6th Annual Not So Snooty Beer, Wine and Cheese Adventure

Great Beer, Historic Aircraft, and a Worthy Cause

I've been asked to once again assist in the planning of the Not-So-Snooty Beer, Wine & Cheese Tasting Adventure. This year marks the event's 6th year, and my 3rd year of heading up the beer portion of the event.  (see info on last year's event)

Once again, I'll be coordinating local breweries and brew pubs participation for the event. Last year we had amazing growth in the beer portion of this event thanks to the generosity of some great local brewers.  We did so well last year the event is quickly becoming more of a craft beer event, the wine is taking more of a back seat. We're hoping for even more this year!  (There's even some talk of an additional craft beer only event in the future...)

If you're part of a brewery or brewpub and you're reading this, please consider participating. Leave a comment with your contact info, or shoot me an email and I'll get back to you... (bryon at homebrewbeer.net)

When: 11/19/2010 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Where: The New England Air Museum Windsor Locks, CT
What: The event includes locally produced beer, wine and cheese, delicious hors d'oeuvres, raffles, coffee and dessert.
Tickets are limited: Ticket price and ordering information coming soon!

All proceeds benefit The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

I'll be posting more details on what breweries and brew pubs will be attending as they confirm their participation. Hope to see you all there!

What breweries are signed up so far...

• Cambridge House Brew Pub
• City Steam Brewery Cafe
• Olde Burnside Brewery
• Willimantic Brewing Co
• Samuel Adams
• Thomas Hooker Brewing Co
• Berkshire Brewing Co
• John Harvard's Brew House

American Craft Beer Fest 2010 Reflections

Volunteering to work at the ACBF this year was a fantastic idea, I had an absolute blast.

Highlights:

• Pouring for a brewery and interacting with the crowd is awesome!
• Free staff shirt = "unlimited power!"
• Interacting with the other volunteers was fun
• Staff can still sample the craft beer

Down side:

• Honestly, I can't really think of a downside...
• OK, some volunteers take too seriously, like that hall monitor back in the 2nd grade...

Here's how the day went... (click to read more, it's a bit long)

American Craft Beer Fest 2010

It's time for the American Craft Beer Fest!  I'm fairly excited about the event this time around because I get to see it from "the other side" this year. That's right, I'm a volunteer.  I recall my first visit to the fest, I made a lame attempt at interviewing a couple of volunteers, but my camera card filled up too fast.  Here's a little blurb from that post (back in 2008).

While exploring the dark underbelly of the fest, I decided to do a quick interview of two fest volunteers. "How do you like working the fest, is it something you'd do again or recommend to others?" They seemed to like working the fest, but my camera card ran out of space. We may never know how this interview ended... But seriously, there were a lot of folks working to make this a great event. Some even had the pleasure of dumping out the rinse buckets... Not glamorous, but critical none the less. Let's give all those worker bees a big round of applause!

I really hope (probably like most volunteers) I get to pour and interact with some of the brewery staff.  But I may very well end up learning first hand just how glamorous dumping the rinse buckets can be...

The plan so far goes as follows...

1. Meet Kenn and Dave at my place at 8 AM, grab a coffee for the road and then high tail it up to Boston.
2. Get to the fest and park in time to...
3. Make it to the ALL staff check-in (11:30am)
4. Then its a mandatory section meeting (12:15pm)
5. Settle into my assignment for the long haul (1pm – Doors open)
6. Try to make some connections, especially with New England breweries that may want to attend the annual charity event I help plan.
7. Try to score a bottle or two of something special, if one of the brewery teams has compassion on me.
8. Help wrap up the first session and then hit the road and find some excellent chow, and perhaps a pint.
9. Head toward CT, and see what happens from there (depending on the time, etc.)

Should be a lot of fun, I'm happy that I have two buddies volunteering along side me.  We probably wont be sporting the pretzel necklaces this year, but keep your eyes out for the follow guys...

Kenn (ACBF 2009)

Dave (ACBF 2009)

Yours truly (ACBF 2009)

I'm hoping we get a few laughs out of the day, and I learn a little something about putting together a larger beer fest in the hopes of bringing the skill set to future charity beer events back in my neck of the woods.

I may even try to blog or perhaps micro-blog via twitter from the event this year. Sort of a volunteer's log...

Say hi if you see us there!

American Craft Beer Fest Volunteering

So I decided to volunteer and help out with the American Craft Beer Fest this year.  I've attended the last two years and always enjoy myself.  But working with the Not so Snooty fest the last two years has been so rewarding, I was hoping to take the opportunity to broaden my beer fest horizons a bit and work this one too.  I just need to wait and see if the good folks at Beer Advocate approve my offer to help out...

This might be a great opportunity for me to learn more about beer, breweries and running a good fest.  I may be able to leverage the experience to improve my charity work...

For now, I wait...

UPDATE!  Looks like I'm in...  I'll be working Sat, Session 1 (12pm-5pm) 

I'm really hoping I get to pour, or at least interact with the breweries...  But my luck I may end up rinsing out the spit buckets!  LOL!  Either way, it should be fun...  Stay tuned...

Beer Review: Coney Island Human Blockhead

The good folks at Shmaltz Brewing Company asked me to review their Coney Island Human Blockhead, a American Amber / Red Lager with a "B" rating over at beeradvocate.com.

I decided to review this brew with the help of my brother Ted, who has never reviewed a beer before.  His tasting notes are below along side mine.


Beer: Conley Island Human Blockhead
Served: From a pint glass
Location: At my brother's house in North Carolina

Style: American Amber / Red Lager

A sort of catch-all category, these lagers boast a bit more malt backbone and overall character than their lighter sister styles. Bitterness is generally low.

(In this case a whopping 10% abv)  That was not much of a style description, leads a lot open to interpretation. 

