| Brewfest Mania By Glenn DeLuca For BeerNexus.com Here a Brewfest, there a Brewfest, everywhere a Brewfest…recently attended the AC Beer and Music Festival. It’s barely the beginning of probably the heaviest festival season and I feel festivaled out already or maybe I just need to catch my breath from this one. I’m not a festival aficionado, going all the time, but been to my share; TAP NY a few times, Harborfest International in Mamaroneck, NY a couple of times, Sierra Nevada Beer Camp in Philly and Sun BeerFest at the Mohegan Sun in CT would be the biggies I can think of. Although some positive points I’d have to rate AC near the bottom. Definitely large, the list of breweries was about 170, which included quite a few ciders also. They grouped all the NJ brewers in one section which I thought was a great idea, so you could check out all the new ones you’ve never tasted or even heard of. And the non- craft crafts were there also; Blue Moon, Blue Point, Goose Island, etc. More foreign brewers than I expected although we know “some” of these are not brewed overseas and shipped, they just brew them here. So absolutely more than enough to choose from. Longer lines at some of the more popular brewers, but for those you wanted to try they moved quickly or just go to a not as popular name with a smaller line. Was not pleased with the small “plastic” tasting mug; have always gotten real glass and prefer that; maybe they think some might break, must be cheaper. And this was billed as a Beer and Music festival so when the bands were playing it was definitely loud and hard to hear yourself much less any of the companions you came with and were trying to enjoy the experience with. I am remembering other festivals that had bands but when they’re outdoors you’re not forced to listen, you could speak to brewers and companions and be heard. Prior to the event they did have a YouTube with tips on how to enjoy the festival, which was good. Also other YouTubes where they visited NJ breweries, which gave you some insight into ones you haven’t had. They also had an app so I downloaded it. Got the list of breweries but the map was small and it didn’t appear I could correlate who was where; could be my lack of app skills or could be their lack of good instruction or could be they didn’t include that making the map part fairly useless. They did have three or four demos each session, but nothing that was going to pull me away from my tasting goals. They had a list of >100 exhibitors, but if I had to count I probably saw maybe 25, although again I wasn’t there to shop, I was there to taste so unless it really peaked my interest I wasn’t stopping. Although there was the nut specific beer or beer nut specific or…well the idea was you eat a different nut with whatever beer you’re drinking, like an IPA or porter or…sorry I don’t have the greatest taste buds but this wasn’t all that good. And a bunch had to be in the food court, which I never walked through, based on a late breakfast and my pretzel necklace. If I had to pick a favorite festival I’d have to say it’s HarborFest up in Mamaroneck. The first year we did the VIP tix which got us in an hour early and our own tent with some special beers the common folk didn’t get plus food. The additions were definitely worth the higher price. Last year they upped the ante; they added another level above VIP called Brewmaster. So the hour early, the VIP tent with special beers and food the Brewmaster tent next to it, where they were pouring The Alchemist’s Heady Topper and Hill Farmstead Double Citra and Brother Soigne…WOW. And to top that every half hour, starting at 1:30 they’ll pour something else like Lawson’s Finest Sip of Summertime IPA, Mikkeller Citra Imperial, Cantillon Vigneronne, Brassiere Du Brocq Blanche de Namur…does it get any better than this? Yes it does as we’re going back and forth between the BrewMaster and VIP tents. VIP has Dogfish Head 120 Minute, Brooklyn Krieg, Goose Island Gillian, Lazy Magnolia and more. Oh and yes there was tons of good food in the VIP tent that we noshed on for a few hours. But there were also two other very large tents so we made the effort to leave our comfort zone and do some other scoping and we were not disappointed, finding new breweries like Bull and Barrel, Radiant Pig and Broken Bow to name a few that had some really nice beers. Also got my first try of Guinness Nitro IPA and was pleasantly surprised. This festival will definitely be on my list this coming fall. Tap NY would be #2 and although after a few times it gets repetitious there are new breweries added every year. Part of the fun is the bus ride up with many of my Draught Board 15 comrades; and a two hour ride back isn’t a bad thing either. I remember their first which wasn’t called Tap NY until the third year, held at the CIA, oh sorry the Culinary Institute in the Hudson Valley. Being 19 years ago it was much smaller and intimate and with the food made the CIA, it clearly could have been called a Beer and Food Festival. Unfortunately I’m busy that weekend this year and won’t make it. Which also means I won’t make the Pizzeria Uno Cask event that Saturday either; not really a festival, but a nice event with typically a good selection of crafts casks available. As I said this is probably the heaviest festival season and I’m seeing and hearing about Tap NY, Brew @ The Zoo, Wildwood Beer, HarponFest (up in Beantown), Beer BBQ & Bacon Showdown, Mondial de la Biere Festival in Montreal (now there’s a great city if you want to combine some site seeing with your beer festival especially since it is a jaunt; I do wonder if it’s more like a British or European festival where you buy what you want or ours where one price gets you in) and I see a bunch in the Philly area, which is just about as close as Tap. So there’s a lot to choose from and when they’re in Montreal or Boston or Baltimore (upcoming Homebrewers Conference) or NH or PA, there’s always the idea of making it part of a vacation trip. I think a festival here and there works for me. With the availability of new brews I can stop at my go to, the Cloverleaf, any day for a decent selection of their 24 taps or for a tap takeover and get a seat, enjoy a flight or two, chat with friends and the knowledgeable staff and it not be a big production. And there are other good choices; Nicole’s Ten, Morris Tap & Grill, Gaslight, 381 Main, Hat Tavern and a slightly longer drive the Shep and the Knucklehead or the Taproom, so I don’t have to wait for a festival to taste something different and good. Okay so when and where is the next great festival????? Glenn DeLuca writes about beer and culture of drinking. He may be reached by writing thebigG@beernexus.com. *** *** *** |
Glenn DeLuca
Outtakes from a life of beer.
beernexus.com presents
| Big G's Beer Beat by Glenn DeLuca |
| BeerNexus is proud to welcome beer writer Glenn "Big G" DeLuca as a contributor to the site. A widely traveled beer hunter, Glenn is a leading advocate for the growth of craft beer. |
| More from the BIG G The complete index of all Big G's Beer Beat HERE |
click to enlarge pictures
 |
| |
 |
|
| |
|
.