As promised, here are 2500 words on Beer Advocate's Festival, from frequent Guest Blogger and serial writer, Dan Cedrone.
Despite
our countless night outs, brewery tours, weekend pub crawls, and
obscenely expensive liquor store runs, last weekend marked only the
second time that Josh and I were together for an actual beer
festival. The last one was several years ago in Providence, Rhode
Island and, while enjoyable, was nowhere near the level that the
Boston Beer Festival in beautiful Seaport was. This one was the real
deal. This was a serious beer sampling for serious beer drinkers. If
Providence was the minor leagues, this was like the call up to
Varsity.
And
what better way to break down the big Varsity game than with an
official beer tournament? So for my contribution here, I will be
seeing over the "Frito Lays Presents Josh's Beer Blog's First
Boston Festival Beer Tournament Brought To You by Hotels.com"
We're
going to do this March Madness bracket style, simply pitting 2 beers
against each other in each round until we have a Champion. I wasn't
quite able to get to all the 557 beers the festival had to offer but
I was able to pick out a list for a tournament of 32 (a perfect
bracket size). One of those 32 was the best beer at the event. And I
don't want to hear any complaining about certain beers not making the
field. I don't want to hear about how I skipped over some great
breweries (I've had them before and focused on mostly newer ones to
me) or that I unfairly focused on any specific styles more than
others (I did). The seeding was selected by a committee and there is
nothing that will change that until you dedicate your time to
electing a president that will take a stand against the BCS. Which
you won't, because you're sitting there reading a beer blog. Anyway,
here we go. (seedings
were random and then done bracket style)
Round
1:
Ass
Kisser Double IPA over Amherst Bloody Mary Ale - Ok, so right
from the name you can gather this was an easy win for the oddly named
brewer from San Jose. Amherst and I admittedly got off to a rocky
start early in the day when I found out they were carefully
scheduling the tapping of each of their offers. I stepped up to their
stand looking to try something else but it wasn't available for
another few hours. The gentleman there aggressively sold me on their
Bloody Mary Ale instead, claiming they could only bring a small
sample. He explained it was a pale ale made with the traditional
ingredients of a bloody mary. Lets just say that beer doesn't mix
well with tomato juice and celery. Moving on.
Big
Boss Big Operator over Idle Hands Commemoration Saison - I was
excited to try Idle Hands, one of the local offerings in Everett, MA.
But while I usually love Saisons, this one was too much fruit and not
enough yeast. Add in the fact that it was served way too cold and and
it results in an early exit.
Bridge
Works Tripel over Milwaukee Booyah - I feel like the guys from
Wisconsin were less interested in making a quality saison and more
into the idea of naming it after an ESPN slam dunk nick name. Booyah?
BoooooooNo is more like it! Am I right? Nailed it.
Enlightenment
Brut Biere De Cahmpagn over Martha's Exchange Citra IPA - The
losing IPA from Nashua exhibited my biggest pet peeve
regarding the style. The flavors were there. And they were good. But
the product itself was too weak and watery. It's like it was a great
IPA that just never put in the extra work in the weight room to fully
realize its potential.
Twisted
Pine Hoppy Knight India Black Ale over Twisted Pine Ghost Faced
Killah - Our first matchup involving two beers from the same brewery.
While the winner was deliciously hoppy, the loser was a chile beer
that just didn't work. Props for the effort but the taste of spicy
habeneros was way too overpowering for something I would ever
actually order. I can't imagine it going well with anything. However,
this otherwise fine brewer from Colorado at least has a
representative in the sweet 16.
Defiant
Brewing Triple over Samuel Adams Summer Ale - My disgust for Sam
Adams has been well documented here. I only gave them a seeding so I
could see this in print.
Uinta
Brewing Dubhe Imperial Black IPA over Duck-Rabbit Barrel Aged
Baltic Porter - The Baltic Porter from North Carolina was one I was
particularly excited to try. It was actually quite tasty. However,
when something is barrel aged, I expect to be wowed, and
unfortunately I wasn't. Plus, going against an Imperial anything can
be a tough matchup.
Ruckus
Brewing Euphoria over Prodigal Brewing Brother Mutt's Smoked
Marzenbier - This losing beer had the aroma of skunky bud lite. The
taste wasn't much better and deserved a quick trip to the waste
basket. I didn't even finish this one.
