ACBF Recap

ACBF 2009 was a success! Being the second year of it's existance (I think) I was impressed. It has definitely gotten more crowded as people get word of how good it is and how fun beer festivals are. The crowd was definitely tame and the beers were excellent. I had originally set out with my list of beers that I didn't want to leave without trying. Unfortunately, I only ended up having 7 of the 13. 3 of them were not even on tap on Friday night (that was upseting) so I only missed 3 really. The line at Allagash was huge. It went from their booth all the way accross the middle of the venue, so I thought I would skip it. I'll just have to trust that it's good and buy it!!

One thing I did notice that was different this year was the lack of head brewers. No Sam Calagione, Garrett Oliver, Drew Brosseau (Mayflower and local favorite beer of mine). I did spot Hugh Sisson (Clipper City) walking around grabbing some samples himself which was pretty cool. Not that I base my experience on celebrity brewer sightings, but it's always cool.

Tow things that were vastly improved upon, and not as important as the beer but still importants, was the food and bathroom situation. Last years lines were ridiculous for both and the porto Johns inside made the whole place smell like crap...litterally! They put the porto's outside this year and they had 2 food stations and multiple cashiers which made it quick and easy to grab some grub!

On the the beers. I am becoming a huge Sixpoint Fan. I was hooked on their Hop Obama last summer, then this winter was introduced to the Sweet Action. This time around I had the Bengali Tiger and I was amazed. It is an old english style IPA with a big malty backbone and a huge hop presence. Perfectly balanced and only having 2 oz.'s made me want more.....lots more! This was by far my favorite beer of the night.

I was however not a fan of the Watermellon Wheat from 21's amendment. This is by no means a knock on 21st Amendment, but I just don't like the watermellon beer combo. Not sure why since I love both by themselves. I noticed this year there was a large amount of American Wheat beers with fruit. I'm not sure if this is the latest push to try and get more women into craft beer but it was noticable. Some of them were very good (Saranac Pomegranite Wheat) and others weren't.

I'd love to hear your experiences if you attended either of the 3 sessions. I know Brew Dudes went Friday as well and Rob went Saturday night so I'm sure he'll be posting as well. Can't wait to read them.

Cheers,

Jason

ACBF update 2

the beer here tonight is awesome. Just had a Hazed & Infuzed and it was great. And.....we had a pseudo Brett Michaels siting! I will try to get a pic!



Cheers,

Jason

ACBF Update

So far so good! I've noticed that this year is A LOT more crowded than last, but the beer lines are moving quick. I've been able to hit most of the brewers but some didn't bring some of the beers as advertised. Oh well, I'm still having fun and drinking some great beer. The best one yet was Sixpoints Bengali tiger! Absolutely amazing beer!


Cheers,
Jason

Brooklyn Brewery Tour

This past weekend, I was in Brooklyn for a bachelor party. Luckily, the party started at the Brooklyn Brewery! We took a tour and sat in the "tasting room" (it was more like a bar) and sampled their awesome line up of beers. I left there a very happy beer lover! I took some pictures, which are the the bottom. Sorry about the quality, but they're from my cell phone.

The tour was short. Not in time, but in distance traveled. You move from the tasting room, over to the brewery room and listen to the tour guide talk about the history of Brooklyn Brewing Co, the building and their current state. All in all, it was about 30 feet. As someone who wants to open my own brewery I thought the tour was very cool, and yes they started as home brewers!!! At the start, they did contract brewing with F.X. Matt (Saranac) up in Utica, NY. To this day, the majority of there beer is still produced at the Matt Brewery. Only a few beers (Local 1, Local 2 and others) are actually brewed in the Brooklyn Brewery.

Next we moved back to the tasting room and sat at some of the tables they had set up and began to sample their brews. I started off with the Brooklyn IPA, which they called E.IP.A. (East India Pale Ale). This was golden in color and had a great head. Huge hop aroma's and it packed a wallop of hop bitterness.

