Great American Beer Festival Wrap Up
The 2010 Great American Beer Festival is now over. It’s so sad that it is too. I have the same feeling I did as a kid when Christmas was over. Man, I gotta wait another whole year.
Regardless, it was a great time, better this year than in years past. I went to events starting on Thursday until Saturday. And these were not just GABF sessions, these were events in and around Denver. The Denver Beer Fest included numerous events all over Denver.
Some events I attended were a beer tasting event with Avery Brewing at Euclid Hall, a few beer releases at Falling Rock Tap House and some impromptu gatherings at other various locations (including Freshcraft).
The Avery beer tasting at Euclid Hall was not the first time I tried sours. Sours are all the rage today, but I am one of the few beer geeks that can’t quite get into them (yet). What I appreciated this time, though, was how they served the sours. Small amounts in wine glasses. This forced me to treat the sours more like wine. I swirled, sniffed, swished and swallowed small portions at a time. Being normally used to gulping my beers, this was a different experience for me. This was one of the first time I enjoyed a sour. I cannot remember the names of these beers, as I was there kind of unexpectedly and did not write anything down, but these were new releases.
I went to Falling Rock Tap House more than once. Falling Rock was GABF central; the beer festival away from the beer festival. It was always packed, no matter what time you went. And they had special beer releases at different times. One I attended was a barrel aged offering from Boulder Beer. Another was a collaboration beer between Mutineer Magazine and New Holland Brewing Company called Mutinous Battle Chai. This beer was a benefit for A Child’s Right, and all proceeds went to the organization. The beer was a refreshing beer, quite delicious. I was also able to score a bottle of New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk, a fantastic stout that really did taste like a chocolate shake.
I went to Freshcraft more than once, and although it wasn’t as crowded as Falling Rock, it was always hopping with plenty of people. Other places I went to that didn’t have events, per se, but did have craft beer specials were uptown; Appaloosa Grill and the Paramount Cafe.
Probably one of the biggest highlights for me was getting to meet some of the craft beer social media; the tweep, bloggers, web tv “celebrities” and print media folks. I met some of the owners of Mutineer Magazine, they were a great bunch of guys! I met TheBeerWench, saw the guys from Two Guys Drink and Brew Crew TV and saw Laurie Delk of “100 beers 30 days” fame. I also met the guys from my favorite craft beer advocacy show, New Brew Thursday. I only spoke to them for about 30 seconds, but they left a pretty solid impression on me. When I walked up and said, “I wanted to meet you guys”, they said right back, “we wanted to meet you too”..without knowing who I was and without pause. Outstanding.
Oh yeah, there was also the GABF sessions I attended…it was great as always. I tried many beers and had a great time. I was able to try all of the beers I had on my list (except the Maui Coconut Porter which ran out), including Three Floyds, Shorts, Foothills, Jolly Pumpkin, and a number of others I have a hard time finding locally. Not that I am downplaying the sessions, but the real highlight for me was outside of the sessions. I’ve already decided that next year, I plan to attend more events, including the Pints for Prostates Rare Beer event at the Wynkoop. Until next year!