Haverhill
Tap Leatherlips IPA over Boulevard Brewing Saison Brett - Full
disclosure, I grew up in Haverhill and sneaked this one into the
field. As I've mentioned here before, I can attest to the fact that
The Tap is the only decent thing that wretched city has to offer.
Leatherlips is easily one of my favorite IPA's. While the Saison
Brett was quite good with some great yeast flavors, this beast from
the Hill will be tough to take down. Almost an upset, but fell short
in the 4th quarter.
Martha's
Exchange Triple IPA over Lawson's Maple Tripel - A creative blend
of a tripel with a double IPA against a cup filled with maple syrup
that may or may not have had alcohol in it. This was an easier win
than when Lebron dropped 45 on the Celtics in game 6.
Olde
Burnside Stone of Density over Big Boss Monkey Bizz-ness - The
winners from Connecticut are another favorite of mine but this was a
slam dunk for them anyway against another brewer that was more
excited about a silly name. The girl from Big Boss didn't even
understand the style I was asking for until I explained to her that
it was the one named after a monkey. Then she giggled, flipped her
hair, asked me if i liked her shirt, and handed me a strong belgian
ale that was way too watery.
NoDa
Ghost Hop White IPA over Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale -
I'll never understand how the "experts" at Beer Advocate
rated this losing ale from Kentucky so high. An overpoweringly sweet
concoction of vanilla, coconut, and maple. A barely noticeable hint
of oak despite the fact that it's supposedly aged in new barrels.
Several ratings I've read suggest they detect flavors of bourbon. I'm
not sure if they are forcing it or just dealing with some delusions.
I'm a religious bourbon drinker. It's practically a second form of
blood for me. Trust me when I say it's nowhere to be seen in
Alltech's.
Olde
Burnside Wild Ale over Amherst St. Valentine's Day Massatucky - A
wild ale showdown! I love this particular style so it was a shame one
of these had to bow out early. I thoroughly enjoyed the sampling of
Amherst. However, the wild from the boys in Hartford was too
deliciously tart and sour. We also learned that the tartness lends
itself to a particular bacteria that infects the barrels the beer
ages in. I mean, how cool is that? Point: Olde Burnside
Enlightenment
Illumination Saison
over Amherst Black Friday Russian Imperial Stout - We
don't even need to address the victor in this matchup. With Amherst's
crazy random tapping schedule, their Imperial Stout ended up being a
literal no show for the first round. They didn't even dress. A shame
too. I was looking forward to trying that one....
Lawson's
Double Sunshine IPA over Idle Hands Triplication - I was bummed
out by Idle Hands in general. Their tripel had some decent flavors,
but was simply too watery in the finish. Not a bad beer, but not
something I would seek out. However to be clear, there was no way in
Hell that Lawson's literal explosion of hops was going home this
early.
DC
Brau Stone Of Arbroath over
Prodigal Brewing Chocorua Kolsch - Prodigal Brewing is bad at what
they do.
Sweet 16:
Lawson's Double Sunshine IPA over Enlightenment Illumination Saison -- Since the deciding factor is my own personal taste, Lawson's really came through here with an IPA beating out a favorite style of mine. Enlightenment's saison had those great yeast notes that I simply love. Had the bracket worked out differently, I could easily see this sampling from the rather obscure city of Lowell, MA continuing on. But again, the hops in Lawson's Sunshine is just too much.
NoDa Ghost Hop White IPA over Olde Burnside Highland Wild Ale – Admittedly I sometimes get annoyed when brewers try to name new styles (I'm quite certain that there is no such thing as a White IPA) as though they want credit for inventing something. But if the flavors work, then more power to you. This was a new, interesting beer and I loved it. Kelly mentioned that the after taste had some medicinal tones to it and I agreed. However, when that flavor presents itself in balance, it's actually a mouth-feel I tend to enjoy. The Wild ale from Olde Burnside was great but ultimately something I wouldn't have more than one of. The sourness can be a tad much at times. I could easily drink several of NoDa's “White IPA”
Haverhill
Tap Leatherlips IPA over Ass Kisser Double IPA - The great chewy
hops are everywhere in both of these beers. However, considering one
is labeled a double, while the other simply holds it's own against
it? Call me biased, but Haverhill earned it's trip to Lansing. (The
next round is being held in Lansing).
