Alright, so this year I am going to the GABF for the second time and the second year in a row and I am struggling to figure out how to accomplish a successful trip. Last year I walked around in wonderment and ah with the choice of beers that were at my finger tips. I tried whatever was in front of me with only a few must haves on my list. I think this year I need to tailor my trip to a couple styles to more effectively find the cream of the crop. So now my decision is what styles.
Looking at the GABF map of what brewers are going to be there is staggering. There is a new feature this year, an audio walking tour. This is a great idea and will be ready to download from The Brewing Network in the coming weeks. This might be the way to go and listen to this before I go, but it might be too late and it might be to overwhelming. So I am back to what styles should I focus on??
I hit the IIPAs pretty hard last year and definitely won't pass up a couple this year, after all it is the only time I can have Pliny the Elder, but I don't want my palate blown out in a couple of minutes so the IIPAs will be kept to a minimum. I also know that I will hit New Glarus to get some Belgian Red which is a sour cherry wheat and is fantastic but do I want that to be the start of a sour beer tour?? Maybe.
I have had recent thoughts of finding the perfect session beer, so do I go after the bitters, pales, browns and such?? That is high on my list right now, especially because that is what I want to learn to brew. Another style high on my list is lagers, all kinds of lagers.
I think I have found the winner, it will be LAGERS, with a few sprinklings of some of my favorites here and there. I will definitely be more prepared this year, with palate cleansing pretzels and no hangover from too much time at Falling Rock the night before, this should be a much more successful trip to the GABF. Anyway you look at it, it will be fun.
So what are your suggestions? What will you hit if you are going? Are you going?
11 comments:
I'm not going this year, but I do have a protocol for fests. I usually start out with the milder beers, after that it's just pretty much a free-for-all. I figure, you don't remember many particulars of the beers anyway (whether because of all the choices, your inebriation level, or both)...so why not just go nuts and have fun.
WOW your first year sounded like my first year at GABF!! the falling rock hangover and all!!
Last year (year #2) we had a TEAM game plan, there were 4 of us, and we each took a grouping
(Me)Stouts and Porters
(2) Pale Ale & IPA's
(3) Sour beers ;?
(4) Other belgium beers
This way we each always tried our favorite types but if someone else on the 'team' had a good beer we'd all go back and try that one.
It worked out great, and as a 'team' we tried 66 beers in one session!
We'll probably do similar this year, although we do have a GABF virgin with us this year, and I think it might be hard to keep him 'under control' ;0)
Nate,
I think you will be pleasantly suprised at the lack of waiting in line going after less popular beers like low gravity ales and lagers. Many of the GABF attendees are just there to get PISSED!! You my friend are on a beer mission and you should take that seriously, but not too seriously. You are a head of the next big thing to hit the craft beer world. Session beers!!! Beers that are flavorful, but very easy to drink. Session beers are the buzz word out in Cali right now. The guys on TBN talk of them all the time. I think that session beers are the next fad in the American Craft Brew Scene. I just hope that this fad stays with us for a long time!!! I personally am getting tired of the over the top high gravity Imperial this and Double that thing. Flavors can be wonderful without being completely robust and overpowering to the pallet!!!!! You don't need to drink a 10% ABV beer with egg plant or some other crazy ingredient in it to be drinking a good beer!!! Drinking any style of beer as long as it is expertly made is what matters. And drinking lots of that particular beer is awesome in the case of lower gravity ales and lagers.
Ok, I will get off my soapbox now.
Peace out
Hey, Chris, is this some bait for me? I finally figured out my log in for this site again.
You've got it all backwards, Chris. Session beer is not the next big thing. Its not the buzz. They aren't the next fad. I don't even like the term session beer, really. I'd rather call it beer.
Its what beer is supposed to be. Those are the beers that take skill to make. I'm talking about good ones, by the way. I see no reason not to set the bar high. That's what stools are for, right?
The fads are the overhopped high ABV beers that have no balance and no nuance. Beers any monkey could make by constantly adding hops throughout the boil.
The plan though. Still don't know if I'm going, the guys I work for just ignore my emails on the subject. I'm not excited about going, really, but there will be lots of people there to meet. That's where my interest lies...
Looking over the list, here are some I'm curious about:
21st Amendment
Central Waters
Big Time
Blind Tiger (KS brewpub, not NYC beer bar)
Brugge Brasserie
Dragonmead
Great Lakes
High & Mighty
Jolly Pumpkin
Russian River
Oscar Blues
Pelican
Southampton
Surly
New Mexico Brewer's Guild
Magnolia
Port and associated Pizza Ports
Elysian
Wish we could get lists of what they were pouring, then I'd know what I was really interested in...
oh yeah, Nate, is New Glarus really sour? Seems like their stuff tasted like cherry pie to me. We'll have to get you a real Kriek.
