HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4052
Loc: Paradise
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Well, I made it back home. I left my notes at home, so I can't post up exactly what all I tried.
Let me first say that words cannot describe the event. If you like craft beer at all, this is a MUST ATTEND event.
A buddy and I attended the Thursday night session. Got in the building at 6pm. I had a map marked with appx 20 brewers that I wanted to sample first & foremost. After we hit those, we decided we'd just browse around and hit whatever we wanted. I didn't know what to expect and I didn't know how many different beers we could realistically sample. I figured 30-40 (1 oz) samples would be a good night, since I had heard (read) from veterans of this event that they hit 60-70 in a night. I took a small note pad, mainly to keep track of how many beers I tried and I also rated them on a scale of 1-10. I know that at the end of the night, alot more samples were given higher ratings than at the beginning... 
All in all I had over 60 samples of beer from 6pm till last pour at 9:45. I was amazed when I got back and counted them all. I only gave one beer a 10 out of all that I tried. It was a fest beer (Maerzen style) from Grand Teton Brewing. Sweet nectar of love was it good. I went back to their booth 3 times (and no there wasn't a hotty serving it either) 
I sampled everything from light lagers to imperial stouts. I pu$$ed out on the barleywines. I sampled beers from Massachusetts to Hawaii and Alaska.
Just from memory, the ones that stood out as being different than anything I had ever tried were, a couple blueberry ales, a pumpkin ale (From California, I think), a black licorice beer and a wood aged IPA from a brewery in Omaha. I ate just before we left for the event so I didn't feel too bad when I left. I was buzzed pretty good, but not stumblin drunk. I took a small bag of pretzels and stuffed them in my pocket. Let me say the fad at this event is the pretzel necklace. If you don't have one on, you suck..
Ozark, I talked to a brewer in attendance from BJ's. He knew Toby, but said Toby was unable to make the trip. I didn't ask why or why not.
I'll post up exactly what all I tried later on this week, when I get caught up on everything.
All I can say now is that nothing will ever top this event other than attending the next one.
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HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4052
Loc: Paradise
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Okay, here is my list. Looking back on my scale I would say that 7-9, I would buy a sixer or more of it. 4-6, I would drink it if someone gave me one and 1-3 was pretty bad as far as my taste goes and 10, well it was the best I had ever tasted.
Bluegrass Brewing Co - Louisville, KY
www.bluegrassbrew.com
Nut Brown Ale = 6
Hast Fest = 3
Krebs Brewing Co - Krebs, OK
www.petes.org
Amber Ale = 8
Pale Ale = 4
BJ?s Restaurant & Brewery ? Brea, CA
www.bjsrestaurants.com
Oktoberfest = 9
Rock Bottom Brewery ? Westminster, CO
www.rockbottom.com
Munich Lager = 3
Wolf Pack Brewing Co ? West Yellowstone, MT
www.wolfpackbrewingcompany.com
Alt Bier = 9
Dillon DAM Brewery ? Dillon, CO
www.dambrewery.com
Sweet George?s Brown = 8
Dam Straight Lager = 6
EPA = 4
Estes Park Brewery ? Estes Park, CO
www.epbrewery.com
Samson Stout = 5
Golden City Brewery ? Golden, CO
www.gcbrewery.com
Legendary Red = 9
Mad Molly?s Brown Ale = 7
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group ? Boulder, CO
www.gordonbiersch.com
Roggen = 7
The Grand Lake Brewing Co ? Grand Lake, CO
www.grandlakebrewing.com
Nut Brown = 7
Grand Teton Brewing Co ? Victor, ID
www.grandtetonbrewing.com
Marzen = 10
Laughing Dog Brewing ? Ponder, ID
www.laughingdogbrewing.com
Cream Ale = ?
IPA = ?
