Just a heads-up ... our Belgian Beer Fest is right around the corner! Don't miss this unique opportunity to explore a massive selection of hand-picked Belgian beers for your tasting enjoyment!
http://beeradvocate.com/fests/bbf
When? Oct 26 & 27 Where? Boston, MA
Night of the Funk
Fri, Oct 26. Special event. 40+ beers. Lambics, Gueuzes, Brett beers, Sour/Wild ales, and other funk-a-licious offerings! Tasty snacks included. Guest speakers + more.
Sessions One & Two
Sat, Oct 27. 100+ Belgian beers; authentic to the inspired, speaker panels + more.
Tickets are on-sale now, but we expect this one to sell-out like past Belgian Beer Fests so don't wait!
Because she has more money to travel than I do. (Or at least, she's more willing to go into debt than I am.) She reports on her blog that she's about to depart for Prague, probably with a side trip to Pilsner Fest 2007 … in Plzeň! Man, talk about making a trip to the holy land!
Over 40,000 Expected in October at America’s Largest Beer Tasting and Competition
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| © 2007 Jason E. Kaplan |
WHAT: On October 11-13, 2007, the 26th edition of the Great American Beer Festival returns to Denver. The granddaddy of all US beer fests, the 2007 GABF will serve over 1,800 beers (in one-ounce tasting portions) from 474 American breweries to the event’s 40,000 plus attendees.
WHEN: Thursday, October 11, 5:30 pm-10:00 pm
Friday, October 12, 5:30 pm-10:00 pm
Saturday, October 13, 12:30 pm-4:30 pm (Members only session)
Saturday, October 13, 5:30 pm-10:00 pm
WHERE: The Colorado Convention Center
700 14th Street, Denver, CO 80202
WHO: Presented by the Brewers Association. Based in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A., the Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade and education association for American craft brewers and the community of beer enthusiasts.
MORE: The 2007 Great American Beer Festival will have 1,884 beers available to sample and 2,832 beers will be judged over 3 days by more than 100 judges. In 2006, 3 of the 4 festival sessions sold out. New this year, the festival has gone green with the goal of recycling all possible packaging and festival programs.
Among this year's 75 outlined beer categories some new styles include: Pumpkin Beer, Other Low Strength Ale or Lager, Gluten Free Beer, American-Style Sour Ale, Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer, and American-style Imperial Stout. Attendees can sample beer by state, visit educational booth areas, attend food and beer seminars from an A-list of chefs and food experts, and listen to live interviews with the rock stars of the brewing industry.
The Great American Beer Festival has played a crucial role as a showcase and catalyst for the U.S. craft beer industry (which is now at an all time high). Scan data from Information Resources Inc. shows craft beer with a 17.8% increase in supermarket sales for 2006 -- more growth than any other alcohol beverage category in the supermarket sales channel. In the past three years, craft beer sales have grown by an astounding 31.5%.
For tickets, schedule information and a list of breweries entered go to: http://www.GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com
Saturday evening the missus and I were downtown and happened into the bar at Higgins, and found that their cask beer was Full Sail's fresh hop ale — guessing it's the one they call Lupulin Ale. Perfect. This is the flavor I was looking for: a little sweet, hoppy and flowery with a little extra green flavor. A little flat and not-too-cold from the cask, just beautiful. The best one I've had this year, and I'll have to hit it a few more times before I'm satisfied.
Sunday I convinced the neighbors to join me at the Lucky Lab, where they have The Mutt on tap, named after the 4 different varieties of fresh hops. It was interesting, a little bit tart like a rye or even some wheat beers, but we found it disappointing. Not much flavor, so you had to concentrate really hard to pick up the fresh hop aroma. I notice they have a couple other varieties they will show at the festival, so I'm holding out hope that one of those will redeem the Lab.
Monday I pounced on the New Old Lompoc and was surprised to find that they were pouring two different fresh hop beers. The Star of India IPA was a winner — strong hops, but with that nice grassy flavor. The other one was a dark, strong (7.8%) beer called Harvest Man, which they described as an Alt. It was delicious, especially after it warmed up a little, but I felt like the fresh hops were wasted on such a big beer. There was just so much to it, that you wouldn't notice the herbal notes unless you already knew they were there. As Joe Walsh said, I can't complain but sometimes I still do.
Tuesday we went for lunch to the Laurelwood on the east side, and tried their fresh hop Extra Pale. Good stuff, but didn't have the green herbal flavor I was looking for. Might have been because it had a ton of hops in it; if you're a hop-head you won't be disappointed to drink one. It seemed similar to Bridgeport's offering -- high quality but lacking a little pizazz.
Speaking of Bridgeport, I really have to sit down with a pint of theirs, since my small sample didn't do it justice. But I was thwarted Friday evening when I tried to pick up a half-gallon of the Bridgeport fresh hop ale at the Bridgeport pub on Hawthorne. A gal who looked like she might be the pub manager said their "policy" is to only fill their own growlers (I had an unmarked mason jar). Stupid policy — here's a guy who wants to spend $10 and tip the bartender, and you don't even have to wash a glass or wipe a table. They lost more than $10 business on that one, because I'll skip a few lunches after that.
I'll see if I can keep my streak going a little longer -- that's 8 different fresh-hop beers in 7 days. If I run out of new ones to try, I can always drink up more Full Sail.
At this very moment, I'm having my ass kicked by something called Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. Magnificent. But I'll come back to that.
