Quick Flash - Mikkellar's Bar

I am going to try a little something different and we will see how it works. I am going to do a quick write up on place I tried last night and then come back to it with a longer write up. Let me know how well this is received.

Last night was my last night in the Bay Area and I had been saving a pub for just such in occasion. I drove over to San Francisco, parked, and walked to Mikkeller's Bar. It is a very special bar, as far as I am concerned, because a good portion of the bar's make-up is not available to bigger Eastern bars. Hell, I don't think it is available in many bigger Western bars, either.

The beers for the evening consisted of the follows:

Mini-Separation Anxiety - Berryessa Brewing Company
Beavertown XXX - Evil Twin Brewing
Betelgeuze - Mikkeller
Mexas Ranger - Mikkeller
Black Hole - Mikkeller

Erica, who was my Mikkeller representative for the evening, was really helpful and informative. She made the process of going through the beer much easier and she get a thumbs up.

If you have not tried it, Mikkeller's Bar is the place to go. On the edge of the Tenderloin, it is warm and friendly.

Skal!
Brian

The anatomy of a well run festival: NoVa Summer Brewfest photo catalog

A few weekends ago the 5th Annual Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest had a craft beer celebration out at Morvern Park in Leesburg. Most of the festivals I've attended over the last few years have done a great job with the beer so now I have started to look at other factors, the intangibles that make a festival a great experience or a fiasco. We have all been to festivals that are too crowded, no parking, beer ran out early, and frankly just annoying. My intent is to use the NoVa Summer Brewfest as a case study of how to run a festival.

There was only one real hiccup and that was actually finding it which was entirely my fault for not reading thoroughly on the website.  I know a little due diligence on my part would have prevented me from running all over northern Virginia. I do know I was not the only one that had issues with directions. Now that we have gotten my stupidity out of the way,  let's take a closer look at the Brewfest itself and what they did well.To do this we are going to break it down with a photo collection. 

The location was excellent, on the outskirts of Leesburg adjacent to Morvern Park. Parking was plentiful and free and to keep things interesting Civil War re-enactors had encamped nearby. Musketry occasionally rang out throughout the summer day.

Safety first! This was actually a reoccurring theme throughout the event. Here is a prime example, the festival had organized a shuttle service of several coach busses that could transport people to and fro from the Vienna metro. You paid a little more for your tickets but didn't have to worry about all the hassle.

Another example of safety first. Local law enforcement was on the scene, very courteous, and making the rounds.

Kids had an area all for themselves with not just two bouncy houses...

...but also other fun activities including balloon animals...and seriously, who doesn't love balloon animals. Seriously, this was a nice inclusion and promoted a family friendly atmosphere.

The designated driver tent was manned and providing complimentary beverages for those responsible heroes.

Law enforcement officers made the rounds throughout the festival grounds.

Organized and plentiful spaces for people to relax, talk, and eat their foods. In the background, a decent amount of facilities for people to relieve themselves also.

Speaking of foods, there were a wide variety of foods for peoples enjoyment. Not only the usual assortment of beer festival food like sausages and pretzels, but also Thai, paninis, and other various sundries.

Plenty of open space between the tents...Brewvival take note. I can't stress how important this element is. Nobody likes to be packed in like sardines. In the center row were a variety of vendors and artisans adding to the festival atmosphere.

There was live music, always a nice addition to any festival. Rebelicious entertains the crowd during their set. Overall there were 8 bands throughout the two day event.

All these above elements form a nice solid foundation so people can enjoy their time at the festival, but they came here for a reason. So let's actually take a look at the beer. Before we dive to far in though...

...a word of thanks to the volunteers. They did a great job. All the tasting booths were manned by a motivated and fun volunteer corps that was friendly, courteous, and hard-working. This allowed the brewers a chance to talk with folks.

As for beer, a majority served up by the breweries were refreshing summer seasonals which was to be expected. As we have discussed earlier, summer seasonals can be defined in all sorts away so the diversity of beer meant there was something for everyone.

Local up and comers were represented. Port City Brewing brought their summer seasonal Downright Pilsner. They were joined...

by their colleagues across the river, DC Brau...

....and the fine folks from Lost Rhino along with others.

Your regional breweries are represented. Here is Starr Hill out of Charlottesville, but DuClaw, Weyerbacher, Williamsburg Alewerks, and others had turned out.

