• Halloween, Beer, and Candy.

    November 1, 2012 Author: Scott
    2 Comments
    Beer on ice.
    The candy.

    The candy.

    As with last year, Halloween this year was another great night of fun with kids and candy, and as always, the adults loved the beer.  Candy, I give away a lot of it, I mean A LOT, but it’s for the kids and they love it!!!

    Pizza

    Pizza

    My family comes over and we have pizza before the evening of kids comes trick-or-treating to our door.

    The setup.

    The setup.

    I had about 140 kids stop by and went through all of the candy as well as about 25 beers.  It’s funny that there are some adults who go out of their way to come to my house just to get a beer.  I had three mothers that asked if they could have their beers unopened as they wanted to have them after they put the kids to bed and two more ask for beer to take to their husbands.  I was happy to help them out.

    Beer on ice.

    Beer on ice.

    It’s fun watching the adults decide which beer they’re going to try.  This year’s Sam Adams sampler pack had Dunkel­weizen, Har­vest Pump­kin Ale, Hazel Brown, Octo­ber­fest (which I also had a case of), Lat­i­tude 48 IPA, and Boston Lager.  I also had a case of Dogfish Head Punkin ales.  60 beers in all to give away.

    The line to play the game for big candy.

    The line to play the game for big candy.

    I give away lots of candy every year with a slight twist.  There is a game I have all the kids play where they reach into a bag and pull out a poker chip.  Most of the chips are white (and I change the odds as needed), but if they pull out the black chip they win an entire sleeve of candy.  For those that are older, they know the game (I think I have done it for over 10 years now), and for those that are younger, they are just learning, but they all love it!!!

    Everyone likes Charlie Brown!

    Everyone likes Charlie Brown!

    I also bring up my projector and put It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on my garage door.  I love to watch the younger kids get sucked in watching the show, and the parents who enjoy the beer don’t mind standing around with a pumpkin ale.

    What was your setup like this year?  Does anyone else give out beer or do prizes?

  • Barenaked Ladies Team Up with The Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery

    October 5, 2012 Author: Scott
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    Pearl Jam did it with Dogfish Head, and it seems it the new thing for bands to do.  Barenaked Ladies have teamed up with Flying Monkeys to create a craft beer.  I’m not really sure why this is happening, but my guess is that it’s nothing more than a cross marketing effort to benefit both parties.

    The project, which saw the band members hang out at the brewery on the Barrie waterfront for a day last week, was the brainchild of Flying Monkeys boss Peter Chiodo.?

     

    “I was drinking some of the Pearl Jam beer, and they really only put their names on it. I thought it would be a lot cooler if there was something where the band actually came into the brewery and helped make it. It would have more meaning that way,” said Chiodo. (That “Pearl Jam beer” was called Faithful, and was brewed last year by Delaware craft brewery Dogfish to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s groundbreaking debut album Ten).

     

    Chiodo contacted several Canadian musicians, seeing if they were interested in helping come up with their own beer. The Barenaked Ladies leapt at the chance, said Chiodo.

     

    During the day at the brewery, drummer Tyler Stewart tweeted a picture of himself holding a mug of cocoa nibs which were then dumped into the brew.

     

    In a press release, Stewart said he was excited to take part.

     

    “I worked in the Beer Store when I was younger, but never dreamed I would have my own beer one day,” Stewart said.

     

    While the band was on hand for the brewing day, and even helped out, Chiodo admits it was his recipe.

     

    “All they said was that they wanted it to be the kind of beer you could share. I bounced the idea of a chocolate imperial stout off them, and they liked it,” said Chiodo.

     

    The BNL Strong Beer is definitely something you shouldn’t be polishing off on your own — not only does it come in a 750 mL bottle, Chiodo says it will be 11 per cent alcohol by volume. Then again, at $13.95 a bottle, you might want to be going halfsies on the purchase anyway. Chiodo says the high price for the special suds is warranted.

     

    “It’s expensive because it costs a lot more to brew than our regular beer. There are about four times as much of each ingredient as there are in our other beers,” he said.