CSB = ? (Forgot to rate these
Madison River Brewing Co ? Belgrade, MT
www.madisonriverbrewing.com
Honey Rye = 9
Scotch Ale = 7
Montana Brewing Co ? Billings, MT
No website yet. Try www.montanabrewingcompany.com
Fat Belly Amber = 8
Mtn Sun/Southern Sun Pub & Brewery ? Boulder, CO
www.mountainsunpub.com
Russian Stout = 7
Marin Brewing Co ? Larkspur, CA
www.marinbrewing.com
Blueberry Ale = 8
Copper Mtn, CO
(Had some beer here. Never found out what it was. Prolly elk piss cause I gave it a 2)
Boston Beer Co ? Boston, MA
www.samadams.com
Sam Adams Oktoberfest = 8
Buffalo Bill?s Brewery ? Hayward, CA
www.buffalobillsbrewery.com
Blueberry Oatmeal Stout = 8
Pumpkin Ale = 8
Upstream Brewing Co ? Omaha, NE
www.upstreambrewing.com
Oak Aged IPA = 8 (I was pretty impressed with the flavor of this one)
Thunderhead Brewing ? Kearney, NE
www.thunderheadbrewing.com
Cornhugger Sunset Ale = 7
Ceremony Tatanka IPA = 9
Mueller/Springfield Brewing Co ? Springfield, MO
www.springfieldbrewingco.com
Marzen = 6
Short?s Brewing Co ? Bellaire, MI
www.shortsbrewing.com
Licorice Ale = 8
Hop?s Grill & Brewery ? Denver, CO
www.hopsrestaurants.com
Hoptoberfest = 8
Kona Brewing Co ? Kailua-Kona, HI
www.konabrewingco.com
Castaway IPA = 8
Longboard Island Lager = 5
Maui Brewing Co ? Lahaina, HI
www.mauibrewingco.com
Big Swell IPA = 8
Schooner?s Grille & Brewery ? Antioch, CA
www.schoonersbrewery.com
Oktoberfest = 8
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co ? Chico, CA
www.sierranevada.com
Pale Ale = 7
Wood Aged IPA = 6
Willamette Brewery ? Eugene, OR
www.willamettebrewery.com
Amber Ale = 8
Widmer Bros Brewing Co ? Portland, OR
www.widmer.com
Oktoberfest = 7
Alaskan Brewing Co ? Juneau, AK
www.alaskanbeer.com
IPA = 8
(Wanted to try more here, but they were swamped. Didn?t want to get my ass kicked for hanging around the table too long)
Diamond Knot Pub & Brewery ? Mukilteo, WA
www.diamondknot.com
Shipwreck = 9
Montana Brewing Co ? Billings, MT
Sandbagger = 7
Bend Brewing Co ? Bend OR
www.bendbrewing.com
Hophead = 7
Rock Bottom Brewery ? Westminster, CO
www.rockbottom.com
Rocktoberfest = 9
Los Gatos Brewing Co ? Los Gatos, CA
www.lgbrewingco.com
Oktoberfest = 9
Upstream Brewing Co ? Omaha, NE
www.upstreambrewing.com
IPA = 8
(Went back to try the oak aged IPA and they were out)
Free State Brewing Co ? Lawrence, KS
www.freestatebrewing.com
Ad Astra Ale = 7
McGuire?s Irish Pub ? Destin, FL
www.mcguiresirishpub.com
Double Red = 3
(Had a super strong alcohol taste)
Abita Brewing Co ? Abita Springs, LA
www.abita.com
Abita Amber = 7
Fall Fest = 7
I also tried the Coors Banquet and then they had a pre-prohibition Banquet which had more color and flavor.
And to also make myself appreciate where I was, I went over to the Miller booth about halfway thru and tried a MGD. Just as I remembered, panther piss. It was the only beer I poured out and it cost me a few extra pretzels to rid myself of that burnt hair taste
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Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
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Ozark
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4012
Loc: out in the woods
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Haus - It sounds like you had a REAL good time at the GABF.
Back in the 1980's when the brewpub and micro thing was really getting started, it was interesting to watch how the market shook itself out.
It seemed like so many new breweries would come up with a great name and logo, do some fancy decorating, then at the last minute say "Oh, hey, I guess we gotta brew some beer". Some micro beers were very good, but a surprising number were very bad.