Big names in the craft world were present too! Oskar Blues represents here but other big craft brewers included Bell's, Abita, St. Louis Brewing (Schlafly), and Great Lakes to name a few.

New kids are encouraged to share their hard work for the enjoyment of the masses. Three Heads Brewing came down from Rochester, New York. Other new breweries to the event included Blue Mountain and Climax Brewing.

Your major sponsor, Vintage 50, is present and serving up their own quality brews...

...with head brewster Kristi Griner showing off her hard working kicks.

So to wrap this up. What makes a good beer festival? I think you can break it down to these seven basic points: (in no particular order)

• Entertainment for all ages
• A diverse selection of quality brews
• Ample food selection!
• Space and plenty of parking/ accessibility.
• Safety!
• Motivated staff and volunteers.
• A proper amount of facilities for folks to relieve themselves.

I'm sure there are other things I have missed, but all in all the NoVa Summer Brewfest hit all those marks and then some. I applaud their efforts on pulling off a great festival and I look forward to the NoVa Fall Brewfest this October.

Independence Day Safety: 7 Non-Alcoholic Beers

This is soda masking as beer.

Skye: Every so often we step away from the craft scene and look into the smaller niches and crevices to explore spaces the might not be looked at. Last time Rudy and I looked at gluten-free beers, this time we take a gander at those misjudged, unloved children: non-alcoholic beer.

Rudy: For the longest time in my drinking career those two words made about as much sense to me as decaffeinated coffee….What? Most of us see them daily or at least every time we pass the beer isle in the back of the store, hidden from view. If you happen to be in one of the bigger grocery stores with a large liquor selection they will segregate the Non-alcohol from the alcoholic beverages. You might be asking why…well the first thought is that demand for non-alcoholic beer is obviously less than the main stream high octane craft brews and commercialized beers that we have come to know, love and consume. One might think that, but actually there is a strong surge in non-alcohol beers and you might be surprised at the brewery’s that are making very good, (I hate to say it), beers.

I chose three beers to taste, from the high to the low end of non-alcoholic beers. First up was:

Clausthaler Premium
Imported from Germany.

This beer comes in two distinctive varieties “Premium” and “Golden Amber”, both of these beers are very good. They have distinctive color and taste, a bit skunky, [ed. note: skunkiness may be attributed to the time of import, agitation in transit or light pollution from sitting on the shelf] but full bodied and very smooth.

St Pauli N.A. Malt Beverage
Imported from Germany.

Yes, another German malt…I loved this beer in my youth, one of the all time go to beers in the fridge. I have to say, at first taste it was the same and then after a couple more swigs I began to feel like something was missing. It was very distinct in contrast and flavor, but it was like drinking your favorite pop, (soda) and it only has some of the syrup. It is good and you can drink it, but you could also wait until they fix it.

If you want a beer that tasted the same without the alcohol this one nailed it!

Kaliber, Malt beer
Imported from Ireland.

Guinness is a great brewery and this beer has a great color and mild caramelized overtones. I think it is a little muted and watery, but not bad. I am not saying that I would trade this for a real Guinness, but if I was the designated driver and all they had from the brewery were Guinness and the non Guinness…I would still hold one in my hand and be jealous all night long.

Skye: I choose four different brews. Three of them I found in my local Total Wine and the last I stumbled across in a small English Tea Shop here in Virginia. In my view the point of a non-alcoholic brew is to be a decent simulacrum to it's alcohol-based brother. It needs to look like beer, smell like beer, act like beer, and most importantly taste like beer. One thing to note, if you want good NA beer you are going to pay a bit of money.

Shandy Bass:
Imported from England.

Looks like beer - Yes, dark on the pour
Smells like beer - No, very little smell actually
Acts like beer - No, way to fizzy and noisy on the pour
Tastes like beer - No, definitely not

The can tells me that this is made with real Bass beer, so at least it has that going for it. It poured like soda, a lot of fizziness and noise. The head disappeared very quickly. It's sweet, slightly flat, a clear amber color. It's a refreshing beverage something you could drink in place of a soda if you wanted to.

Drink your Beck's NA while enjoying
a bratwurst and you won't be
dis

Verdict: This is a soda version of a shandy with some beer flavoring. Enjoyable but definitely not beer-like at all.

