On A Beer Mission From God - GABF 2005 Report

On A Beer Mission From God - Great American Beer Festival 2005 Report By Pete Ricks. Sampling from over 1600 beers in 3 days at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival is a rough job but someone has to do it. Actually, only the lucky few get to do it and I was one of them for the last week of September, 2005 in Denver, Colorado. This was my first trip to the mother of all North American beer festivals and I was not disappointed. Although I did not keep track of how many different beers I sampled, I do remember the ones that I enjoyed the most. Maybe I will try to brew some of them. Other highlights of the festival included the media conference and Belgian beer tasting session with 3 of the leading American Belgian style brewers, the beginning and closing commentary from the Brewer's Association at the end of the session, and of course, more beer. Not only were there many great brews to sample, but many great events too. Pre-Day One Actually day one started on the evening prior to day one, which would be Wednesday. I got a ticket to the Brewer's Dinner held at the Wynkoop Brewery in Downtown Denver and it was much appreciated, as I needed some good craft beer after driving up from Santa Fe in the afternoon. It was good, hoppy beer too! From there I ventured over to the Falling Rock so I could catch a set of Tom Dalldorf's blues band, which wasn't that bad for playing together for the first time. Just kidding Tom! Actually, you guys were pretty good. The beer was a flowing at the Falling Rock and I sampled some good beers there, but I still had to drive back to the hotel so the sampling was limited. I called it a night rather early for a beer missionary but I was tired and I didn't want to be polluted in any way, shape, or form for day one of the mother of all festivals. Day One The next day some brewers and myself headed up to Boulder in the afternoon to check out Avery Brewing and Redstone Meadery. Do you think I started out with the light stuff at Avery? Negatory. For my first beer of the day I went straight for the Czar Imperial Stout, my favorite Avery beer. We sampled the Hog Heaven, Salvation, and a new beer called Piglet, which was a half Hog Heaven. We also toured some of the brewery and watched a bottling session for Salvation, which you can see in the picture above. Now, more about that Czar Imperial Stout. This is a seasonal beer for Avery in their line of "king" beers. If you have ever had a chance to sample some of the other king beers, like Maharaja and Beast, you know these beers are a special treat. Avery is a true craft brewery and that really comes out in all of their beers. You won't see any watered down, sissy beer coming out of this brewery. For more information on Avery and their great brew, check out the Avery Brewing website. After the Avery visit we headed over to the Redstone Meadery to see David Myers and staff. We were just in time for a tour of the brewing facility and a chat with the Chairman of the Mead. David is pictured on the left here giving some mead making advice to Tucson Gentle Ben Brewer Steve Onofryton and Brewing Assistant Nick Smith. After a good BS session with David, we headed into the sampling room and sampled several Redstone meads, all which were excellent. My favorite was the new Plum Mead. The aged reserve offerings are outstanding too. You have to really appreciate the fine craft beer and mead that is available in Boulder. I only had time to visit two places but I can't wait to get back there and sample more of the local beer. As well as the next generation of Redstone Meads. You can find out more about Redstone Meads here. Day Two Day two started out with a cab ride to the Marriott in the early afternoon for a media session. No more driving as it was time to do the serious sampling on day two. The media session was one of my favorite events of the 3 day festival as we got to sample some great beers and also listen to Ray Daniels and others from the Brewers Association, Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River, Lew Dietz from Allagash Brewing, and Greg Hall from Goose Island, (some pictured above) talk about Belgian Beers and industry events. The appreciation for Belgian Style beers that are brewed in America is gaining steam and that was evident from listening to the brewers. We also sampled six Belgian Style beers, some more mainstream than others. It was during this sampling that I was reminded of a good lesson about tasting beer. When we got around to tasting the Matilda beer from Goose Island, I had a bit of bitter beer face. Not my style as this beer contained many of the Belgian characteristics that I don't care for. In fact, this was one of my least favorite beers that I tasted the entire trip. The next day, Matilda wins a gold medal in the Belgian and French Ale category. So it just goes to show that just because you don't like a beer, it does not necessarily mean there is something wrong with the beer. It just may not be your style! After the media event, which had some good, free munchies, we waited around until the Mead Tasting started in a room next door. This was another great event put on by the folks at Redstone as there were many types of mead from around the country, and beyond, to sample from. More free food too. You have to love sample sessions. And yes David Myers, it really was artichoke dip and not clam chowder at your party, but some have a hard time distinguishing between the two after an afternoon of drinking Belgian beers and Mead. After some mead and food, I was ready for night two of GABF. First stop before it