The Drink Craft Beer Guide to Extreme Beer Fest
There are few fests, if any, that we look forward to as much as BeerAdvocate's Extreme Beer Fest. This year is actually exceptionally interesting as the Alström brothers have requested that each brewer bring a session ale. We love the idea that Extreme Beer doesn't just mean insane amounts of booze but rather innovative flavors and combinations. For that reason this year's fest is really something special. But how does one navigate the huge selection of beers being offered? In our younger days we attempted to try them all; let's just say that while we may or may not have done that, no one in their right mind would call that endeavor a "success." We've created a list of our top 20 beers that we HAVE to try this weekend. If you're coming to the fest (or just want to see how it's going), be sure to check us out on twitter @drinkcraftbeer where we'll be tweeting from Session 1 on Saturday. Also if you see us feel free to swing by and say hi, we'll have DrinkCraftBeer stickers on hand so don't be shy asking for one. (That's us in the picture to the right by the way (L to R: Devon, Jeff, Brian).
Allagash - Big Little Beer : Hoppy Session Beer - 5.5%
Why do we need to try this? Because it's a hoppy session beer; although this one is pushing the limits of "session" for us the idea of a lower abv hoppy beer from Allagash can't be a bad thing
Avery - Meph Addict : Belgian Imperial Stout/Coffee Toddy - 16%
Who needs Four Loko? This sounds waaaaay better.
CBC - Banryu Ichi : Beer/Sake hybrid/Barley/Rice/Koji + Sake yeast - 15%
The idea of a beer/sake hybrid is intriguing in itself. When you add the fact that it's been brewed by Cambridge Brewing Company, a brewery with a strong track record for successful experiments, then you've got something that we can't pass up.
Dark Horse - Uber-Boober Cream Ale: Barleywine 2nd runnings/Baby formula - 4.2%
Honestly this one is pure morbid curiosity. The idea of drinking baby formula weirds us out but at the same time we feel like we have to try. We'll try and snag this one early so follow us on twitter to get our take on it. Jeff is a little wary of trying it, even out of morbid curiosity.
Berkshire - ESDK: Extremely Session-able Dark Kolsch/Dry-hopped w/ Saaz - 4.3%
This one is super simple: it's a hoppy session ale from a long-time local brewery. Nothing more than what it appears, but sometimes simple is awesome...especially at a fest featuring beers made with jelly beans, baby formula and marshmallows.
Dogfish Head - Kombucha Brew : BA+DFH love/Tea leaves/Lemon peel/Kombucha culture - 4%
Devon has recently been on a bit of a Kombucha kick so this one was particularly interesting. With warm weather on the way this sounds amazingly refreshing and sessionable.
Captain Lawrence - Saturday's Sour Blend 2011 : Sour Ale w/ berries - 8%
Captain Lawrence wooed us with their sours at the last EBF they were at. We're just stoked to see some more of these, since they're one of the breweries we don't get up here in Massachusetts. We love sour beer!
Dark Horse - Ginger in the Rye : Imperial Red/Ginger/Rye whiskey bbl - 9.5%
We discovered Dark Horse back on a road trip out to the great lakes. Our first beer from them was Crooked Tree IPA and since then we've been fans. This is the first time we've heard of adding ginger to a beer that's been aged in whiskey barrels. Honestly we're having a hard time trying to imagine exactly what it will taste like, guess we'll have to find out.
Firestone Walker - Lil' Opal (oak-aged): Farmhouse Saison - 3.8%
Saisons are one of the best style of beer out there in our opinions, being refreshing and delicious in any season. Additionally, this one is super sessiony at 3.8% abv. We've been on a session beer kick lately, so this sounds perfect! If it's good, we might have to have several samples!
Founders - All Day IPA: Session IPA - 4.7%
Founders isn't known to disappoint us... which is saying a lot since we spent 2 days in their Michigan tap room drinking everything they had. The only problem is they make a lot of big beers, so it's great to see something a little more drinkable from them. File this under Session Beers we hope to see bottled!
Shorts - Almond Joy, Pineapple Upsidedown and Carrot Cake
Shorts is crazy. That is all. We'll try these and get back to you. Crazy bastards...
Harpoon - Jimbo & the Technicolor Hop Sack: Czech Mild/Aggressively hopped - 3.5%
Mostly the name...and the fact that they're combining Czech with a British Mild...and aggressively hopping it. We're curious and, given the alcohol on it, we can afford to be.
Hill Farmstead - Flora: Saison/Bretty/Bbl-age - 5%
We love Saisons. We love brett. We love barrels. We love session beer. This hits them all.
Sierra Nevada - Saison de Haricot : Saison/Jelly Belly jelly beans - 4.5%
Again, morbid curiosity. Jelly Beans? Why? At least they used Jelly Belly jelly beans! But we're kind of angry they may have messed up a perfectly good saison. We'll report back!
Sixpoint - Purple Reign: Listed as experimental, but we love love them so we have to try it Experimental - 8.7%
We have no idea what this is but Sixpoint has been a favorite of ours ever since we had our first sip of Righteous Rye. It's rare that these guys put out a bad beer so for that reason alone this gets our vote.
Stone - Stone Supremely Self Conscious Ale: Black Mild Ale/Dry-hopped - 3.5%
Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is a delicious black IPA. So of course we have to try it's shy baby brother! Again, we're loving this session beer tip that EBF is on, because it makes it easier for us to try a lot of stuff!
Wormtown - MassWhole: Special Bitter/100% MA grown - 3.9%
We've always been fans of local, be that beer or food so we have to give these guys props for doing a 100% MA grown beer. We've also been on a session beer kick so at 3.9% this is definitely on our must try list. We're loving the addition of session beers in general to this years fest. Big props to the Alstrom brothers for making this change.
Wormtown - Egg Nog Ale: Cream Ale/BBL-aged/Vanilla/Nutmeg/Lactose
Wormtown seems to be pulling some Shorts Brewery-type craziness! OK, we'll check it out and see what the crazy is all about...plus they make a lot of tasty beer, so we have high expectations for this one.
To see the complete list of beer for Saturday's fest, check out BeerAdvocate.com.
Your Favorite Craft Beer Trend Poll
While variety has generally been a consistent part of Craft Beer, trends come and go all the time. In the past years we've seen quite a few "next big things" roll through the subculture that is Craft Beer. Some are quickly forgotten, while others change the landscape of brewing for the long-term.
At any time there are many different trends happening. Some are a flash in the pan and others are legitimate shifts in the industry. That said, we want to know which trend happening right now is your favorite. Which would you like to see more of? Vote, then let us know why you voted that way on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section below! Also, of the trend you chose, what's your favorite Craft Beer in that style? Happy Friday! Cheers!
Add a commentWhat Is Your ABV% Cut-Off For A "Session Beer?"
For years Craft Beer Drinkers had an attitude of "bigger is better" when it comes to beer. Lately, though, we've seen a shift to people looking for brews that are big on flavor but lower on alcohol. These are beers that you can drink several pints of and still hold a conversation; maybe it even enhances the conversation!
Now we know that the UK has a long standing history of Session Beers. We're a couple of nations separated by a common language, though, so we want to hear what YOU, our (predominantly) North American audience, think!
What do you perceive the alcohol by volume cut-off line for a session beer to be? Remember, we're not talking a beer that you like to drink a lot of...we like to drink a lot of Imperial Stout sometimes, but those aren't session beers! So vote, then let us know why you voted that way on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section below! Also, what's your favorite session beer?
Add a comment