Beck's Non-Alcoholic
Imported from Germany.

Looks like beer - Yes, nice golden color
Smells like beer - Yes, smells like a cheaper Euro lager
Acts like beer - Yes, pours with a fizzy head that dissipates but never
Tastes like beer - Yes, tastes fairly malty but there is a bit of hops to balance things out.

I had this with bratwurst and spaetzel and it stood up very well. It does a lot of things fairly right for a lager, it's hopped fairly well, decent carbonation. The hops are there in the nose and on the taste, but it doesn't have the crisp bite. I found that body wise something was not quite right, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The malt extract is big enough to provide some cover.

Verdict: Overall this is a decent simulacrum of beer, easily drinkable and was surprising decent with the bratwurst. 

Paulaner ThomasBrau
Imported from Germany.

Looks like beer - Yes, nice golden color
Smells like beer - No, smells like a malt extract bomb
Acts like beer - Yes, but the head disappears really fast
Tastes like beer - No, tastes like light malty water…that is not a good thing.

When I purchased these I had high hopes for this since Paulaner tends to brew decent, quality brews. Needless to say I am sorely letdown. This is not very good at all. There is no body to it, it doesn't taste at all like beer instead going for an overwhelming but weak malt taste. There is little hop presence and what is there makes no impression. The aftertaste is a faint blah of malt extract. The only thing it has going for it is decent carbonation but it made me burp which only served to remind me how poor this was. It is a constant reminder that you are not drinking a real beer.

Verdict: Avoid. If this is the only thing in the cooler drink a soda instead. If you are dying of thirst in Death Valley and this is all that is left then yes drink it, but it will still taste like disappointment.

Buckler

Imported from Holland.

Looks like beer - Yes, nice golden straw color,
Smells like beer - Yes, but it is more faint, with a mild hoppy smell
Acts like beer - Yes, great fizzy head on the pour
Tastes like beer - Yes, but it is lighter on the taste

This is a light beer equivalent for NAs. It is does have a decent bite on the drink, but not much body to it at all. A decent hop presence and good carbonation, there is some maltiness but it is more background noise, no real aftertaste to speak of other than a very faint bitterness. This is decent if unremarkable, but it is a refreshing brew and would go well on a hot summer picnic.

Verdict: If you want a lighter tasting NA then go get the Buckler.

Rudy: I am happy to say that, although Skye has once again given me a challenge that I was not too sure I was going to enjoy… I did have fun finding out about the new beers that are out there on the back shelves hidden from the lime light, but are still useful and desired by those who can not participate in the consumption of real honest to goodness alcoholic brews. Today’s brewers have found new and inventive ways to give us the full bodied taste, smell and color that embodies the alcoholic beverage without the alcoholic substance.

Skye: If you need to take one for the team you don't have to be miserable while you do it. Hopefully these recommendations help point you in the right direction when choosing a non-alcoholic brew. This shows that you don't have to sacrifice taste and enjoyment. Happy Independence Day and remember to be responsible and safe out there!

Want a different point of view? Then check out this huge 11 NA beer taste test!

SAVOR DC 2012: Beer puts on formalwear and steps out on the town.

These glasses await their destiny.

Brewers and beer lovers descended on the National Buidling Museum in Washington DC for a celebration of beer and food over the evenings of June 8-9. Welcome to SAVOR 2012. Under the Roman arches and Corinthian pillars in the Great Hall, craft brewers from across the United States served up top notch beer paired with a cornucopia of foods. Styles of beer ranged across the spectrum from Black IPA to Imperial Stout, Rye Saison to Berliner Weisse. Food pairings were just as diverse with small plates ranging from lobster pot stickers and braised goat to S'mores and cornbread cobbler. The name of the game for SAVOR DC is quality beer paired up with an assortment of small plates. All the beers were tied to a particular style of food meant to amplify each other and bring out the best of both. An example of this is would be an espresso stout paired with red velvet cake, or a porter paired with salt cod fritters.  It  is pretty safe to say there was something for everyone.

Beer and food, two
great things meant
for each other.

Much like the variety in the food and beer, the brewers also reflected the diversity of the craft beer community in the United States. Young and old, big and small, the breweries included such large stalwarts such as Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams ranging down to small brewpubs like Vintage 50 and Magnolia Gastropub. Representation came from across the country too such as Surly Brewing hailing from Minnesota or Uinta Brewing from Utah, to locals brewers from the DC metro region, like newcomers DC Brau and Port City. 

