1030-1040. The American Craft Beer Fest Part I
Published by Unknown on Friday, July 31, 2009 at 9:30 AM.
I missed the first American Craft Beer Fest last year, and was eager to go to this year's ACBF. Like the Extreme Beer Fest this was another multi-person event. Jadyn and I went with people from lab, other grad students and Bennett.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the larger format and venue, but in the end there were both pros and cons. The biggest advantage to the fest was by far the huge selection of beer available. I haven't counted, but the fest claimed to have 75+ brewers and 300+ beers, which was easily the case. There was a good regional representation from big name breweries like Brooklyn, and Allagash, as well as from smaller regional breweries like Honest Town and Cambridge House. The selection of breweries from other parts of the country was more limited, but still good. My guess is that 2/3 were from the northeast, and 1/3 were from other parts of the country.
The venue was much larger than the Cyclorama. This allowed more brewers, but also more people. It seemed about as crowded as the smaller fests, but the lines seemed much longer. Though the line to get on seemed to move much more quickly. The lack of tables at the venue was another inconvenience. I didn't have any food at this fest, but Jadyn said the choices were much more limited and of lower quality than at the Cyclorama. She speculated that the choice of food and vendors was dictated by the venue. The bathrooms were another big negative; there was only a long row of portable toilets outside the venue.
Overall I prefer the smaller fests held at the cyclorama. The beer selection is more limited, but the venue and food are much nicer. I'll go back to the ACBF next year, but I'll appreciate the fests at the Cyclorama more.
As usual, my notes are abbreviated and probably inaccurate, especially towards the end of the fest.
1030. Sour Wench Blackberry Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.40%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
I love sour beers, so I looked through the beer list ahead of time to pick out the sour beers that I wanted to try. This was the only one that looked promising. It poured a clear, reddish purple, and was topped by a pinkish head. The aroma was fruity with notes of blackberry and a mild graininess. The berry fruitiness was the dominant element in this beer with a mild grainy backbone. The sourness was only limited to that contributed by the blackberries. I was disappointed, mainly since I expected a much more sour beer.
1031. Brew Free! or Die IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery
Alcohol: 7.20%
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a hazy copper color. The aroma has a mild resiny hop character. There's a breadyness to the malt backbone upfront that's met by a good, resiny, hop bitterness.
1032. Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer
Beer Stats:
Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery
Alcohol: 5.20%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a pale straw color. The smell is grainy with subtle notes of watermelon. There's a little bit of a sour kick initially, followed by strong watermelon fruitiness, and a grainy finish.
1033. Allagash Victoria Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a pale, golden straw color. The aroma was yeasty with a grape fruitiness to it. Mildly sweet malts and a sharp, grape fruitiness in the finish.
1034. Imperial Skibsøl
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.30%
Style: Smoked Beer, BJCP Style Guide
This beer is an "Imperial Smoked Lager" brewed collaboratively by teh CBC and a Danish brewery. It pours a clear brown, with an orange tinted head. An initial malty, caramel sweetness moves quickly into a very strong, smokey finish. The sample was almost too much to finish, I can't imagine being able to finish a pint of this stuff.
1035. Confounded Mr. Sisyphus
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a cloudy, golden, straw color. The aroma is fruity, with predominant notes of banana. There's a mildly sweet, bready maltiness, as well as a good bit of banana fruitiness. The cherries seem to be a minor component of the overall flavor.
1036. JuJu Ginger Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.00%
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, copper-tinted golden. The aroma is a nice mixture of caramel malts and ginger spiciness. A mild malty sweetness upfront moves into a strong, ginger spice.
1037. Sierra Nevada Brown Saison
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 7.85%
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, brown color. The aroma has strong roasted notes with a hint of fruitiness. There's a nice strong fruitiness with a roasty finish. I thought this was a nice beer.
1038. Northern Lights
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a hazy copper. The aroma is mildly fruity, with hints of graininess and a mild phenolic character. There are initial grainy flavors, which moves into a mildy fruity center with a sharp finish.
1039. Brooklyn Cuvée de Cardoz
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 8.50%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
This beer is spiced with ginger, tamarind, mace, black pepper, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, chilies, toasted coconut. This beer pours a clear, straw color. The aroma is a mix of sweet fruitiness and a strong spiciness. There's a nice coconut sweetness that melds with an intensely spicy finish. Given the list of spices, I was surprised that this was as tasty as it was.
1040. Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 8.00%
Style: American Double Stout
Pours a deep black. The aroma of coffee is dominant. A sweet chocolate flavor upfront moves into a roasted, chocolate and coffee finish.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the larger format and venue, but in the end there were both pros and cons. The biggest advantage to the fest was by far the huge selection of beer available. I haven't counted, but the fest claimed to have 75+ brewers and 300+ beers, which was easily the case. There was a good regional representation from big name breweries like Brooklyn, and Allagash, as well as from smaller regional breweries like Honest Town and Cambridge House. The selection of breweries from other parts of the country was more limited, but still good. My guess is that 2/3 were from the northeast, and 1/3 were from other parts of the country.