    Source: http://www.thestar.com/

  • IPA Day Celebrations at Dogfish Head

    August 3, 2012 Author: Scott
    4 Comments
    The Randall used for infusing hops at the time of the pour.

    In case you didn’t know, yesterday was the second annual IPA day .  The website http://ipaday.org/announcing-ipa-day/ has lots of information about the day.

    Founded in 2011 by beer evangelists and social media personalities Ashley Routson and Ryan Ross, IPA Day is a universal movement created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation together.

     

    IPA Day is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. IPA Day is opportunity for all breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. It is an opportunity for the entire craft beer culture to combine forces and advocate craft beer through increased education and global awareness.

    So what did I do for IPA day?  I went to the homeland.  I bellied up to the bar at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach, DE (ground zero for the IPA movement) and ordered a Randalled 120 Minute IPA.  What is a Randalled IPA?  At the time of the pour the 120 is pushed through hops.  In this case it was pushed through cascade hops and grapefruit zest (to bring out the citrus in the beer).  Wow was it good.

    The bar was pretty well packed for a Thursday night, and it didn’t seem like too many people were aware of the significance of the day.  That, of course, didn’t keep me from enjoying it.  The Randall on the bar was also a great conversation starter among bar patrons.  I’m not sure how often Dogfish Head will be pulling out the Randall, but if you get a chance to try it, you should, it’s worth the effort.

    So did anyone else enjoy an IPA for IPA day?

  • Beerporn: Editor’s Choice

    July 17, 2012 Author: Scott
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    Tuesday is Editor’s Choice award day on http://hashtagbeerporn.com .  We are giving out an Editor’s Choice Award each week to the picture we think best represents beerporn during that week.  As an ongoing feature on Indy Beers each week I’ll be posting the Editor’s Choice winner from #Beerporn.  Remember, anyone can join and post pictures of beer to http://hashtagbeerporn.com.

    What I liked about this week’s winning post was the follow-up comment.  While I love the pictures posted to the site, I very happy that Skylar took the extra time to do a micro review of the beer in the comments section.

    This was actually very good. I’d read a ton of reviews, and they all cited that the beer lost a little something as it warmed up, so I stored mine in the freezer overnight. It poured thick, but clean. The flavor was similar to the 60 minute IPA, albeit, sweeter. For ~120 ibu, this beer was surprisingly sweet, actually. I finished it by the time it was room temp(~30min) and followed with a beer I will post tomorrow. All in all, a good beer I will be buying more of.

    Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA (~18% ABV) posted by user http://hashtagbeerporn.com/2012/07/15/dogfish-head-120-minute-ipa-18-abv/

  • 5 Things You Should Know About Aging Beer

    June 13, 2012 Author: Scott
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    Dogfish Head put together a great article on how to properly age a beer.  Personally, I rarely age bottles.  I have a few that I’m saving for that special occasion, but the predominate amount of beer I buy is drank within a short time period.  That being said, I was glad to find this article as it gave me some good points on what to do with the few beers I’m currently aging.

    1. A little experimentation goes a long way.

    Taste, of course, is subjective, and the things that happen inside a bottle of beer are more alchemy than exact science. If you’re curious about how a beer ages, buy a few bottles, drink one fresh, and stash the rest. Try another six months down the road.

    This philosophy could be applied to just about any aspect of beer, be it drinking, brewing, or aging.  Finding what works best for you is key.

    2. Don’t underestimate fresh.

    Depending on the beer you age, you’ll notice some flavors fading into the background and others becoming more pronounced. Several things influence those changes, but the main driver is oxygen.

    “There’s always very slow oxidation,” says Rebecca. “If you’re a really good brewer and you’ve worked hard to get the oxygen out, then your beer will age very gracefully and slowly. If you haven’t spent the time and the effort to get the oxygen out at the time of packaging, then you lose those beautiful flavors very rapidly.”