For all the brewers SAVOR DC is a chance to share their passion for making good beer with an appreciative audience. Tim Surprise, founder of Arcadia Ales, said, "I'd like people to be titillated enough that our beers began the journey for them to not only become a fan of our beer but to discover something that resonates their interest in beer and food for the long term. 

For other breweries SAVOR DC offered a chance to educate and inform the attendees that great beer can be found across the country. Paul Kavulak, founder of Nebraska Brewing Company, said, "We already have great beer in the Midwest, but Nebraska hasn't really been known as a great craft beer state, I'm hoping people leave understanding that good beer can come out of there too."

Kavulak brought his gold medal winning (and delicious) Melange A Trois chardonnay barrel aged Belgian strong ale to back up his statement. 

Building a better world,
one glass at a time.

While there was no official dress code, people dressed in what made them comfortable, ranging from suits and evening gowns to a few t-shirts and bluejeans. Overall though that really didn't matter. What was more important was to be part of veritable smorgasbord of delicious food and drink with like minded people. There was a very cordial atmosphere over the whole event with folks mingling with each other, writing up their own tasting notes, sharing recommendations and moving from station to station looking for their favorites brews or that next something special. 

Brewers took the time to talk with guests, explaining their beer and brewing techniques between keeping tasting glasses refreshed. Lines moved quickly at the various beer stations and food stations stayed pretty well stocked. Only once did I spy a station that ran empty, but that was remedied about a minute later. If there was a real wait is was for freshly shucked oysters but even there the folks many that both worked their knives with deft assurance. Overall the event was well run with excellent support from the wait staff, security, and the volunteers. 

As guests departed the event they were handed a bottle of Terra Incognita, a beer brewed specifically for SAVOR events, a collaboration between Sierra Nevada of California and Boulevard Brewing of Kansas City, MO. (Which for you fans of Boulevard it will be out here in the DC market starting next week! Huzzah!)

It almost seems peaceful
from up here.

So what to make of SAVOR? First off it really is a celebration of how far we have come with craft beer. An event like this, with it's diversity in styles and brewers, doesn't exist a decade ago. Now, not only does it exist but it sells out almost immediately. There is a clamor and demand from the beer drinking public to push the limits and explore the boundaries. The versatility of beer with food is an eye-opening experience, with pairings running the gamut from hors d'ovres  to dessert (in the case of Stone's Collaboration Highway 78, a nice cigar would have been excellent.)

There really is a beer for every time and place on the food spectrum. SAVOR stacks up the evidence and goes about the business of making believers out of anyone who would argue otherwise. While SAVOR could prove a bit challenging to a brand new explorer in the craft beer world it will be a revelation to folks who enjoy a good food and beer adventure. (On a side note while I believe beer with it's varieties will always have an edge in pairing versus wine I would like to know if there is a particular food where wine actually pairs better than beer…food for thought, if you have any ideas let us know in the comments.)

Events like SAVOR don't
happen without awesome
volunteers! Cheers to them!

Here is where I would interject a word of caution though, while SAVOR is a a worthy celebration of craft beer, we still need to continue to make beer approachable and enjoyable. In other words we don't walk down the path to beer snobbery and elitism because at the end of that is place where we will all lose. At the same time though a great counterpoint was made by Kristi Griner, head brewster at Vintage 50 stated it best, "We are still introducing a new crowd to the joy of craft beer and bringing them over to our side, while some of these beers may be unique to some people, for others these are their local breweries and are places they go to enjoy great beer." 

My mother hennish thoughts aside, SAVOR is an excellent and worthwhile event that any food or beer loving person should highly consider attending. You will not be disappointed.

No wheat, no barley, no beer? Part 3: Skye's Verdict

After hearing about Rudy's experience I must admit that I was hesitant about tasting the beers I had selected. I picked up all the gluten free imports I could find at my local Total Wine and was given a bonus bottle by my brother Cody. 


The results!


