Had the Budweiser American Ale at a local pub up here. The bar manager is going to carry it, obviously, and wanted my opinion. I thought it was bland as hell. no hop character, nothing. It tasted like Bud with a little caramel malt, and fermented warm instead of cold. In other words, I was completely disappointed.

My recent drinking has been limited to my own brews. Took my stout and my American lager to a family reunion. With samples, etc, there was about 4.5 gallons in each keg. We killed all 9 gallons. I was happy with the reviews I was getting from family. I stuck with the stout, as I'm just not a big fan of the American lager style (BudMillerCoors, et al), but it went over well also. Bottom line, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this brew stuff.

Now, of course, I'm basically out of beer. I have about 4 gallons of IPA left, but two of my three taps on my kegerator are empty at the moment. Oh well, another excuse to brew!

I'll be off the board for a weekend two weeks from now, out in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival. This'll be my fifth year running. 400+ brewers and over 1900 beers, unlimited one-ounce samples. It's mecca for beer lovers.

I'll probably have a nice report on some good ones when I get back. The problem is finding ones that are available in Missouri or Kansas. That's not always that easy.

Sounds good John, though they should really consider changing the name of The Great American Beer Festival... at least try not to say American before Beer. The Great American Festival of BEER! That said, all American beers are certainly not bad. I went to the Springfield Brewing Co. for dinner the other night and had the Mudhouse stout (a coffee stout) and their Märzen... both very good beers.

But it is American beer. In this fest, it's only American beers. No imports. That's the beauty of it. We've taken styles from other countries and bested their products. Other countries are now sending their brewers here to learn what we're doing to make such great beers.

Does that mean every American brewery makes good beer every time? Not by a long shot. I've had some beer that would better serve as an ipecac. But for the most part, American brewers are the driving force behind the industry today. To that end, the Great American Beer Festival is the place to be for beer drinkers for that weekend. As I mentioned, this is my fifth year in a row, the twenty-sixth for the fest itself, and it gets better every year. Just some really, really good stuff to be had. Long live beer, and long live American brewers!

quote:

Originally posted by John O:
But it is American beer.

Too bad the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear "American Beer" is water that may or may not have been tainted with some yellow foamy substance, likely to be goat urine.

quote:

In this fest, it's only American beers. No imports. That's the beauty of it. We've taken styles from other countries and bested their products. Other countries are now sending their brewers here to learn what we're doing to make such great beers.

Sounds good!

quote:

To that end, the Great American Beer Festival is the place to be for beer drinkers for that weekend.

I'll make it some time then probably. Always in Denver? Seems like they'd want to hold it as FAR away from Coors as possible.

Hah! They hold it in Denver because it's the nearest large city to Boulder, where the American Brewers Association is headquartered. Always in Denver, always late September, early October.

And you're not alone in the thought that "American beer" means the BudMilCoors macro stuff. Those beers have their place (everyone has to mow a lawn at some point, right?), but they do [i]not[/]i by any means represent American beer. There are three big brewers, four if you count Pabst and their collection of smaller brews, but there are literally hundreds if not thousands of smaller craft brewers (and slightly larger "regional" brewers like Boulevard) that make up the American beer scene. There is so much more going on with American beer that the "big three" it isn't even funny. Without a doubt the best craft beer on the market today is made right here in the USA. It's just that archaic distribution laws prevent a good deal of it from ever making it to most states.

But that's part of the fun of the fest. You get to try stuff you'll never get elsewhere, unless you end up in state "X", since that's the only place brewery "Y" distributes. It truly is a beer wonderland. A great festival, a great time, and worth every penny it takes to get there and back.

Out for dinner again tonight--this time to a nice quiet steak joint. They had some interesting concoctions, and my girl had a one of those fruity rum drinks that wasn't bad. They had Hoegaarden White on tap, which was so-so, but since I decided to order ribs, for my second glass I ordered Guinness, and I was glad because I love it with barbeque. Certain beers definitely go better with certain foods. A lot of folks like the Corona and the lime beers with Mexican, but I prefer a good Amber. The Hoegaarden would have been fine with a sirloin, and I usually get Foster's or a dark lager with steak. And call me crazy but I still like Grolsch with German food--although I think St. Bernardus may replace it as my favorite with bratwurst. Still haven't tried Duvel--damn primitive State I'm in...

How soon is the fest, John? And when you get some time, could you give us a review of some of your favorite American brews?

I prefer quantity over quality. I'm out for a buzz

Trust me Newman, one 22oz bottle of Belgian Tripel will give you a serious buzz--it has as much alcohol content as a bottle of wine.

Yeah, I remember drinking one of those, Pete. I was at home, so I didn't have to drive afterwards, so that was a good thing. I also remember having a Quadruple on another night and I would have been classified as being drunk, with just one 22oz bottle.

I'll be glad to, Pete. I'll do it tonight when I get home from work.

The Great American Beer Festival is this week/weekend, Pete. I go out on Thursday to attend that night's session, then we do our "traditional" brewery tour of northern Colorado on Friday, and attend the Saturday afternoon "Member's Only" session for American Homebrewer's Association members, where they give away the awards for the competition.

As for reviews, here are a few I've copied from my posts on Beer Advocate:

---

Ayinger Oktober Fest/Märzen

Poured a nice medium copper-ish, golden color, with a decent head that really didn't last that long.