Market forces work, though. Those who made bad beer were out of business real quick - in spite of the great names and pretty logos. Those who made good beer prospered. Beer quality has improved overall now, and no one would bring some of the swill of the early 1980's to the GABF.
I notice you gave Mueller's in Springfield a 6. That's about right, in my opinion. I know the Mueller brewery is a showcase to sell their brewing equipment - but with the setup they've got, they oughta be making some great beer instead of just good beer.
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HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4052
Loc: Paradise
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Yeah I was kinda disappointed in Mueller's Oktoberfest. They had one of the nicest setups at the event, with a 6 tap setup going, while most others were just pouring out of a pitcher. One of the taps was just water and they would rinse your glass for you before pouring a sample. I think if I had not tried 40 some odd samples prior, I might not have ranked them as low, but when you've covered some ground all night, you taste the range. I know my rankings are purely my opinions and my buddy couldn't stand any of the brown ales which I think are pretty good. I don't think I would make a good judge cause I have my favorite styles and look at alot of other styles diffently in a less desirable way. I tried to sample some of the stouts and was surprised at how well they tasted, but normally I stay away from the chocolates and coffee flavors. One style I don't think I'll get a taste for is wheat beers. Don't know why, but they just don't do anything for me.
I know I tried more than what I wrote down, but due to excitement, and maybe the urge to go piss, I forgot to write em all down. Of course, there are a few on the list that I hit more than once.
One thing I did enjoy was sniffin the beer all night. My bud made fun of me, but some of the beers smelled awesome and sometimes smelled better than they tasted...
One beer I like to drink, but hate to smell is fat tire. Man, it smells like a wet dog to me, but the taste is good.
I was going to ask you, can you yourself sample a beer and know what kind of hops are in it just by taste?
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Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
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Ozark
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4012
Loc: out in the woods
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Quote:
HAUS said:
I was going to ask you, can you yourself sample a beer and know what kind of hops are in it just by taste?
Not really. I can tell what hop family the hop is from. The "noble" hops are the German/Czech hop group that's used mostly in lagers. Spalt, Tettnanger, Mittlefruh, Hallertauer, Saaz, etc. Hallertauer has kind of a pleasant piney smell to me, and Saaz seems kind of buttery, but I doubt I could tell you the exact variety from tasting a beer.
The English ale hops are another "family" - Fuggles, Kent Goldings, etc. I can tell those every time, but not the exact variety. American hop varieties, Northern Brewer, Cluster, Cascade, etc. are real good but not that distinctive. I sure couldn't tell just which one of those was in a beer.
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HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4052
Loc: Paradise
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So 11 years ago, I attended the Great American Beer Festival for the first time. It was pretty cool to look thru this post again.
This year, it'll be my first year as a Brewer at the GABF.
Over 800 breweries and over 4000 different beers. It's still surreal to think about being on the production side vs consumption.
What a ride it's been getting to this point. Proud to represent our lil town and one of six from MO.
I tracked down Ozark recently so I could reminisce about him helping me start homebrewing and now it's led to doing it for money. Thank ya Sam!
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Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
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wuchang
spiritual advisor and gatekeeper to the Spirit World
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 5209
Loc: uphill
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Congrats
It always is an accomplishment to turn a pastime into a paying business and still enjoy doing it
Glad it works for you-- and again congratulations.
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HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4052
Loc: Paradise
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Thanks Bill. I know that you know firsthand about making it into a business. We made it back home late Sunday. It was quite an event. 65k people over 3 days. 800+ breweries and over 4k different beers to sample. There was 8900+ beers entered in the competition alone.. A record!
We met thousands of people and had nothing but great feedback on our beers. I was very pleased.
Here's some pics from our instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn-Al9xngTS/?hl=en&taken-by=indian_springs_brewing
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoB8nglHOxm/?hl=en&taken-by=indian_springs_brewing
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoDnr03H2rS/?hl=en&taken-by=indian_springs_brewing
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Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
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