St. Peter's Sorgham Beer
I'd heard good things about St. Peter's Brewery so I was excited for this beer. It poured a clear golden color with little head. This is labeled a pilsner but it didn't have the crisp bite I would have expected. Instead it seemed a bit flat, and it was light on the carbonation. It drank smooth but had a very long bitter aftertaste and it reminded me of sipping my dad's beer when I was a kid, I immediately had a negative reaction to it. I didn't like it, and was slightly taken a back by that. The taste was off but I'm going to chalk that up to my misplaced expectations and that I may have had a bad bottle. I did not have the opportunity to try another one of these but I will drink another and update accordingly. It comes in at an ABV 4.2. 

If your beer has to be gluten-free then
I recommend these

The other three that I had bought were all brewed by Green's Brewery which makes a range of gluten-free beers, but only a few are available in North America. 


Green's Discovery Amber Ale, 
This poured a nice clear amber color, with a decent light tan head that stuck around a bit with some lacing glomming to the side of the glass. The taste was sweet and light with a decent carbonation. It had a crisp bite to it. Overall this was rather refreshing, it had a slight bitterness in the aftertaste but it cleared off the palate quickly. It is lighter than I expected, with little alcohol taste though it comes in at a 6.5% ABV. This is a solid go to beer.

Green's Endeavour Dubbel Dark Ale. 
This was intriguing. It poured a clear dark brown color with a tannish head. It had a distinct cidery sweet taste to it, good carbonation, and a pleasant bite. This cleared off the palate incredibly quick leaving a dryness in the mouth. It may be a dark beer but it is not the least bit heavy. It has some heft to it in the alcohol department coming in at 7% ABV. It doesn't have the complexity of other dubbels but it is not just an imitation of one either.  This was a good beer.

Green's Quest Tripel Blonde Ale
I found this to be very good. It poured clear and golden with a puffy white head It had some good fruitiness in the taste, a little sweet, with good carbonation and smoothness. That gave way to an aftertaste that was tart and slightly barnyardish, similar to a biere de garde, but not as grassy. It lasted for a bit slowly giving way to a dryness of the mouth. The Tripel was the only one where the alcohol was apparent while you were drinking it. It wasn't overpowering in the taste, but you could tell it was there. While that is true it is also deceptive this beer packs some punch coming in at a bold 8.5% ABV. Hands down this was the best of the lot and I will drink this one again. I would also recommend it to all beer drinkers.  


Bonus bottle!

Dogfish Head Tweason'ale 
First recommendation, take a big whiff of the beer as you pour it. This beer smells fantastic. It is one of the best smelling beers I have encountered recently. It poured a clear dark gold with minimal head. It was light in taste, with not a lot of body, but good carbonation and a smooth drink. The strawberry taste is evident immediately while the honey rides along in the background. The fruit taste turns into a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. Overall this reminds more of a crisp type of mead. The fruit taste in it is a definite change of pace from the other gluten free beers that were tried. It comes in at 6% ABV but alcohol is masked well. I get think this would be decent on a hot summer day and while I am not quite sold on it I would gladly drink another if offered it. 


Final thoughts.


The hardest part of these tastings was getting over my expectations and approaching the beer with a fresh perspective. The truth behind some of these beers is that they are not new things at all, brewers over the last 10,000 years have been brewing with all sorts of things including the ingredients found in gluten free beers. The new thing is the beers we tried are being brewed for a specific reason now. We talk a lot about the three tenets around here and these tastings were a good reminder of that. Somewhere, somebody is enjoying one of these to the fullest and that is a very good thing. An even better thing is that brewers are taking the time to brew beer that is challenging and rewarding for all people and that is worth celebrating. So while Rudy and I had our struggles doing these tastings we are both glad that we did them and we hope that some of our ramblings prove useful.  

No wheat, no barley, No beer? Part 2: Rudy's Verdict

Rudy's Gluten free taste trials. 

No Gluten allowed! (Original here)

Rudy: In my own small town of Minocqua, WI, we have several types of sorguhm beers availible to us. I decided to try three of them, for some reason three is my magic number when  tasting beers, I tend to like variety and contrast and since one is not a variety and two does not have much contrast, three is genrally perfect for this task! 