Twisted
Pine Hoppy Knight India Black Ale over Uinita Brewing Dubhe
Imperial Black IPA – The guys from Utah claimed that their imperial
black had a ton of hops. I mostly got the delicious chocolate and
malts. The hops were there, but didn't quite make their presence
known as much as they did in Twisted Pine's Black Ale. The winner
from Boulder had the nice base of chocolate but still allowed the
hops to come out in the perfect amount. That factor gets them the
nod.
Ruckus
Brewing Euphoria over DC Brau Stone of Arbroath – The brewer
from New York gets the win essentially for being more complex. Sure,
that's probably a little unfair since Scottish ales are what they
are. The roasted dark malts from DC were delicious and probably would
have beaten a beer of similar style. But when it goes up against a
well crafted tripel with a wide variety of fruit and spices, it's
tough to pull off the win.
Enlightenment
Brut Biere De Champagne over Bridge Works Tripel – We can get
more into Enlightenment later and trust me, Bridge Works makes a
great Tripel. But this was a blowout.
Martha's
Exchange Triple IPA over Big Boss Big Operator – To the girl
serving Big Boss at the event, Big Boss had some great hops and yes
your shirt was stunning. But flirting will get you nowhere against an
amazingly creative and complex beer from the granite state.
Olde
Burnside Stone of Density over Defiant Brewing Tripel – My
favorite aspect of the Boston festival compared to Providence was
that most brewers brought some rare extreme stuff and didn't try to
coast by on any flagship brews. Again, tripel is a favorite style of
mine so having Defiant go down to a black and tan speaks volumes of
Stone of Density. Vanilla, chocolate, roasted malts, and
finally...............Bourbon! Tie all that into an awesome velvet
texture and Olde Burnside moves on.
Elite
8:
Enlightenment
Brute Biere De Champagne over NoDa Ghost Hop White IPA – The
boys from Lowell are going to the final 4. This beer is crisp,
fruity, perfectly yeasty, and just continues to steamroll through the
competition.
Martha's
Exchange Triple IPA over Ruckus Brewing Euphoria – Once again,
Martha's Exchange pulls off the win for creativity and complexity.
Taking down a great tripel is no easy feat. But when you have a
yeasty tripel with some nice hops thrown in, you win. You also win
when the guy pouring the samples suggests to Josh that maybe he
cannot handle the high alcohol content this beer has to offer. Yes
that happened and yes it was my favorite moment of the day.
Lawson's
Double Sunshine IPA over Haverhill Tap Leatherlips IPA – The
king is dead. But this was not a 12 round fight to the death. This
was more like a powerhouse getting punched in the mouth and falling
down in round 2. Lawson's brought their overwhelming hops to the
table. And combined with more citrus flavors than Leatherlips has to
offer, simply tasted far and away better.
Olde
Burnside Stone of Density over Twisted Pine Hoppy Knight India
Black Ale – I'm glad I discovered Twisted Pine from Colorado. I'll
be trying to find their stuff at local bars and stores. However, Olde
Burnside took similar great flavors, brewed them to perfection, and
combined it into a perfectly smooth texture.
Final
4:
Lawson's
Double Sunshine IPA over Martha's Exchange Triple IPA - Have I
mentioned the amazing hops in this beer from Vermont? I mean stop me
if I have because........oh........I have? Well then. Umm.......see
you at the championship game.
Enlightenment
Brute Biere De Champagne over
Olde Burnside Stone of Density – The heavy black and tan from
Hartford is great. But this amazingly crisp and drinkable concoction
from Enlightenment is simply something you'll want drink and have
several more of. I could make the argument that this Champagne beer
is suitable for any of the four seasons. As suitable at a summer BBQ
with ribs as it would be at a Christmas party in mid winter with
shrimp cocktail. There is no way this wouldn't be a tremendous crowd
pleaser.
Championship:
Enlightenment
Brute Biere De Champagne over
Lawson's Double Sunshine IPA – Lawson's was amazing. The chewy hops
and citrus flavors made this a simply perfect beer. So how do we
choose a champion of the "Frito
Lays Presents Josh's Beer Blog's First Boston Festival Beer
Tournament Brought To You by Hotels.com"? Let's just rely on the
recorded transcript of my visit to the Enlightenment stand.
“Ok
let's see........Biere De Champagne........ok.....wait, is that the
one you have on display there in a fine crystal flute? It is?........................Ok.
Champion:
Enlightenment
Brute Biere De Champagne - Spluge
on some crystal flutes to serve it in. It's that good.