    Hops – whether bitter, floral or citrusy – fade with time, so IPAs and other hop-forward beers aren’t great candidates for aging. That said, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA only gets better with age. A year or two on the holy grail for hopheads brings out deliciously sweet sherry and marmalade notes. (See – we told you there are no hard-and-fast rules!)

    I have had a few aged beers that are most certainly more pronounced in flavors that weren’t present at the time of purchase.  This is where keeping track of your tastings with notes on how the beer tastes would be key for later reference.

    3. High-alcohol beers tend to age better.

    While there are exceptions, we recommend aging beers that clock in at 10% ABV and up.

    “Typically,” says Rebecca, “there’s some protection in high-alcohol beers and in beers that have big, dark malt like Palo Santo and World Wide Stout. Often, those beers are so flavorful and complex that some amount of age starts to take off the sharper edges and you get a real velvety finish.”

    Even lower-alcohol beers with a malt-heavy profile will age better. A year-old Indian Brown Ale, for example, will fare better than a year-old 60 Minute IPA.

    “They’re very similar in alcohol,” says Dogfish Quality Control Technician Ryan Mazur. “But the darker, roastier beers have a little more defense in terms of shelf life.”

    You wouldn’t want to age a cheap beer, like a mass produced light beer.  Aging should be reserved for those beers that truly deserve the wait, which are typically going to be more expensive, higher ABV beers.

    4. Storage matters.

    This one is important. Light and heat speed up oxidation, so store beer in a cool, dark place. Basements or refrigerators set to 50-55 degrees are your best bets. There are many providers like https://www.seepageseal.com/concrete-crawl-space-finish/ and you can choose the right one. And keep those bottles upright.

    “If you’ve been storing beers on their side,” says Rebecca, “roll them, agitate them, and chill them upright for a few hours. You want to get that sediment down into the bottom of the bottle.”

    I have a room in my basement where I store the beer I have been brewing for fermentation.  The temperature stays between 64°F-68°F year round.  I’ll need to check the temperature of my refrigerator/kegerator to see if it falls in this range.  Currently my bottles for aging are in the fridge, but it may be too cold.

    5. Beer won’t spoil.

    You might not prefer what age does to certain beers, but you don’t have to worry about beer going bad.

    “If someone grabs a bottle of Black & Blue off the shelf and it says 2009 on it, they shouldn’t be afraid to open it,” Ryan says. “There’s no expiration date. It’s just going to be different.”

    Rebecca agrees.

    “It’s not milk,” she says. “It doesn’t go bad on the shelf. It’ll never make you sick. It might not be the flavor that you remember, but if might be a flavor that you like even more.”

    This last point is important, because it basically means you can’t screw up again a beer.  The worst thing that may happen is you waited a long period of time to drink a really good beer.

    Start aging some beer today and let us know how it goes.  Also, if you’re already aging some beer, let us know your techniques.

    Source: http://www.dogfish.com/community/news/press-releases/5-things-you-should-know-about-aging-beer.htm

  • The quest for every Dogfish Head beer ever made

    February 8, 2012 Author: Scott
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    Dogfish Head has long been a favorite among many craft beer enthusiasts, and this loyal following has an interesting fan base.  It seems that Mat Pipno made it his personal quest to find and try every single Dogfish Head beer ever made since 1996.  He did well in finding all but one of the beers, the Festina Lente.  To get this last beer, he arranged a trade of beers with Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione.  The video below is the exchange they made.

     

  • Halloween, Beer, and Candy.

    November 1, 2011 Author: Scott
    6 Comments



    Halloween this year was another great night of fun with kids and candy, and as always, the adults loved the beer.  I give away lots of candy every year with a slight twist.  There is a game I have all the kids play where they reach into a bag and pull out a poker chip.  Most of the chips are white (and I change the odds as needed), but if they pull out the black chip they win an entire sleeve of candy.  For those that are older, they know the game (I think I have done it for 10 years now), and for those that are younger, they are just learning, but they all love it!!!

