with four types of chili and standing out as the best of its kind in the country. But last night we delved deeper and found a Sour Bomb that ranks as one of the most pucker-worthy of the festival and a robust porter with as deep a java taste as I've found.
*Every year there is a hip flavor that more breweries seem to be trying. This year, it's honey. And, wow, does it not work. I've tried a couple of honey lagers or ales, and the result is the same: The honey taste either is lost or just confuses what the brewer seems to be trying to do. I had a honey saison last night from a brewery that shall remain nameless that was by far the worst beer I've tried this show. Let's see if we can move past this trend as quickly as possible.
*Midwestern beers are not just the Milwaukee's Best clones of the world anymore. An increasing number of breweries from that region are generating talk and respect. Wisconsin's New Glarus, of course, has always been one of the attention stealers of the festival. But Goose Island, Jolly Pumpkin, Lakefront, Three Floyds and Upland are among those giving you good reasons to stay over in the far section of the convention hall after you've waited in the 15-minute line for your NG Raspberry Tart.
Labels: Great American Beer Festival, Six Rivers Brewery