Cheers
matt
You know what I'm going to say, Nate... go for the browns and the milds. Session beers are your friends!
And I'll be more than happy to help you tweak your recipes :)
-- Gary F.
Matt, no New Glarus is not a true sour beer and I knew someone would catch that but as opposed to going into a long description of the beer I just call it that. It is sour and tart but not like a Kriek or La Folie, it is sour and tart like a cherry pie. But, if I am looking at keeping the palate in the same general area it would be on the sour list. Hell, it is on the list no matter what.
I am with CJ and Foz on this too, session beers or just beers are the next fad. You are going to see less big beers coming down the line in the next couple years if for no other reason than economics of grain and hop prices. They are hard to make right and that is the beauty of them I believe. Foz is definite a very good brewer of these styles and I know that CJ is working on them, haven't tried many of his yet. I will probably start doing the same real soon, of course if I keep missing my SG low I won't have to worry about it because I already am. :-)
Great responses, keep em coming!!
Looks like I'm not going. The boss says no. If you are set on the New Glarus beer, I suggest bringing a Belgian waffle along and pouring that cherry syrup on it. Seems like the best thing to do with it. Or maybe ice cream.
I hope you find some good lagers there. And not just Oktoberfests and Hefeweizens. Capital from WI might have something good. Great Lakes Elliot Ness is a nice big lager. Who knows who else might have something good...
What's Trevor bringing??
Cheers
matt
seg,
You crazy beer man.....you know what I thought you would totally agree with me. I was certainly not bating you...but I bet you are just pulling my leg here because you know that YOU and I have many of the same ideas on beer.
Seriously though, I thought about what I typed last night a little bit after I had posted. But I didn't want to change my original post. Basically, we are both right seg!! Session beers are nothing new. Most breweries have been making low to medium gravity beers forever. Some breweries even make really damn fine tasting beers of this type. But I really do think the next big bubble in the craft beer scene is that of full flavor low to medium gravity ales and lagers.
I may not be as bold in my messages as you seg, but believe me that we have the same ideals here when it comes to how beer should be made. We even have some of the same ideas about certain breweries across the country.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am headed down to the Huber Haus tomorrow (9-28-07) and I will probably have some Ofest and maybe even a big bock bier or something. But my truly favorite German lagers are those that are flavorful and light in ETOH. I like the flavor of BEER. I like to drink beer!!! But the older I get the less my body can withstand the side effects of ETOH!!! So, that means that I am gravitating towards lower gravity offerings.
Beer is beer until it is a wonderful, beautiful, hand crafted product that oozes originality and perfection. Then it is not just beer, but art amd enjoyment. I don't understand more traditional art forms like that of paintings and such. But I do understand and enjoy the bliss of sitting in an open air cafe on a nice spring/summer day and enjoying a beautifully hand crafted beer for 10-20 minutes and letting my taste buds just soak in all they can of the numerous balanced flavors that a well crafted ale or lager has to offer.
That my friend is what craft beer is all about. Not about the double hopped, extra high gravity, egg plant beer!!!
Peace out!!
I hope you all enjoyed my little rant!!
Matt, I love New Glarus, I think it is fantastic for what it is. To each their own huh Matt. I thought Hefe's were ales, am I wrong???
Nah, Nate, you are right, Hefe's are ales...not sure what I was thinking...I guess that when most American brewers decide to do a "German" beer it is either a Hefe or Ofest. A few do bocks.
I'm all for to each his own, but when I see somebody say New Glarus Cherry Pie is sour I have to say something. Cuz it isn't...its rather sweet. The Raspberry one was where I noted a bit of acidity and tartness, although it was still a lot of sweet.
For me, sour is sour...This "sweet and sour" stuff is just gross. Tastes like soda.
I've had some of their other beers and thought they were fairly good (not the raspberry one, though I slightly preferred it to the Cherry).
And Chris, I just don't think good beer is a fad. That was my point. Nebraska just seems to be finding out that brewers across the country have been making these over the top beers for years, and already people are getting tired of them. I've got much more to say about this, but I'll do so off this blog...I should add I've given up apologizing for my thoughts. Dan and I talked about this for awhile in Belgium, and tried to drill it into some writers that were there. Way too many people treat beer with kid gloves, afraid to say what they think, instead saying "its not for me" at best. There are opinions, but some opinions are wrong and uninformed. There is black and white. Maybe you might like white, but that doesn't mean we have to act like its grey. We'll call it white.
OK, I'm done taking over the blog...I'll go forget how to log in for awhile again...
Cheers
matt
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