     

    I had about 110 kids stop buy and went through most of the candy as well as about 30 beers.  This year I had the Samuel Adams variety pack, a case of Buffalo Bill’s pumpkin ale, and a few left over Dogfish Head Punkin ales.  It’s funny that there are some adults who go out of their way to come to my house just to get a beer.  I had two mothers that asked if they could have their pumpkin beers unopened as they wanted to have them after they put the kids to bed.  I was happy to help them out.  I also bring up my projector and put It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on my garage door.  I love to watch the younger kids get sucked in watching the show, and the parents who enjoy the beer don’t mind standing around with a pumpkin ale.

    What was your setup like this year?  Does anyone else give out beer or do prizes?

  • Review – Real Beer Floats

    October 28, 2011 Author: Scott
    3 Comments

     

     

    Today Chris, Peter W,  and I are reviewing several different beers.

    This is based on the post we wrote a few days ago and the reception it got on this website and on reddit.com.  There were a few beers that were recommended on both sites, so we made a trip to one of our local craft beer suppliers and picked up a few of the mentioned beers.

    This review will be be done in 2 parts for each beer.  First, we’ll taste the beer without the ice cream, and then we’ll add the ice cream and drink it as a real beer float.  We’ll only be doing flavor and afterthoughts for the real beer float.  Keeping with the original post, I made a drive out to Hoffmans Ice Cream and picked up some fresh vanilla ice cream and pumpkin ice cream, a half gallon of each.  Also in keeping with the spirit of the day of the original post, we’ll be using my Duvel glasses for the regular beer tastings.

    In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.

    About the Various Brewing Companies:

    Young’s Beers
    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/YoungsBeers
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wellsandyoungs

    North Coast Brewing
    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NoCoastBrewCo
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/northcoastbrewingcompany

    Oskar Blues Brewery
    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/oskarblues
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BrewedAndCannedByOskarBluesBrewery

    Dogfish Head Brewery
    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/dogfishbeer
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dogfishheadbeer

     

     Young’s Chocolate Stout

    Without Ice Cream

    Appearance

    Scott: Looks like Guinness to me, with a little more of a head to it.  As it sits, I’m seeing small bubbles falling through the head.
    Chris: My favorite, motor oil.
    Peter W: It’s appearance looks thick

    Aroma

    Scott: Smells like a chocolate stout. Hints of cereal and caramel.
    Chris    : I barely smell the chocolate.
    Peter:     I think it has a real chocolatey smell to it.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Velvet-ly with a slight carbonation at the end.
    Chris    : Creamy on the tongue, buttery texture going down.
    Peter W:     Smooth and silky.

    Flavor

    Scott: Thick chocolate flavor evenly layering the taste buds.
    Chris    : Lightly sweet with hints of chocolate
    Peter W:      Chocolate with a hint of coffee

    Aftertaste

    Scott: Similar to the after taste from bitter chocolate, very pleasant.
    Chris    : Doesn’t have too much of an aftertaste…stouty
    Peter W:     It’s like the aftertaste of eating a handful of dark chocolate M&M’s

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: A great stout, I can see why it was recommended by several people.
    Chris    : This is an incredible stout and dangerously drinkable.
    Peter W:     Not being a huge fan of stouts, this is on my radar for future drinking.

    Young’s Chocolate Stout

    With Vanilla Ice Cream

    Flavor

    Scott: Wow, this is really good.  When you get the mix just right, POW!!
    Chris: This is like dessert.  (Chris finished his in about 1 minute)
    Peter W:     I’m not digging it with the ice cream. (Peter is not going to finish his)

     

    Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

    Without Ice Cream

    Appearance

    Scott: Thick head with big bubbly foam that after a few minutes completely disappeared.
    Chris: Opaque, A lot more carbonation than I expected to see.  Not really sticking to the glass.  Not very viscous.
    Peter W:     Dark and syrup–y looking

    Aroma

    Scott: Grainy, malty smell
    Chris    : I smell sweetness, more so than the Young’s, maybe a woody smell
    Peter:     Grainy

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Lots of small bubbles tickling my tongue
    Chris    : Like a 9-volt battery all over your tongue with all the bubbles
    Peter W:     Lots of carbonation

    Flavor

    Scott: Like a dark chocolate coffee….
    Chris    : Slightly sweet and roasted coffee.
    Peter W:      Yuk.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: …with a long lingering after taste of darker coffee.
    Chris    : Somewhat bitter, perhaps too much.
    Peter W:     Too much.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: Not too bad.  I’m looking forward to enjoying some ice cream with this one.
    Chris    : This was my first Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and won’t be my last. I’m excited to see how it works with the ice cream, as well.
    Peter W:     I would never choose to drink that again.

    Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

    With Vanilla Ice Cream


    Flavor

    Scott: All bitterness is gone, and this is really good.  I would consider serving this at a restaurant.
    Chris: The sweetness of the ice cream neutralizes the bitterness of the beer, bringing out a roasted taste, like roasted marshmallow. (finished in less than 2 minutes)
    Peter W:     It’s definitely more drinkable with the ice cream.  With the ice cream I would consider having another.


    Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

    Without Ice Cream

    Appearance

    Scott:  Darkest of the three.  A thick head that was gone in 60 seconds (great soundtrack).
    Chris: Very dark with carbonation that sticks to the glass and doesn’t float up.
    Peter W:     Peter tapped out on this one, as he is not much of a stout guy.

    Aroma

    Scott: Not much of a nose with a slight tilt towards grainy. 
    Chris    : I agree with Scott. Almost devoid of aroma. Perhaps a clean smell.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Syrup-y thickness with not a lot of carbonation, but enough to let you know it’s there.
    Chris    : Watery with almost all the carbonation gone from when it was originally poured. Very easy to drink.

    Flavor

    Scott: Really bitter compared to the others.  I’m feeling that by chance we went from light to heavy with our tasting.
    Chris    : Like the smell, it seems very average. Pushes between creamy and soapy. I really expected it to have more flavorful. 

    Aftertaste

    Scott: I’m thinking doing 3 stouts in 1 night with ice cream wasn’t the best decision, unless it really is that heavy.
    Chris    : Not all that good. Somewhat acidic.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: I’ll give it a clean slate try another time (we have a few left), but my hopes aren’t too high.  If you love a HEAVY stout, this is for you.
    Chris    : As a stout lover, I found this to be disappointing.  I’ll give it another try because of all the stuff we have on our pallets.


    Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

    With Vanilla Ice Cream

    Flavor

    Scott: Even with ice cream the bitterness is difficult to overcome.
    Chris:  The ice cream didn’t spice this up much at all. Still disappointed.

    Dogfish Head Punkin

    With Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

    (In light of the night, I’m skipping right to the ice cream as this beer is in my wheelhouse)

    Appearance

    Scott: Looks like a light colored Orange Julius with ice cream.
    Chris: Throwing in the towel, too much ice cream for the night.
    Peter W:     See Chris’ comment above

    Aroma

    Scott: Pumpkin smell is just smacking you in the face.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Well, when you have the ice cream mixed in, it’s the texture of a good pumpkin pie

    Flavor (I made Peter and Chris taste)

    Scott: If I could get pumpkin pie this good, I would eat it all day.
    Chris    : Mmmmm…(Chris won’t stop eating my drink)…”You might want to get your own”.
    Peter W:      Give me some whipped topping.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: The best part of a long night, satiation from a good meal.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: Best of the four, without a doubt.

     

    Overall End Notes

    The whole process took 2.5 hours with 4 more afterwards to setup and finish writing the article.  I would say this worked really well, but doing this many beers in one night may have skewed the results.  To help keep things in perspective we were sticking our noses into a cup of coffee beans in-between a lot of the smelling and tasting.


    Scott    :  I would say it worked best when the ice cream was mushed a little and not one big scoop.  Getting the mix of ice cream and beer just right was the key.  For me I liked the Dogfish the best, with Young’s taking second, Old Rasputin grabbing third, and the Ten Fidy coming in last.  I have a feeling this weekend I’m going to have a few more of these.  I may even get my family in on the mix when they come over for Halloween.

