ACBF Beer Reviews

The Brew:Bless me father... it's been almost a month since my last blog. Again, as Spaceballs 2 was supposed to be "the quest for more money" has kept me from dropping the post I wanted to SEVERAL weeks ago. My previous post had a quick review of the American Craft Beer Festival, but I didn't review any beers! A thousand apologies! I'm going to do an abbreviated version of the review as there was a LOT of good beer there. I tended to avoid some of the local breweries as I plan on visiting them soon enough and I didn't get an opportunity to cover every Brewery I was looking for, however the ones I did hit ranged from remarkable to "did you really think this was presentation-worthy beer??? Thankfully at these events they give you a program which helps to keep track of all the samples you've had. Looking at my check marks, I sampled quite a few. Note for next year: Bring a voice recorder, take notes as I go...

That being said, I'll give a quick review of some of the most memorable beers I had at the ACBF!

In No particular order:

Dogfishhead: What a friggin mob scene around these guys. They were the clear rockstars of the day and thanks to some healthy marketing and a GREAT selection of beers, well deserved. I'd heard a lot of buzz around the beer made from a 3000 year old recipe and I just had to try it. The Midas Touch did not disappoint, sweet, slightly "Mead-y" with a hint of grape, this was an excellent brew. I would imagine, with the addition of Saffron (a VERY expensive herb) that it would be a rather expensive beer. However Well worth it.

The Great Divide Brewing Co.: The Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE a good stout. This one was extraordinary as far as the style goes. Thick, meaty and thanks to its barrel aged process, the taste had a bit of a smoky flavor to it. VERY interesting and very good. Thumbs up all the way.

Kennebec River Brewery: Kennebec River IPA: Not much to say about this one. Decent beer. I'd have it again! Not too bitter, fits with the style. Well balanced.

Ithica Beer Co: CascaZilla: Yet another example of overpowering hoppiness. It was a little too much for me, frankly. Not a fan.

Schmaltz brewing Co: He'Brew Rejewvenator: Schmaltz is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. The Rejewvenator is a Half Doppelbock brewed with Date juice. (If my German serves me correctly... wouldn't this be a full Bock? - Kidding... relax beer geeks and Scholars of Deutch) This is yet another extraordinary beer. Not too sweet and fruity, but just a hint enough to be interesting. As usual, its a well balanced example of what beer should be. My only regret about the beer is that 2oz was clearly not enough. In addition, I didn't realize until FAR too late the founder and owner Jeremy Cowan was the guy serving my beer. At the time, the name looked familiar and like a Putz, I just kept on moving. Sorry Jeremy! I sincerely wanted to shake your hand!

Allagash Brewing Co.: Victoria: By far the most interesting beer of the day. It's an experimental Belgian-Style Strong ale with Chardonnay Grapes. In addition, they used wine yeast instead of brewers yeast. If you have friends who are not fans of beer, but instead are Enophiles (lovers of wine... thank you word of the day calendar) The wine has a distinctive wine-ey flavor and a peculiar sweetness usually only found with a demi-sec wine. Either way, this one's a keeper. You may see it as an experiment, but I'd say your hypothesis was spot on!

Terrapin Beer Co.: India Style Brown Ale: This one was TOO much. They call it a hybrid ale, but it was one of the only beers that I actually poured out. NOT a fan. Poorly balanced, too much hop and possibly of the wrong variety. Ick.

Southern Tier Brewing Co.: Jah-vh Stout & Mokah Stout. Two GREAT coffee flavored beers from this company. Coffee beers tend to go one of two ways with me. Either they're not enough coffee flavor or there's so much to the point of being totally acrid. Both of these were stupendous beers. Well balanced, great flavor. I'm not usually a Chocolate fan, nor am I an expresso fan, but I found the Mokah to be one of the best beers of the day. Good stuff and if I were looking for a beer to go with my pancakes, this would be it! (no I don't drink before noon, for the record...)

Beyond the fact that small brewing companies often pump out a higher quality product, I LOVE them for the names they come up with. Here are my top 5 faves of the day and most are probably funny, only to me because I'm an idiot:

5. The Cambridge House (CT): Breakfast Summer Ale: It drew me in... there's no particular reason as to WHY one would have it with breakfast, but I thought the name amusing enough to try some.

4. Watch City Brewing Company: Hell Hammer Oatmeal Stout: The name is just awesome. (Even though he misprounounced Jeux D'esprit...too picky?) I felt totally bad ass with my miniature beer and extended pinky finger... Good beer, bad ass name.

3. Smutty Nose Brewing Company: The Schmutzig Hopfen Weisse: Funny because I'm a dork and I know that Schmutzig means dirty and I just love the word. Kennen-sie diesen Schmutzig-Damen? (Do you know the dirty ladies?)

2. High & Mighty Brewing Co.: St. Hubbins Abbey: St. Hubbins of course according to Spinal Tap being the Patron Saint of Quality Footware...

1. Foothills Brewing CO: Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout: This was a beer that was outstanding in addition to its truly awesome monniker!

I've had a few great beers in the last few weeks since the ACBF and I'm going to try and review them as soon as I can.

