Beer In Review: Connecticut Craft Brewers' Beer Festival

Saturday evening was the 12th Annual Connecticut Craft Brewers' Beer Festival held on the grounds of Jessie Camille's restaurant in Naugatuck. This was only my second time in attendance. Last year, I went with my friend Bob and had a great time. This year, both of our wives, and a friend, joined us. As a result, I didn't get to drink as much this time. I missed out on at least a third of the brewers. When it was just Bob and me, we would just keep going from one brewer to the next, continuing whatever conversation we were having as we moved along. With five people, etiquette takes over and you have to excuse yourself from a conversation to go get another beer. I know, "Bad Dave. Where are your priorities?!"

My only complaint, besides the mere 3 1/2 hours of drinking time, was the 40 minute wait for food. Tammy and I held each other's place in line as we went for bathroom breaks and beer refills. The food was just hamburgers and hot dogs, included in the price of admission, and it was cooked over a large bed of coals. I don't fault the cooks. They did the best they could. Our friend suggested (or was that insisted?) that food vendors be allowed in to offer a choice, even if it meant that they'd charge extra for it. Anyway, I digress from the whole point of this blog entry: rating the beer.

The big guys of the microbrewery scene were there: Boston Beer Company ("Sam Adams"), Magic Hat, Red Hook, Sierra Nevada, Harpoon, Saranac, etc. But little regional guys made up the bulk of brewers. In no particular order.....

Before Tammy and I hit the food line, we stopped by the Boston Beer Company booth. The guy there seemed a bit full of himself, or maybe the company's product. The Sam Adams brand is probably the strongest in the craft beer market, or at least it seems that way here in the Northeast. Anyway, we read in the brewfest beer guide that they brought their Cherry Wheat. We haven't had the Cherry Wheat in a while so we grabbed some of that for the line. It never disappoints. Put your nose in the glass and the cherry aroma glides right in. And it goes down just as smoothly.

I was still pissed off at Magic Hat for discontinuing their Heart of Darkness stout and not making their Ravell vanilla porter this Fall. So I asked the rep what their deal was. He was another salesman high on the brand. He said that it was the public's fault. They didn't buy enough of the beer. I asked if either beer might come back as a seasonal. HoD is dead and it would be a stretch to say that Ravell was a "seasonal." For the record, it's no longer listed on the website. This struck me as a bit stupid. If you're a craft brewer, you don't chuck a recipe because it isn't selling by the truckload. You put it into the seasonal category. They should take a lesson from the guys over at Boston Beer. You can't tell me that a Double Bock is a big seller, but they still keep it around and make a batch or two a year because they don't want to disappoint their customers who like it. Besides #9 (the #1 seller for them which accounts for 50% of sales), there really isn't anything else the Magic Hat makes that I care for. I might take my beer dollars elsewhere. I did try their Circus Boy, a Hefeweizen. It was good, but it didn't make up for the loss of the other two flavors.

Acadia Brewing, one of many good Maine brewers, brought an assortment. I got to try their London Porter. It had a strong smoky flavor that day and was quite yummy.

Endurance is a brewery out of Massachusettes. They named their company after Ernest Shackleton's ship for his ill-fated 1914 trip to the South Pole. You can hit their website if you want more info on that. I tried both their Pale Ale and Glacier Gold. Both beers were good. The Pale Ale wasn't too hoppy and the lemon citrus aroma made me think I should clean my house with the stuff. It's an American Pale Ale, as opposed to India Pale Ale (IPA) so it doesn't have any of that "aged in wood" essence. I liked it more than the Glacier Gold which was a light bodied American blonde ale. It's a decent summer beer.

Ithaca Beer Company was there. I had their Apricot Wheat, which as the name suggests, is a wheat beer with an Apricot flavor. It was a yummy beer. Even Bob, who isn't a fan of Ithaca, liked it.

The North Coast Brewing Company made it all the way from California. I had the Acme California Brown Ale. I remember it being a really good brown ale with mild hops and a smooth malt taste. Probably good year round.

Rock Art Brewery is a lesser known Vermont brewery (Magic Hat and Otter Creek take more mindspace). I had their Red Ale though I wish their porter was there. Don't get me wrong, the Red Ale was good. It was a bit cool that evening and I like to drink porters when the weather is on the cold side.

Smuttynose probably makes one of the best brown ales in the world. Check out Old Brown Dog Ale if you get the chance. The Farmhouse Ale was the beer I got to try on Saturday. It's new. Just got shipped out this month. It's a traditional Saison. Very yummy. Might be a hit.

Southern Tier Brewing Company hails from western NY. Maybe they're Buffalo Sabres fans. Anyway, they made a good Porter.

Paper City Brewery caught my attention with their Wee Heavy Scotch Ale. It's dark and malty and high in alcohol. It's like it combines the best of a porter with the best of a scotch ale. Sadly, it's next to impossible to find them outside of Massachusettes.

But the beer I was most looking forward to after last year's brewfest, was Olde Burnside's Ten Penny Scotch Ale. This is a delicious beer. I even got Tammy hooked on it. And they're nice guys too. No egos here. Now I just have to get my local beer guy to start stocking it.

Next year, I'll hit the food line early so that I can complete the rounds. More beer reviews to come.

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