    Chris: As a stout lover, the Young’s Double Chocolate and Old Rasputin Russian Imperial impressed both alone and with ice cream. I feel like the Oskar Blues Ten Fidy was a let down, but I would definitely give it another chance. After drinking the other two first and with ice cream, I feel like my taste buds were overworked. This was a fun experiment which I will have no problem partaking in again.

    Peter W:  A Stout would not be the first beer that I would pick, but the two that I reviewed were worth while.  The chocolate was a nice start, but the ice cream was lacking.  The other was not up my alley, but add the ice cream, it was really good.   The pumpkin was like pie without the whip topping, not that you needed it.  Really good.

  • What is the worst beer in the world?

    October 14, 2011 Author: Scott
    1 Comment

    What is the worst beer you have ever had the misfortune of tasting?  A true lemon among a bounty of better beer.  For Garrett Oliver brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery that beer was in Vietnam:

    That’s an interesting question. I had a Vietnamese beer a few years ago that was called Saigon and it was just, it was really, really ghastly. I didn’t remember—though I do realize that beers existed that still tasted quite that bad—it reminded me of one that I had in East Germany in the mid-1980s, when there was an East Berlin. I drank a beer when I spent a day in East Berlin, and I thought, “Boy, Communism is certainly bad but I didn’t know it was so bad that it could even make Germans produce terrible beer.” And it had. I don’t know whether Vietnam is still considered particularly Communist, but apparently it hasn’t done anything to their beer industry anyway.

    For me, the individual worst beer I ever had was in a small bar about 2 days after New Years Eve.  I don’t think the place had been open for a week, and I arrived about tthe time the were opening their doors for the first time that year.  I caught a Budweiser (I was young and uninformed) fresh out of the line after sitting for all that time.  I think I almost threw up.  I had never tasted a beer skunked so badly.

    As for the worst beer that was properly served, I would have to say a pumpkin ale I had last year.  Every year at my house I give away tons of candy for the kids, and pumpkin ales for the adults.  I also have a few seasonal beers for those that don’t want a pumpkin.  By the end of the night half my neighbors have a red solo cup in their hand.  I usually start collecting various pumpkins at the start of October, and by the time Halloween comes around there are 5-6 from which to choose.  I only had one, as I had given the others away, and I honestly don’t recall who made it, but it was like drinking the worst pumpkin pie you’ve ever had.  Over spiced to the point where you almost wanted to gag on first taste.  From now on I decided to only serve Dogfish Head’s Punkin ale (and maybe 1-2 other choice craft pumpkins) as it is always reliable and easy to find in my area.

    So what’s the worst beer for you?

    Source: gothamist.com

     

  • Good Beer Festival

    October 11, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Wow, the Good Beer Festival was a lot of fun!!! Kelli and I sampled so many beers that I’m glad I took some notes. The festival ran on both Saturday October 8th, 2011 and Sunday October 9th, 2011 from 12:30pm to 6:30pm both days. We only went on Saturday and arrived at around 1pm. We decided that next year we are going to make a weekend out of the festival and go both days, doing the 5k hangover race on Sunday morning, as well.

     

     

    As we made our way through the entrance area we found the event to already be in full swing.  There were over 50 craft beers from 25+ breweries waiting for us to enjoy!!!  Just past the entrance way and along the back fence were 10 cornhole stations setup for gaming by festival goers that were already in full use.  This wasn’t too surprising as the day was already in the mid 70’s with temperatures expected to rise to around 80.  WBOC 16 & FOX 21 had a tent with 4 large flat screen TVs showing college football games.  There were not too many kids around, but there were enough to let you know that it was family friendly event.

     

    Kelli and I started the one of our local favorites, Dogfish Head.  They were close to the entrance and I was craving the Punkin.  Kelli went with the 120 minute.  We roamed about while enjoying the first of many samples and found a good crowd with shoulder to shoulder action close to main stage that got thinner back towards entrance.  There seemed to be a Jovial spirit among festival goers, with everyone enjoying the great day.