The Music

I have a few artists that I'm going to be looking into, but this week, I'm feeling selfish as I had an AWESOME 4th of July!! The Sutherland Pipe Band was more than gracious enough to have me march with them during their 4th of July extravaganza. It's been a long time since I played the drum and I think I kept up pretty well in practice with the Snare drum, but apparently 80% of the notes is not enough for game day! Instead, I played the tenor drum. Quarter note, Quarter note... Swing the sticks around my head. I have to admit that I was more Flourish than anything but I Kept the beat and marched in step and most important I looked goooood. Although Flourishing is harder than it looks. You have to catch the sticks ON the beat! We played 2 Parades Bourne, MA and Edgartown, MA (Martha's Vineyard). A free show on the boat ride back during the fireworks and late night at the bar. Thanks boys!! All in all a GREAT day! I've added a few pics from the boat show below:

The American Craft Beer Festival

(L to R: Capt. Bryon, Rob (me), Liam straight from the Dirty Jerz, "Distinctive Shirt" Ken, Dave "check out my Shark Bite" Nicholson)

Ziggy Saki Ziggy Saki Hoy Hoy Hoy!!!

Three cheers for the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston!!! (aka the ACBF also how my alphabet came out later in the the eve...) What a great time! This is the kind of event I've been talking about. Good food, Great Beer and even better friends. Liam, Dave, Capt. Bryon and Ken were my beer bretheren and they did not disappoint. Nor did our female companions, Jen, April and Ashley, you guys were an absolute hoot. It was nice to hang out with a group that TRULY knows their beer and that knows how to have a good time. Capt. Bryon runs a beer blog called www.homebrewer.net and I would HIGHLY recommend checking his site out. He really knows his stuff. Ken, Liam and Dave all have highly refined palates though years of downing suds. Ken's got a real gift for describing the beers and had some great ideas for pairings. Although Dave's best comment of the night was "I just drink the stuff!".

And imbibe we did! The Festival boasted over 300 beers which, if you used the tiny 2oz. glass they give you as part of your $40 entrance fee, it would equate to over 50 beers during the course of the night or 4.68 GALLONS of beer and a quick trip to the emergency room. Thankfully for my sanity, my liver and most importantly my marriage, I had barely a fraction of that and enjoyed myself thoroughly!

As previously stated, there were over 300 beers and just as many flavor variations. There were some great beers, some beers I would file under "M" for "Meh" and others than can be categorized as DEAR LORD did you throw that up already?!? I wish I were kidding, there was one where we blamed Dave for "Verping" (Vomit+Burp=VERP) when in fact it was actually his pre-ingested beer. Holy Horrible... I still get shivers.

A kind of odd observation: the beer community in general seems to have an obsession with how much hop flavor you can pack into a beer. To be totally frank, the beers I found to be the best of the day were well balanced, had something different to them and in general were just interesting. I won't go into much as far as specific beers right now, but I will review a few of my favorites in the coming weeks. I've got more than enough reviews to go over about 2 a week for a while...

I have a few tips for you if you plan on attending either this event in Boston next year or if you plan to attend one of these events elsewhere:

1. EAT FIRST! Food in the festival is often EXPENSIVE. They've got you for three plus hours and its quite pricey. The Seaport district in Boston has a few cheap eat places. The Seaport Bar & Grill, The No Name and Salvatore's are three of my faves, plus historic South Boston (Southie) is really near by and I've got a few hangouts there as well.

2. AGUA! Every few beers or so, grab a quick slug of water. Most of these festivals have cup cleaning areas; Basically bug juice containers full of water... but it's water... drink up. It will not only keep you hydrated, but it helps to cleanse your palate for the next set of beers! Better to taste your beers without tasting all of them at once!

3. Meeting spots: Imperative, especially if you've got some thirsty cohorts with a wanderlust and the attention spans of hummingbirds... We did pretty well with doing our own thing and regrouping to hang out with "The Team". For the most part, we used "Distinctive shirt Ken" as our marker, but I would try this one - Meet by the door leading to the port-a-potties. You're all going to end up there anyway!

4. This one is of vital importance, not only to your well being but to your overall awesomeness. Two words... Pretzel... Necklace. Check out the picture above. Those things were lifesavers, conversation pieces and lady magnets. Dave and Ken, thanks for taking a little arts and crafts time to keep us well fed and dapperly attired! I'm sure that I'll be in more than one blog and a few family photo albums.

Gang, if you've not been to one of these events, you need to check it out. It's a great experience to talk to some brewers and hang out with other beer snobs and of course, try some of the best (and worst) beers in the country. If you are to consider yourself a true beer aficionado, you need to first approach these events respectfully... with all the dignity that a neckware made of bavarian bread products can provide you... But seriously, most of the brewers are actually AT this event and they take great pride in their work. Take your time, taste the beer, ENJOY it. Heaving is kind of a no no, but it happens at these events. If you're drinking for volume, there are happy hours everywhere serving Piels and Pabst and Schaefer. Barf elsewhere friend, you're among beer royalty. Respect.

To all my friends, old and new that made this day a true success; THANK YOU. I really had a great time. To all the Brewers, THANK YOU for all the excellent beer. Even the bad ones have a story. To my wife, who wanted to attend this event but let me go because of some baby sitting issues. It was her fathers' day gift to me: THANKS A TON, LADY! You'll be here next year... I guarantee it!

All told, successful day. I'm ALREADY looking forward to next year!!

To Great buds and Great Suds!

Prost!!

Rob