The beers:


Bard’s Original Sorghum Malt Beer brewed by Bard’s Tale Beer Company in Utica, New York, 
I was taken in by the label and was very excited to try this beer, however that soon left me as the beer rushed to my mouth. The first thing I thought of was wow, this is horrible…I have had bad beer before, I think we all have, but this was worse! I decided that one taste was not enough, for the sake of a true review I must give it a second chance…Nope! It was still bad, the taste is somewhere between a fizzy 9-volt battery test on your tongue topped off with a heady alcoholic slap to the face. I did try one more gulp, ( because three is the magic number), and then I sinned and poured it down the drain. I am not proud of the fact I wasted beer, but some things are more important; like retaining the contents of my stomach.


Redbridge, an Anheuser-Busch product from St. Louis, Missouri.
I was a little gun shy about tasting this beer, after all the Bard's was atrocious. Needless to say I marched forward and found this beer drinkable. It had the same attributes as many types of non-alcoholic beers. O’Doul’s would be the closest example. It did not taste bad, or at least not as bad as the first beer. I noticed the same cotton mouthed flavour that Budweiser is famous for. In comparison to the first beer this was much more palatable.

Lakefront New Grist brewed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Lakefront Brewery. 
This beer was the best of the lot. I could finally finish a beer and want another one from the same brewery. New Grist is that perfect summer beer for a hot and muggy day. It was cool, crisp, light in color, with a smidge of citrus taste. On the whole a good tasting beer. If I were unable to eat gluten products and this was presented to me I would think, someone finally cared about me and my dietary problems. Lakefront took the time to create a beer that tastes like a beer, (even if it is kind of like a wine cooler), but a beer non the less.


My final analysis of these beers is this I would not be inclined to consume these beers on a daily basis or anytime in the near future. The Lakefront New Grist was enjoyable, but the other two had an in your face taste and I was left with a queasy stomach after drinking them. I'm glad to have tried them but will stick to the normal and not so normal grain beers I have come to enjoy. I hope that brewers can provide a better gluten free beer in the future.



Skye: Being located in the DC metro region I had a slightly larger selection at hand so I choose some imports. I'll reveal my findings and thoughts tomorrow.

No wheat, no barley, no beer? Part 1

The Problem:


Skye: As we have been getting around and exploring the room of beer culture, history, and enjoyment it has become more and more clear that beer is a personal thing. People enjoy it differently, both in types, how and where they drink it, and their expectations from it.


For folks that suffer from celiac disease though any enjoyment of beer is a hard sell.  Being allergic to wheat, barley, and other grains can put a real damper on enjoying a beverage that revels in them,


Here is what the Mayo Clinic says about it:

This would not be an
enjoyable way through life
(Original here)

"Celiac (SEE-lee-ak) disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is primarily found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. People with celiac disease who eat foods containing gluten experience an immune reaction in their small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients."


Rudy: I am stilled amazed at how many people have developed allergies to food. It seems we can not go a day in the kitchen without having a customer relate to a server that they have a food allergy, (celiac disease). Over the last 30 odd years I have worked in many types and styles of restaurants; one of the major concerns has always been food allergies. Gluten allergies are the worst, for many reasons. We tend to use gluten in everything; pasta, thickeners, breads, pastry’s, cereals and the list goes on.


Wikipedia describes gluten as:
"Gluten (from Latin gluten, "glue") is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture."


Now that we have a background on “Gluten free” we can finally discuss the real reasons why we are writing this article. Today's brewers are imaginative and creative to say the least and the pure genius of creating diverse beer is remarkable, but to create beer for everyone is a gift worth celebrating (and consuming.) We here at JGF are going to explore some gluten-free beers and look for an answer to the question, "Are they worthwhile?" 


If you have any recommendation let us know in the comments. Stay tuned because on Thursday we will let you know what we found out!

Going south - Our Brewvival weekend.

We lived the brand this weekend. 

By the time it was all over we drove 4 times longer than we drank.

On the last weekend of February, Jolly Good Fellows attended the 3^rd annual Brewvival hosted by Coast Brewing Company and the Charleston Beer Exchange. It was our first time at this festival in South Carolina and we had been looking forward to it for the last few weeks. 

In that glass is a delicious
bacon porter

The Jolly Good Fellows team for this outing was Brett, my brother Cody and his girlfriend Amanda, I and Dan (the other voice of the JGF Beercast.) We departed from Fayetteville, NC around 10 AM and after a relatively uneventful road trip arrived at North Charleston around 1 PM. Parking was a breeze with plenty of spots available. As we approached the festival we were greeted with a line stretching out from entry gate, around the corner and across the bridge. While it was long, it moved quickly, which would be a reoccurring theme throughout the day.