The venue was much larger than the Cyclorama. This allowed more brewers, but also more people. It seemed about as crowded as the smaller fests, but the lines seemed much longer. Though the line to get on seemed to move much more quickly. The lack of tables at the venue was another inconvenience. I didn't have any food at this fest, but Jadyn said the choices were much more limited and of lower quality than at the Cyclorama. She speculated that the choice of food and vendors was dictated by the venue. The bathrooms were another big negative; there was only a long row of portable toilets outside the venue.
Overall I prefer the smaller fests held at the cyclorama. The beer selection is more limited, but the venue and food are much nicer. I'll go back to the ACBF next year, but I'll appreciate the fests at the Cyclorama more.
As usual, my notes are abbreviated and probably inaccurate, especially towards the end of the fest.
1030. Sour Wench Blackberry Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.40%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
I love sour beers, so I looked through the beer list ahead of time to pick out the sour beers that I wanted to try. This was the only one that looked promising. It poured a clear, reddish purple, and was topped by a pinkish head. The aroma was fruity with notes of blackberry and a mild graininess. The berry fruitiness was the dominant element in this beer with a mild grainy backbone. The sourness was only limited to that contributed by the blackberries. I was disappointed, mainly since I expected a much more sour beer.
1031. Brew Free! or Die IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery
Alcohol: 7.20%
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a hazy copper color. The aroma has a mild resiny hop character. There's a breadyness to the malt backbone upfront that's met by a good, resiny, hop bitterness.
1032. Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer
Beer Stats:
Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery
Alcohol: 5.20%
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a pale straw color. The smell is grainy with subtle notes of watermelon. There's a little bit of a sour kick initially, followed by strong watermelon fruitiness, and a grainy finish.
1033. Allagash Victoria Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a pale, golden straw color. The aroma was yeasty with a grape fruitiness to it. Mildly sweet malts and a sharp, grape fruitiness in the finish.
1034. Imperial Skibsøl
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Cambridge Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.30%
Style: Smoked Beer, BJCP Style Guide
This beer is an "Imperial Smoked Lager" brewed collaboratively by teh CBC and a Danish brewery. It pours a clear brown, with an orange tinted head. An initial malty, caramel sweetness moves quickly into a very strong, smokey finish. The sample was almost too much to finish, I can't imagine being able to finish a pint of this stuff.
1035. Confounded Mr. Sisyphus
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a cloudy, golden, straw color. The aroma is fruity, with predominant notes of banana. There's a mildly sweet, bready maltiness, as well as a good bit of banana fruitiness. The cherries seem to be a minor component of the overall flavor.
1036. JuJu Ginger Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.00%
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, copper-tinted golden. The aroma is a nice mixture of caramel malts and ginger spiciness. A mild malty sweetness upfront moves into a strong, ginger spice.
1037. Sierra Nevada Brown Saison
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 7.85%
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a clear, brown color. The aroma has strong roasted notes with a hint of fruitiness. There's a nice strong fruitiness with a roasty finish. I thought this was a nice beer.
1038. Northern Lights
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a hazy copper. The aroma is mildly fruity, with hints of graininess and a mild phenolic character. There are initial grainy flavors, which moves into a mildy fruity center with a sharp finish.
1039. Brooklyn Cuvée de Cardoz
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 8.50%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
This beer is spiced with ginger, tamarind, mace, black pepper, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, chilies, toasted coconut. This beer pours a clear, straw color. The aroma is a mix of sweet fruitiness and a strong spiciness. There's a nice coconut sweetness that melds with an intensely spicy finish. Given the list of spices, I was surprised that this was as tasty as it was.
1040. Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 8.00%
Style: American Double Stout
Pours a deep black. The aroma of coffee is dominant. A sweet chocolate flavor upfront moves into a roasted, chocolate and coffee finish.
Labels: Beer Fests
1029. Samuel Adams Boston Brick Red
Our lab went out for beers with another lab on our floor in mid-June. After encountering a line at The Muddy Charles we headed to Characters, the bar at the Kendall Square Marriott. I decided to try Brick Red, the new beer from Boston Beer Company that's available only in Boston.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Irish Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 3.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 3.3
Sam Adams Brick Red pours, as expected, a clear, deep red. It's topped by an off-white head that fades to a film leaving nice lace. The aroma is fairly light overall with notes of caramel, toffee and a hint of fruitiness.
Biscuity and toasty malts upfront quickly move into a strong caramel sweetness in the center. Towards the finish a graininess appears along with a mild bitterness. Boston Brick Red is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation and a mild stickiness.
I know Irish Reds are supposed to be malty, but this one just seems a bit too malty to me. Perhaps it's the one-note dominance of the malt flavors. It's a decent beer, but most likely not one that I'll have again, especially if there are better options on tap.
Our lab went out for beers with another lab on our floor in mid-June. After encountering a line at The Muddy Charles we headed to Characters, the bar at the Kendall Square Marriott. I decided to try Brick Red, the new beer from Boston Beer Company that's available only in Boston.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Irish Red Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 3.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 3.3
Sam Adams Brick Red pours, as expected, a clear, deep red. It's topped by an off-white head that fades to a film leaving nice lace. The aroma is fairly light overall with notes of caramel, toffee and a hint of fruitiness.