gets too crowded, the Dogfish booth, where they were having a real time leakage problem with their real time hops transducer. No problem as Sam and crew were prepared with some all-purpose, real time leakage sealer. In case you are wondering what was in the hops transducer, it was fresh Nuggett whole hops, which were also in the bucket to the left of Sam for festival patrons to scratch and sniff. Click here to see the Dogfish GABF beer menu. Still wanting to beat the crowds that were soon to gather, I went on over to the New Glarus booth, where they were breaking open bottles of Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart. I taste both. I get another of Belgian Red. Then I go back behind the New Glarus booth and hog at least a few more samples of Belgian Red because I am blown away by the fresh cherry aroma and flavor in this beer. I know many brewers who say they don't like Belgian beers, but I don't know how anyone could not like this beer. Wow. I have a new brewing hero and his name is Dan Carey. Another highlight of night two was the tapping of Utopias at the Sam Adams booth. As with the New Glarus Belgian Red, this was a beer that I had been anticipating during my visit to Denver. We go over there. There is a huge crowd around the Sam Adams booth. We sneak back around behind the table and get a sample. God I love this media pass. I taste the beer. Wow, I'm thinking this is somewhere between a shot and a beer. Kind of like a really good beer liquor. The malt richness in the brew is outstanding, but at around 25% alcohol, you expect some port notes too and those are also evident. I savor the rest of my sample and try to pick up the other notes in this complex beer. The alcohol is overwhelming and hits you fast. One small sample is enough for me. From the Sam Adams booth I go back to sample some of the better beers that I have encountered, as well as search for some new ones. The Southern California booths are a popular hangout as there is pitcher after pitcher of seriously hoppy beer to sample from. I hog some more Hop Whompus and Sharkbite. Pliney the Elder too. Night two was a good session, but it was over too soon. Or maybe not soon enough. Not feeling like hitting the Falling Rock after 9 hours of sampling beer, mead, Utopias, and more beer, I get a cab and head back to the hotel for a good night's rest. Yes, I am getting too old for this. Day Three Day Three starts out with a bit of a hangover but that is expected after mixing beer, mead, and god knows what else on Day Two. Nothing a big glass of juice and water can't cure. I feel better after a couple of those but I didn't come to Denver to drink juice and water. I catch a cab over to Downtown and head into the convention center. Day Three means awards time. Both for the media and the brewers. They give out some media awards but I don't quite make it up to the podium with industry legends Michael Jackson, Fred Eckhardt, and Ken Walls from the Wall Sreet Journal. I take some pictures. They don't turn out very well because the zoom on my new Canon digital camera sucks. Next up, the brewer's awards. 5 Arizona Breweries and Pubs win medals. I sit back behind the Papago Brewing booth, which just happens to be right next to the Prescott Brewing booth. Oskar Blues is right next door where Marty Jones is serving up Old Chubb from the can. I think I am surrounded with enough good beer to make it through the awards. The medal ceremony goes on for about an hour or so. I eat some food afterwards and get ready for the last night. The sampling on Night Three is limited as I spend more time shooting the barley with brewers from around the country than I do drinking beer. I guess it is finally over. Time for everyone to break down the booths and head home. Except me. I'm going back to Santa Fe the next day to drink some Chicken Killer Barleywine at Santa Fe Brewing. After all, we are on a Beer Mission From God and the mission has not yet been completed without some Chicken Killer. Some Final Commentary If I learned anything from my trip to Denver in 2005, it is that the American Craft Beer industry has probably never been healthier. There are many small craft breweries growing at rapid rates and great craft beer is being brewed in every corner of this country. But I also learned that big beer is taking notice of the growing craft trend and is starting to produce more products for this segment of the market. Representatives from the Brewer's Association stated in the media conference that there are around 130 batches of pilot craft beer in the pipeline for the big breweries. This was also evident in the medal ceremony as big beer was awarded medals in many craft categories. No offense to the great brewers at Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, but a brewery with "Coors" in the name winning the award for Small Brewery of the Year just doesn't sound right. Since when is anything related to Coors small? Sandlot won many medals, they were all deserved, and they had the best beer name in the entire competition. But small? Maybe in size, but certainly not in resources. This is a growing trend and smaller breweries need to take notice. Will consumers care if a brewery is a true craft brewery built from the ground up as opposed to a faux craft brewery that was built from the top down? Time will tell. Many thanks to Paul Gatza and the staff at the Brewer's Association for organizing a great festival, hosting interesting and informative media events, and keeping everything, and everyone, in order. The professionalism of the Brewer's Association is impressive. See you at GABF 2006! Drink Craft! Drink Local!