Oh, the craft beer bottle share! If you have yet to enjoy one these truly magical events, block off a date on your calendar and get the bottles in motion. This past weekend I had the opportunity to help organize and partake in the 3rd Annual Craft Brew Fest! Complete with kitchen homebrewing, backyard grilling, a bonfire, award winning chili, (if I do say so myself) and some very impressive libations!
Ideal Brew has always been about GREAT PEOPLE and GREAT BEER! Surrounding yourself with the combination of these things I believe are the two primary ingredients for a life well lived. With that said, I want to personally thank everyone for their contributions and enthusiasm!
Craft beer is a great thing, great friends are even better! So with the festivities over (until next year) I wanted to take a moment and recap some of the truly exciting beers we all had the opportunity to enjoy! In addition, give a very big THANK YOU to my good friend Darrin Wingard’s borderline craft beer obsession and joining the party!
THE BREWS:
- With a world-class score of 100 by the Bros on BeerAdvocate the Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ) by Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City, MO was among one of the best represented at Craft Brew Fest 2015. A full bodied abby-style quad aged in bourbon oak barrels with cherries.
- Representing Philly was a potential hometown favorite in Tired Hands Brewing Co. as we enjoyed Parageusia2 American Wild Ale which is no longer in production and I aged for over a year! This Cabernet Franc barrel-fermented ale was brewed with oat malt and a small amount of lightly caramelized malt. The most exciting part of this beer was the yeast used to ferment it is a melange of yeast cultured by Tired Hands Brewing Company as well as wild yeast and bacteria native to Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
- Good ole’ Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) by Founders Brewing Company with a world-class score of 100! A crowd favorite and constantly one of the most sought after beer releases every year. Founders crafted this beer with hints of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. Aged in oak bourbon barrels for over a year in caves beneath the brewery. Complex and lovely was this treat!
- Keeping in the spirit of stout beers Westbrook Brewing Co. out of Mt. Pleasant, SC gave us Mexican Cake! Initially brewed for the breweries one year anniversary this imperial stout is aged it on cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and fresh habanero peppers. So happy 3rd Anniversary to us!
- One of the top rated breweries in the world Hill Farmstead Brewery in Vermont provided us with George. George was also the head brewers grandfather’s brother, and Hill Farmstead Brewery sits upon the land that was once home to him and his 13 siblings. George is an American Brown Ale. Hopped with Centennial, Cascade, and a touch of Columbus.
- Who hasn’t heard of HEADY TOPPER!? The Alchemist Brewery from Waterbury, VT has given the world one of the most respected American Double IPA’s in the world. A full bodied, citrusy, and juicy IPA comparable to taking a bite into a deliciously ripe orange.
- Russian River Brewing Co. from Santa Rosa, CA thought we would enjoy Supplication, and we did! A Brown Ale aged in Pinot Noir barrels from local Sonoma County wineries. It is aged for about 12 months with sour cherries, brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus added to each barrel. Flavors from the cherries, Pinot Noir and oak balance come together well with a tart funkiness from the brett.
- Grassroots Brewing is a subsidiary of Hill Farmstead Brewery. The Amber Saison Sankt Hans had a balanced maltiness with just the right amount of funk!
- Hill Farmstead at it again! This time with Arthur a Farmhouse Saison. Arthur was the brewers grandfather’s youngest brother. Scoring 95 on BeerAdvocate this Saison is crafted from American malted barley, American and European hops, Vermont farmhouse yeast.
- Spring House Brewing Co. kept us in the theme of barrel aged stouts! This time in RUM barrels with cocoa nibs and jalapeños! A discontinued beer part of Spring House Brewing’s bottle reserve series we enjoyed Blood Lust! With a dark roast flavor and unmistakable jalapeño kick we broke out the Kleenex for this one!
Looking forward to next time! Pouring out the love and the beer and the fun! I don’t know if I can say it better than I already have, so…
-Jason Hinkle
“Quality beer is part of a lifestyle that values the experience of living, step by step, sip after sip.”