A trip west for family and the Great American Beer Festival

Musings on a 6 day sojourn to Denver and San Diego

This trip originated as a visit to see my parents, was then augmented by an offer to attend the GABF in Denver. Along the way much food and drink consumed, so I thought I would review a few of the places we went to.

The Denver experience was great, time with my brother and sister-in-law and her cousin and wife. Mucho thanks for hosting. I really enjoyed Boulder, we made several trips there, including a wonderful Italian dinner, but the highlight had to be the Avery Brewery/tasting room. Since it was GABF week, they had special rotating kegs on all week. Many were versions of sour beers, infused with Bret, many were good, a few awesome, the bottled one Dave bought (Sue Generous) was a good example, well soured with plenty of flavor behind. Despite the industrial park setting, they have a nice outdoor cafe, lots of seating, well worth a stop when in Boulder. The other pubs we tried there were so, so, forgettable and now I have.

The GABF was wild, some 5,000+ folks each session on the floor of the Colorado Convention Center. We got there at the 5:30 opening time for the last session on Saturday and the line was at least a 1/2 mile long. In the end even though we got in 40 minutes after opening we still had plenty of time. Must have sampled 50+ one oz. tastings. Some decent pub type food. Huge floor area, lots of brewers were down to one offering, nowhere near the 2100 offerings at the beginning, never go again on Saturday. Highlights from Allagash, Dogfish Head, Southhampton, New Glarus, The Bruery, and many more. Tried to take notes, impossible. But the winners were announced by then, we tried to hit them to see what the judges were thinking. A must event once for beer lovers, as I've learned since the off site events make a big difference, we'll hit more next time.

We tried to stay in nominal shape, did a nice hike in Boulder, rode a $2K lovely bicycle in San Diego, and had a long walk in SD. Overall I gained weight but only a pound or two.

San Diego, recently named top beer city by Men's Journal, included The Blind Lady, Tornado, and the Linckery. All outstanding in their own way, Toronado a killer place. Some 30 beers on tap, and on Mondays all are $3.00. Amazing. Great local selection which I was seeking, decent Belgian offerings, great atmosphere, top notch.

Overall, I'm still liking the Chicago scene for food, and we did make 5th in that MJ poll, but I would swap our beer scene for SD. It's getting closer though with the recent additions of Metropolitan Brewing, Half Acre, and Publican.

Retailer Closeouts, Brewers that Care

I've had several experiences now with the end closeout bins at Binny's Skokie location, not the baskets, but the end cap areas or right in their normal spot on the self. They have a lot of American micros, and I suspect some aren't rotated or replaced when they are old. It seems these are usually bombers from brewers with a wide selection, discounted below $5, saving you at least a couple of bucks. Since many beers do not have package-dating on them it's hard to tell how old they are. I've had a few problems with these purchases, mostly from the beer going flat or becoming oxidized. I suppose it's buyer beware, but I took up this issue with a recent purchase right to the brewer and got a wonderful response.

Rogue to their credit, has wonderful people. From their website I sent an email about getting a flat beer that I had wanted to try. It was their Christmas beer. They replied within 24 hours notifying me they would replace my purchase, no questions asked. In fact a box came to me straight from the brewery, with 2 bombers to replace mine.!! A day later I got a package with a Dead Guy t-shirt! Very friendly followup and great service in my book, the new beers were fresh (no surprise as they were straight from the brewery), and the t-shirt is very nice!!

I don't know if you would get this type of service from all brewers, but it's worth contacting them directly if you have a problem bottle. A good brewer will want to know about customer and distributor problems, not bury them. Give props to Rogue for caring about their customers.

Smoke 'em if You Got 'em

For this months Session, the subject is smoked beers. Thanks go to prolific, well respected Philly-based writer Lew Bryson for hosting.

In the past I've had some great smoked beers, of course the great German Rauchbiers from Schlenkerla . or the fabulous Ham on Rye from Three Floyds which tasted just like a liqufied sandwich and didn't need food to go with it.

For this Session I'm tasting Goose Island's newly released Smoked Bock, only available at the Clybourn brewpub. This bock is brewed with 75% smoked malt from the American malter Breiss, backed by bock malt to give it a solid backbone. It's a nice chestnut brown with a cloudy look and small tan head. The nose is amazing with deep peat smokiness and hints of leather. The taste follows the smell with the bock hitting up front with a lingering smoke aftertaste. This beer ways in slightly over 7% abv but is not heavy or overpowering. Goes really well with the Pulled Pork sandwich on offer.

This is a man's beer, with a nod to the original intent and style of brewing beer. The intent and primary use of beer in the Middle Ages was for sustenance, and a bacteria free source of libation. "Don't forget to pick up a growler of supper tonight honey" - but it would likely be a 3%er or less. Beer was often brewed with open wood fires and flames lapping up the side of the brew kettle. An outdoor activity for sure. It's a style of beer to remind us of simpler times, maybe happier times?

Later at the monthly BA gathering I tried Stone's Stone Smoked Porter, a roasty porter not as chocolaty or deep tasting as most but a good support for the smoky flavor. It was more muted than the Goose beer, maybe just not as fresh. And from San Diego no less! A good beer, but we should probably stick with our locals when we can.