    It wasn’t long after we arrived at the festival that I had to start removing layers of clothing.  We weren’t sure if the the weather was going to hold, so we dressed in several layers, of which the long sleeve layer came off of me within the first hour.  In retrospect, I probably should have worn shorts and flip flops, but who knew that an October day in Maryland was going to be so nice?

    There were plenty of various vendors selling their goods at the festival.  A few sold clothing, and a few more were selling food.  Kelli bought me a Good Beer Festival hat to wear.  The reason for the hat was because she found out from someone about the festival because they were wearing a hat form last years festival.  She thought I, too, should have a hat!!!  I in turn bought Kelli not one, but two shirts.

    The only downside of all this was that I forgot to bring cash.  The onsite ATM charged $3.25 to pull out cash (plus any charges you bank may assess) .  It was, however, good to be able to grab some cash once inside the event.  I’m not sure how close another ATM would have been, but my guess is it would involve getting in the car and driving to the location.

     

     

    After a few beer samples we were getting hungry, and this festival had the usual fried food offerings, but there was something I had never had before, an oyster fritter.  I was reluctant at first to have one, as I thought they would be a slimey mess to eat, and be too much oyster for one man to take.  Boy was I wrong.  They were so good we ended up getting a second one.  The pepper crust outside that was deep fried to a golden brown easily held the oysters and breading inside in a fantastically delicious treat!!!

    There was plenty of music all day long, and the Time Police on the bar stage did a great rendition of Jackson 5’s I want you back.  One of the reason we had come to this festival was to see The Electric Company play.  We have long followed the band and it’s members though the various iterations of musical groups through the years, and this day was no different.  They not only put on a great show, but they let me record one of their songs from the performance for free download!!!  Feel free to grab the MP3 file here for your listening pleasure:

    FREE MP3 – The Electric Co. – 2011 Good Beer Festival Live – 01 – I Need You

    We also did a tour of Pemberton Hall.  The tour included a brief description of the history of the property, as well as a visit to the rooms within the structure.  This would be a good stop for anyone who is a history buff, but not too interesting for others.  We ended up leaving the tour early to get back to beer drinking.

    Outside there was a gentleman dressed in period costume brewing beer as would have been done in colonial times.  He explained the processes that would have been required using the now archaic methods of brewing.  There was no beer to sample, but I would have liked to have tasted the end product of what he was making.

    With the end of the day coming at this point, we decide to slow our drinking and work towards heading home.  Overall the event was a really fun time, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys craft beers.

     

    I interviewed a few people over the course of the day, and here are some notable quotes:

    -Brian McDavid, Fenwick Island, DE
    What do you plan on trying next?
    Whatever is closest to me

    -Nathan W. Clendenen – Ocean City, MD
    What Beer are you drinking?
    Sierra Nevada Tumbler.  I don’t get a chance to drink nearly as much Sierra Nevada as I used to in the past.  It’s delicious.  It’s a little more complex.

    -Corlie Brice – Crisfield, MD
    What are you drinking right now?
    Double pumpkin Sam Adams
    What do you think of that so far?
    It is delicious
    Have you had any of the other pumpkins today?
    I’ve had three other pumkins and this is by far the most pumpkin-y
    What were the other pumpkins you had?
    I had the blue moon and then I had another one I don’t even remember, maybe, flying dog and it would make sense the double pumpkin has more pumpkin in it.

    -Tony Shipyan – Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
    What brought you out to the event today?
    These guys here, they kind of led me in on it, they’re kind of beer aficionados

    -Josh Owens – Milton DE
    What is your favorite beer fest to go to?
    This one is looking pretty good.  The one in the Poconos is pretty crowded and you can’t get around but this is pretty nice being wide open and just being able to walk up.
    Have there been any standouts for you?
    The Duck Duck Goose was really good, that and the 1554 by Fat Tire.

    -Marc Gloyd – Milton, DE
    You’re wearing a beer advocate shirt.  Are you associated with beer advocate?
    No, I’m just an alcoholic.

    -Sonny Martin – Millville, DE
    Right now you are enjoying the Hoptopber what do you think?
    It’s got a slight little piney after taste.
    Do you typically like the hopped beers?
    No I’m typically a pale ale guy, but this is nice, I might have to get a full pint of this. This is sweet.