Having forgotten the printed tickets at my house in Virginia I had to find a workaround. I downloaded the EventBrite app to my iPhone which provided me with digital tickets that could be easily scanned. Even this proved to be unnecessary as the friendly event staff at the gates were able to check us in on a digital roster. This was a very nice touch. As we passed through security our IDs and bags were checked and we were handed our four ounce tasting glass and a roster of attending breweries and their beers.

Under those tents was liquid excellence

While crowded, the event was not over packed. A lot of folks followed the recommendation of the hosts and brought their own lawn chairs. We set up a little area near the back of the beer tents against the chain-linked fence. At that point we turned to the reason we had came: to taste and try many great and different ales and beers.

Two large beer tents sat parallel to each other in the center of the field. Underneath the canopies were the 30 plus breweries with their finely crafted brews ready and willing to provide. The lines moved pretty quickly but it was evident which stands had the in demand ales. Not dissuaded I jumped around the lesser populated stands with ease opting trying out new and original beers. It was like being a kid in a candy store.

One of the breweries
I unfortunately missed.

When I attend beer festivals I like to try beers that I have never had before. Here I was overwhelmed by the diversity and I didn’t plan my taste attack as well as I should have. That said, I truly enjoyed the beers I tried. The highlights for me were the Westbrook Mexican Coffee Cake and Saint Somewhere’s Fierte du Sud. The Mexican Coffee Cake in particular struck me as the ideal for beer as dessert. The casked Fierte du Sud was flat out one of the best sours I have had in awhile. I also enjoyed Palmetto’s Espresso Porter on Nitro and I had my first ever oyster stout. 

The Duck-Rabbit brought a
solid lineup

The real drawing attraction for Brewvival is the rarities and specials that the attending brewers bring with them and the focus on emerging southern brewers. There were beers I tried that I may never have an opportunity to try again. I applaud the brewers for bringing these exotics and letting people enjoy them.

The Coleman Public House crew worked
nonstop serving up burgers

On the food side of things the lines moved a bit slower. The highlight appeared to by Diggity Doughnuts, which had a line stretching back across the field. I opted for a Notch’s green chili burger from the Coleman Public House stand which hit the spot for me. There was also D’Allesandro’s Pizza, Roti Rolls, and Ted’s Butcherblock to choose from.

I didn’t pay much attention to the band’s that played, the music wrapping itself into the ambiance of the festival. At the far end of the festival any live tunes were drowned out by crowd noise.

Rob Tod, founder of
Allagash Brewing Company
talks to folks about beer.

That said, at the far edge away from the tents was another small tent and benches. Here is where several master brewers were giving presentations and talks. As one attendee said, “The beer is great, but here is much more interesting.” 

 Compared to the festivals I have attended in NOVA this was a pleasant and fun experience, yes there were a lot of people and it got a bit crowded at times, but the lines moved fast and the everybody was in good humor and polite. A few areas for improvement would be a slightly larger space next year or rearranging the tents for better traffic flow. In particular the center aisle was very crowded. Another recommendation would be a bit more beer. Many stands were reaching exhaustion by the time we hit 4 PM and the event was to run to 6 PM.

Coast Brewing puts on a great show!

Brewvival wouldn't
have happened
without these guys 

All in all, Brewvival was a lot of fun and kudos to Coast Brewing and the Charleston Beer Exchange for planning and hosting a great event. The JGF team was glad it made the trip and we look forward to coming back next year and trying even more delicious and exotic beers. 

If you want to see all the picture from Brewvival, check out the Jolly Good Fellows Facebook page. 

“Racing” and Tasting: The Crystal City 1K Beer Walk

Before we launch into our recap of the "race", let’s very quickly talk about beer, particularly beer in a can. It is beer can appreciation day. In 1935 this became a reality. Truth is though we need to spend a little more time on the topic than I am allotting here so I am postponing a more detailed discussion of the beer can and its impact till Thursday.

Best race number I have ever had. 

Instead we are going to recap the Crystal City 1K Beer Walk that I, my friend Brett, and his wife Amy participated in this last Sunday. The Crystal City 1K Beer Walk is the sister event to the Crystal City Wine Walk, both of which are hosted by the Washington Wine Academy. The concept is pretty simple, walk from station to station trying different beers. To add to the “race” atmosphere and to control traffic flow there were heats throughout the day. Ours was the second heat starting at 2:30 PM. Check in went very smoothly and we quickly had our race numbers, tasting glasses, and our 20 drink tickets.