Next up was the Brooklyner Weisse. Their Bavarian yeast strain gave it lots of the traditional Banana esters and some great flavor as well. I've had some Hefe's that were just too overpowering with the banana/clove ester combo, but this was perfect. It didn't get in the way of the backbone of the beer, the wheat!

Beer 3 was just a quick sample, the Intensified Coffee Stout. Had this beer been lower in alcohol (8.5%) I probably would have had a few, but since we had a LONG day of bachelor party drinking to do, I only gave it a taste. WOW!!!! I could smell the coffee aroma before I even stuck my nose in it! The first sip was amazing. Big coffee flavor, with a great rich malty backbone. The maltiness and coffee flavor really mask the alcohol in this, which is part of the reason I shied away from it.

The Brooklyn Brown was next. I'm a huge brown ale fan and this beer did not disappoint. It poured a deep dark brown color and had hints of some roasty malt character. The chocolate malt was evident and very pleasant. The hop character was a little restrained from what I was expecting. Not a lot of bitterness, but subtle flavor and aroma. One of the main reasons I liked this beer so much was it reminded me of my American Brown. When I brewed it, the judges told me it had a roasty character that is not traditional in the style, and it was too dark. Color wise, my brown is the same. It made me smile and I know I will be back to the drawing board to figure this one out!

As we were leaving, I grabbed two bottle to take home.....famed Local 1 and Local 2. I have yet to try these but I've heard and read a lot of great reviews on them, so I'm very excited to get into them. If you're ever in Brooklyn, or NY for that matter, definitely take a trip to the brewery and check it out. You won't be disappointed!!

Cheers,
Jason

Email posting & Beer wars

This post is brought to you via email for the first time!!! I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but maybe it will help with my lack of posting! WOO HOO TECHNOLOGY!!!

Tonight, I'm heading out to see "Beer Wars" with my wife. I have mixed feelings about this movie. One on hand, I'm wondering how they can pull off a documentary about beer to a bunch of craft beer drinkers who already despise the macros....I mean, are we going to learn anything that the converted craft beer drinkers of America don't already know?? On the other hand.....I'm pretty sure I'll be entertained which is the point of going to the movies. Plus, I get to spend a night of beer watching, and most likely drinking, with my wife which is always good!! I'll post another day on what I thought about the movie!

Cheers,
Jason

BeerAdvocate to Host the East Coast's Largest American Craft Beer Fest

Sorry, I'm a little late with this, but still very excited!! The guys at BeerAdvocate continue to impress. Hope to see you all there. Drop me a email and let me know if you're going to be there.

At the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA

(Boston, MA - January 2008) In keeping with their self-elected duty to bring better beer to the masses, BeerAdvocate founders and brothers Jason and Todd Alström are crafting something big.

Held on June 20 & 21 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, the first annual "American Craft Beer Fest" (ACBF) will feature 3-sessions, invite upwards of 75 breweries, and serve at least 300 craft beers with an expected attendance of 15,000 appreciators of beer.

"It's time," stated Todd Alström, "It's time the East Coast had a large-scale, world-class event that not only celebrates the creativity and growth that's occurring amongst America's craft brewers, but puts the respect back into beer." The latter being a reference to their personal motto "Respect Beer," in which the brothers urge consumers to appreciate the brewer's art respectfully through support, beer education, and responsible enjoyment.

In addition to tasting a wide-variety of beer, ACBF will offer attendees plenty of beer education, including guest speakers, beer & food pairings, one-on-one opportunities to interact with actual brewers, and networking opportunities for beer industry professionals to help them support and bring more awareness to craft beer.

"We're excited to be working with our partner Harpoon Brewery, the Seaport team, and craft brewers in bringing the East Coast a destination event that we hope to grow into one of the largest beer fests in America," added Jason Alström. "Craft beer, its growing number of loyal followers, and the region are ready for an event like this."

Tickets go on-sale in February.