    Kelli’s new favorite quote seen at the festival: Everyone needs something to believe in and I believe I need another beer.

     

    Here are the list of Beers Kelli and I had for the day (with and notes we may have made at the time of sample).  I may have missed some of Kelli’s beers because we were separated for a while, but this is most of them.  I may have missed one or two on my list, but I definitely had all 17 listed.

    Kelli
    –Dogfish Head – 120
    –Stone – Arrogant Bastard (Hoppy, Medium Colored, I liked it)
    –Oskar Blues Brewery – Hemp Ale (Kelli liked it because it was cold, the perfect temperature, Kelli like it because it’s easy to drink).
    –Oskar Blues Brewery – Stillwater Artisanal
    –Evolution – #3 (delicious, perfectly hopped) Hopped at a rate of over 2% per barrel, great flavor, perfectly chilled temperature.
    –Sierra Nevada – Tumbler (I think it’s good, definitely a brown ale)  Amidst all these crafts brews it’s kinda funny that Sierra, who’s one of the best well known beers has no one in line and they only have 2 beers to show today.
    –Sierra Nevada – Torpedo (Kelli, as a hophead I like it, but they are sort of falling a little under my radar today because they’re so many other great beers here, but still you can’t not be happy with a little Sierra in your life)
    –Evolution – Jacques Au Lantern (I think my glass is so messed up from so many different beers that the smell might be a little off, but the taste is great.  It’s my favorite kind of flavor in a pumpkin beer because you can taste the spice and they’re actually not advertising it as a pumpkin beer.  They’re advertising it more as a fall seasonal with spices and pumpkin.  They’re not really directly calling it that)
    –Sierra Nevada – Torpedo

    Scott
    –Dogfish Head – Punkin
    –Ommegang – Hennepin (tasted like a Belgium wheat, Not a big fan of it, hoping to find something better)
    –Magic Hat – Hex (Kelli says I got a nice size pour)
    –Oskar Blues Brewery – Hemp Ale (Definitely a brown ale that doesn’t taste overly brown, actually has a nice flavor to it)
    –Oskar Blues Brewery – Stillwater Artisanal (because we were already standing next to it)  Didn’t like it. Bad lemonade. Dumped it out.
    –Eastern Shore Brewing Company – Duck Duck Goose (brown ale.  Very Dark.  Can’t see through it holding it to the Sun)
    –Evolution – Lucky 7 porter (lighter side, not very heavy which is working out very well on a day like today)
    –Sierra Nevada – Tumbler (Autumn Brown ale, as you would expect from SN a quality product, not too heavy, not too light, just a perfect balance of taste)
    –Sierra Nevada – Torpedo (as an IPA lover, this beer is delicious.  It’s a little more heavy than their pale ale, full of that hopped flavor that you love)
    –Evolution – Summer Seasonal (no nose or I’ve had a lot of beer today. The flavor is mild, like a heavy pale ale that you drink all day),
    –Evolution – Pumpkin Ale – (I don’t like it at all.  It is overly infused with flavor and I don’t feel like it’s a natural flavored beer.  It just has that artificially injected flavor to it)
    –Sam Adams – Double Pumpkin ale (not much of a nose, it is, however, full of pumpkin flavor.  Almost over-pumpkin-ed, but certainly enjoyable)
    –Fat Tire – 1554 (very dark brown ale.  Thick red muddy color, nothing on the nose, a Chris beer for sure)  This may be a stand out for those who like brown ales, but I prefer the lighter brown ales.
    –Stone – Arrogant Bastard –
    –Yards Brewing Co – brawler ale – Brown ales ( I have found some good brown ales, and this one is not good.  A sour flavor that rides on the back of your tongue) I dumped it out
    –16 mile brewing – Amber sun (good on a day like today.  Sun in the name is indicative of the environment in which it should be drank)
    –Sierra Nevada – Torpedo
    –Fat Tire – Hoptober