Aroma was mostly malt, as is to be expected of this style. Good toasty notes in the nose, with a warm and sweet bread crust aroma permeating the overall smell. No real hops in the nose.

Taste is almost exactly what the aroma leads you to believe you're getting. There's a good bread crust flavor in the malt, a wonderful grainy sweetness that is just barely balanced by the hop bitterness, It's not cloying by any means, but it is a malt-forward brew. The malt shines here with the toasty, bready flavors really at the forefront of every sip. Nice and sweet without ever being over the top. A fine job walking the high wire that is a good Märzen.

The mouthfeel is just this side of heavy, which is again just what you want in a good O-fest lager. It's drinkable, yet substantial.

This is a very good example of a good Oktoberfest lager. Eminently drinkable, yet each one has enough character that you know you're not just throwing down Perrier. It's not always easy to get that balance between character and drinkability, yet Ayinger does it quite well with this brew. If you can locate this one, it's well worth seeking out.

---

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

2008 Expedition

Poured into a wide bowl glass. Pours a nice deep amber with minimal head. Head does lace well all the way down the glass. Crystal clear. Beautiful.

Smells of hops right off the bat. Big hops. Lots of 'em, too! Hiding underneath those hops is a subtle woody aroma, with a good dark fruit scent as well. The slightest hint of metal creeps in, but so minor you have to convince yourself that's what you're smelling.

Remember the hops in the nose? The big hops and lots of them? Well they're right up front in the flavor as well. A tiny little bit of malt sweetness hits for about half a second, then BOOM! Hops! Quite bracingly bitter, with the floral flavor right on the heels of that bitterness. They don't let up, either. You get the hop flavor all the way through this one, beginning to end. I'm sure there are nice malt flavors in here, but for the time being they're in hiding, apparently afraid the hops will give them a wedgie and take their lunch money. This is aggressive, but not bad. Obviously it's a new brew, and it's designed hop-forward so the beer will balance out as it is laid down and aged, but to my taste, it's drinkable now, albeit aggressive, as I stated. This will be phenomenal in a year or two, if you can set a few back. Good now, great later -- the barleywine credo.

The mouthfeel is surprisingly light for a beer of this heft. Not watery by any means, but you don't have to work at drinking this (other than to get past the hops, that is).

Yes, this one is currently a bit out of balance. It's hoppy as hell and unapologetic about it. Considering this really isn't meant to be consumed now, it's hard to fault the beer for that, especially considering how drinkable it is even this far to the hoppy side of balanced. Grab a few, drink one now to measure, the cellar the rest. This one is going to get nothing but better.

---

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale (let's see if Hey Martha lets that go through)


Pours a cloudy, deep reddish-orange, with a decent sized smooth and creamy head, which laces extremely well as you sip the beer. Beautiful color, and a lovely beer, minus the cloudiness.

The smell is surprisingly balanced, with a good amount of floral hoppiness followed immediately by a strong, sweet malty scent. A musty, almost dusty, earthy aroma announces the base malt presence. There's also a bit of fruitiness that sneaks in here, with hints of cherry and raspberry swirling around in my nose. All in all, this is more complex than one might expect.

The taste is initially very fruity, almost tropical punch-like, but it never sets in and grabs you, because it is followed immediately by a good firm bitterness, which in turn has a huge amount of hop flavor nipping at its heels. There's a ton of hop flavor to this... very flowery, not vegetal or even particularly citrusy. That flavor continues well after the initial bitterness fades, and yet that same bitter sensation returns almost as quickly as it left, to meld with the hop flavors, and the sneaky reappearance of the fruity malt, all combining to leave a remarkable and fantastically complex aftertaste. (I'll pause while English teachers stop foaming at the mouth over that last "sentence"). The complexity of flavors makes it take longer to finish the beer. You simply cannot rush drinking this, as you're in no hurry to take another sip and interfere with that lovely taste combination. Make no mistake -- this *is* a bitter beer. But it's very easy to overlook that fact due to the beautiful way it all comes together. It's difficult, in my opinion, to imagine a better taste in this style of beer. This is absolutely as close to perfect as I can imagine a beer.

The brew has a fairly creamy and hefty mouthfeel to it. It isn't filling like many other beers with the same type mouthfeel, however. It's substantive enough to match the full flavor without detracting from the sensory experience. Nicely matched.

As the label humorously implies, this one ain't for everybody. It's big, it's bitter, it's bold, it's brash. But it's also so remarkably well made and well balanced that it's my opinion that anyone who considers themselves to be beer lovers must seek it out to try at least once. I don't believe I'd use this one as an intro to craft beers for a devout BMC drinker, but this is a great hook to sink into anyone already fishing craft waters. Simply put, it's beautiful. Great beer.

---

I've reviewed others, but just randomly grabbed those reviews. Probably should have posted reviews for beers you can get around here and/or that are still available. Oh well. Next time!

quote:

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

OMG!! I LOVE some of the names they come up with for different brews. That has to be one of my favorites. I also get a big kick out of clever names for co_cktails, like "slow comfortable screw against the wall."

You really ought to read the text on the back label of Arrogant Bastard, then. it's freakin' hilarious. It helps that it's also a very, very good beer.

Who makes it?