The course snaked through the Crystal City Underground, a collection of shops and eateries that exist beneath the “tall” buildings of Crystal City*, starting at the 2200 block street entrance and finishing in the old food court by the 17th street entrance. We were able to enjoy an array of beer, everything from Ommegang and Spaten to Old Milwaukee and Shiner.  

For friends of the grape, interspersed in with the beer were various wines. It was a nice touch, but my attention was wholly focused on the grain. In addition there were also complimentary snacks along the route to include barbeque sandwiches and slaw, pita bread and hummus, and cheeses.

We hit all the tasting stations except for the first where the line was out the door. The set up for each station was rather novel. They used the unoccupied retail space along the route which also brought along with it the advantage of security. Each stop had a person in a security shirt monitoring it to ensure no underage drinking or race bandits. It made sense though I am sure most of them would have rather been imbibing than watching. Everyone affiliated with the event that I encountered was courteous and helpful.

On the beer side there were several standout breweries on display, the first was Port City Brewing, the local on display. (Being the second stop ensured that they received a good deal of traffic, they also benefited from the overwhelmed New Belgium station next door which only had one pourer) They brought their full range of year round beer for folks to taste, a good idea as they continue to grow awareness in the DC metro and Northern Virginia region. Bill Butcher, their founder and head brewer, was there and happily answered questions and spoke about his beer. (As I have stated before, I am biased for them, Port City is my local and I do want to see those folks succeed.) The fine folks from Flying Dog also had a standout selection showcasing their year round selections but unfortunately they didn’t bring their winter seasonal K-9 Kruiser, a favorite of mine.

As I think of it, only a few breweries did have a winter seasonal, Harpoon with their Winter Warmer, Leinenkugel’s with their Fireside Nut Brown, Blue Moon with their Winter Abbey, and the most notorious beer of the event, the brilliant black chocolate stout by Brooklyn Brewery. Brooklyn also brought an IPA, a classic lager, and their excellent brown.

Other highlights were the previously mentioned Ommegang Brewery pouring both their BPA (Belgian Pale Ale) and Witte Ale, and as a bonus, Duvel. I must admit I did do a tasting of Old Milwaukee, after all, it was my grandfather’s favorite beer.

While the Sam Adams beer selection was weak,
Brett (R) and I (L) did have fun hanging
with him (M). Photo by Amy Evenstad.

I can’t comment on how the event went on Saturday, but I can say that certain stands suffered on our day, in particular the New Belgium and the Samuel Adams stations being the most obvious. The New Belgium station, as previously mentioned, simply for the wait to be served; it was a bit of bad planning on the event’s part. Samuel Adams for a different reason, they were originally supposed to be serving Black Lager, Mighty Oak, Alpine Spring, Whitewater IPA, but were down and out of most selections, substituting their Latitude 48, and Coastal Wheat. The Latitude 48 isn’t too shabby as far as a substitute goes, on the other hand I don’t think I will ever care for the Coastal Wheat, it is the poor man’s version of their Summer Ale which frankly is a pretty solid summertime beer. I find the Coastal Wheat to be lacking in taste and body. They weren't alone though, other breweries had also run out of various beers, Sam Adams was just the most noticeable. 

As we crossed the finish line we were treated to music and more beer selections and from my view everyone looked to be having a festive time. This was the first edition of the beer walk, and it was pretty solid. They had a good selection of beer, and while I would have liked to have seen more locals, such as Lost Rhino, Blue and Gray, or Alewerks out of Williamsburg, the selection provided was very decent. For $20 I felt I got my value both with beer diversity and snacks. I would recommend one server per beer to help move the lines along, particularly at the first station where it is almost a given that everyone will stop at. Overall though, for the first year the Washington Wine Academy did a fine job as host, it was a cool event, and I look forward to next year.

Hope to see you there!

(*Before you think that Crystal City is some fairy tale, Wizard of Oz type place let me break it to you gently and tell that it is not. The first building developed here was The Crystal House and it had a big chandelier in its entrance, the rest of the buildings followed suit with that naming convention, hence Crystal City.)