Biscuity and toasty malts upfront quickly move into a strong caramel sweetness in the center. Towards the finish a graininess appears along with a mild bitterness. Boston Brick Red is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation and a mild stickiness.
I know Irish Reds are supposed to be malty, but this one just seems a bit too malty to me. Perhaps it's the one-note dominance of the malt flavors. It's a decent beer, but most likely not one that I'll have again, especially if there are better options on tap.
Labels: Irish Red Ale
Jadyn and I had some friends over to our apartment on Saturday June 13th. I picked up a mixed twelve-pack of Long Trail beers, two of which I hadn't had before. I had both that evening, but have reviewed each subsequently.
1027. Long Trail Belgian White
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.70%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: Witbier, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.6
Long Trail's Belgian White pours a cloudy, straw color, and is topped by a bright white head that quickly fades to a film. I like the color a lot, but the head retention leaves something to be desired. The aroma is fairly mild overall, though the traditional notes of spicy coriander and citrus are there, along with notes of pepper, yeast and banana. There's also a bit of graininess present in the aroma, which, when combined with the relative lightness of the other components of the aroma hints at an inviting crispness.
Like a lot of wheat beers the malts here are predominantly grainy with a mild sweetness, but their major contribution is a crisp texture on the palate rather than a huge amount of flavor. Esters contributed by the yeast, and the traditional Wit spicing become evident in the center. There are bright citric notes of lemon and orange, notes of banana, a coriander spiciness, and a peppery finish that melds with the crisp backbone of the beer in the finish. Long Trail's Belgian White is light-bodied with a nice crispness that comes from the grainy malt backbone and the substantial carbonation. There's also a mild dryness in the finish.
Long Trail Belgian White is a decent Witbier. It's a nice refreshing summer beer, but it could use a bit more punch in the flavors from spicing.
1028. Long Trail Traditional IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.90%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: English India Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.8
Long Trail IPA pours a lightly hazed golden color with a hint of copper, making it a shade lighter than most other IPAs. I really like the color on this beer a lot. It's topped by a thin, sudsy white head with good, clinging lace. The aroma is fairly mild overall. There are notes of toasty and biscuity malts as well as leafy, resiny hops.
This IPA is very malt-forward, with a strong malt backbone. Initially there's a bready, caramel sweetness upfront and through the center. The finish has a nice peppery spice that plays well with the resiny hop bittereness. It's not the hoppiest IPA, but if you want a maltier beer that still has a good amount of hop flavor this IPA nails it. Long Trail's IPA is medium-bodied with prickly carbonation and a grassy dryness in the finish.
Long Trail IPA might not be the hoppiest IPA, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This beer is the epitome of balance, with enough malts to offset, but not overpower the hop bitterness and flavors.
1027. Long Trail Belgian White
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.70%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: Witbier, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.6
Long Trail's Belgian White pours a cloudy, straw color, and is topped by a bright white head that quickly fades to a film. I like the color a lot, but the head retention leaves something to be desired. The aroma is fairly mild overall, though the traditional notes of spicy coriander and citrus are there, along with notes of pepper, yeast and banana. There's also a bit of graininess present in the aroma, which, when combined with the relative lightness of the other components of the aroma hints at an inviting crispness.
Like a lot of wheat beers the malts here are predominantly grainy with a mild sweetness, but their major contribution is a crisp texture on the palate rather than a huge amount of flavor. Esters contributed by the yeast, and the traditional Wit spicing become evident in the center. There are bright citric notes of lemon and orange, notes of banana, a coriander spiciness, and a peppery finish that melds with the crisp backbone of the beer in the finish. Long Trail's Belgian White is light-bodied with a nice crispness that comes from the grainy malt backbone and the substantial carbonation. There's also a mild dryness in the finish.
Long Trail Belgian White is a decent Witbier. It's a nice refreshing summer beer, but it could use a bit more punch in the flavors from spicing.
1028. Long Trail Traditional IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Long Trail Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.90%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: English India Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.0 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.8
Long Trail IPA pours a lightly hazed golden color with a hint of copper, making it a shade lighter than most other IPAs. I really like the color on this beer a lot. It's topped by a thin, sudsy white head with good, clinging lace. The aroma is fairly mild overall. There are notes of toasty and biscuity malts as well as leafy, resiny hops.
This IPA is very malt-forward, with a strong malt backbone. Initially there's a bready, caramel sweetness upfront and through the center. The finish has a nice peppery spice that plays well with the resiny hop bittereness. It's not the hoppiest IPA, but if you want a maltier beer that still has a good amount of hop flavor this IPA nails it. Long Trail's IPA is medium-bodied with prickly carbonation and a grassy dryness in the finish.
Long Trail IPA might not be the hoppiest IPA, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This beer is the epitome of balance, with enough malts to offset, but not overpower the hop bitterness and flavors.
Labels: English IPA, Witbier