Some words from the brewery...

Pound for pound, Coney Island Human Blockhead(TM) is a finely crafted professional. 8 specialty malts of barley, wheat, rye, and oats create an enormously developed body. Juggling 6 hop varieties from European Noble roots to American Pacific Northwest new school flavors balances this weighty task. Traditional proprietary Lager yeast shines true elegance on this innovative recipe for a complex demonstration of pure enjoyment. 10% alcohol nails it home.


Originally developed by renowned magician and sideshow performer Melvin Burkhart, the "human blockhead" stunt remains a staple at the Coney Island sideshow to this day. With Burkhardt leaving after 25 years of performance in Coney Island, the act is kept alive by the current MC of the CI Sideshow, Donny Vomit. The sideshow runs from April - September, and since Donny joined in 2004, he has performed over 2,000 shows. He comments, "As a kid, I always thought it would be cool to have an action figure made after me, but having a kickass beer is a whole lot better. Drink my beer!!" Coney Island Human Blockhead(TM) pays delicious tribute to the wildly mustachioed MC and the legacy of this shocking act.

1. Appearance - Red or burnt amber, somewhat clear, with a slight haze.  Nice foamy head with a hint of the same amber/red hue.  A good tilt of the glass shows ample lacing...  (Ted says, "The beer is amber in color, a little cloudy, nice head."  

2. Smell - A wee bit of toasted malt, some hop, and alcohol...  (Ted detected some dank hoppy aroma.)

3. Taste - Malty, roasted plum flavor.  The hops and the alcohol come through at the end.  It reminds me of a lighter more sweat barley wine with just a hint of cherry cough syrup... but in a good way.  (Ted says it has a bit of an after taste, but he was not sure how to describe it...  Likens to toasty English Ale that finishes like a good cigar.  Brilliant really, I taste the cigar now too, good call...) 

4. Mouthfeel - Moderate to heavy, with a thin syrupy like feel...  Not overly carbonated.  (Ted said it feels like carmel.)

5. Drinkability - It's an easy to consume, but meant to be savored, a malt bomb that packs a wallop.  (Ted likes the beer and would have another.  Sadly we were only sent one...) 

Drinkability Scale from 1-10: I give it a solid 8.5 -- Ted gives it a sold 7.5

Air Force Times Article & a Homebrew Review

I received a phone call a wile back ago from one of my former troops...  He was away on training, and found an interesting article about homebrewing in the Air Force in the Air Force Times, and was amused to find a quote from his former boss and fellow homebrewer.

His wife was kind enough to bring me the copy he snagged for me and she brought a bottle of his latest homebrew.

Tonight, I cracked his beer open and here is the review:

Style: Not really sure let's just call it a homebrew


1. Appearance - Cloudy, murky reddish brown, clearly unfiltered.  A short yet persistent head providing a fair amount of lacing. 

2. Smell - Sweet malty smell with a with a underling scent of alcohol. (A note on smell - I have a very limited sense of smell, that comes and goes, so my opinions on beer smells should be taken with a grain of salt... That being said, my nose must have been working that day!)

3. Taste - Strong sugary sweet roasted malt taste coupled something that reminds me of a mix of beats and raisins.  Reminds me of a stronger version of my Frankenbrew.  A twangy bitter-sweet end with a fairly strong alcohol flavor.

4. Mouthfeel - Surprisingly light bodied, lacks carbonation, but that may not have been true for the entire batch.

5. Drinkability -The brew shows this young brewer's potential.  He didn't take the easy way out and make a batch from a "Betty Crocker" recipe in a box.  He took a chance and made a beer, one that wont win any prices, but at the end of the day is a flovorful brew

Maine Trip Epilogue

As we wrapped up our Thanksgiving weekend up in Maine, we decided to hit the Empire Grill for breakfast.  HBO films created a pretty cool atmosphere there.  Actually, it's kind of surreal; a fake diner created to fit the mold of the stereo typical Maine diner, now serving as a real diner and is much nicer than your typical area greasy spoon.  It strives to be authentic, and although it partially is not, it actually is, kind of.  Now that real "Maine-iacs" work and dine there. The decor, an idealized Hollywood set, the food and people, all Skowhegan. A unique place for sure...

All in all, it was the best luck I had at grabbing breakfast in the immediate area over the last three years I've been visiting in-laws in the area.  But why am I posting this on my beer blog?  Not sure, I guess it closes the loop on the over all feel of Skowhegan, minutes away from the areas barn based craft brewery and a brief walk from the only two bars (not including the bowling alley) in town.  I saw on the diner's site they had a photo of late night bar flies coming to the diner for some post bar eats.  So, I guess there's your connection.

Evening crowd "bar shift" outside of Empire Grill, Skowhegan Maine.

My wife looks on as my son gorges himself with the local fare...  

Just another one of the guys getting his fill of morning chow at Empire Grill.

Can you tell we're related?  There's a similar photo of Ed Harris and Aidan Quinn on the Empire Grill web site.

 

My wife and son in front of Empire Grill...

Later on our road trip home we stopped at the outlets in Freeport Maine to pick up some clothing for our son, and to walk the dogs.  After some tedious shopping we pulled into Gritty McDuff's for lunch.  If there was ever family friendly brew pub, Gritty's is it...

Luke, with crayon in hand, entertains himself with Hoppy McDuff 
as other children enjoy themselves behind him...

On one end of the Gritty's seating consist of long tables with bench seating.  The grumpy hostess provided us with a special seat for our boy that attached to the table.  It was cool for him, because he could saddle up to the pub table like a "big boy" without the aid of a high chair.  

My son located Hoppy McDuff, the happy hop cone on his kid's place mat.
Grumpy hostess visible in background...

 

With my son's cool intact, we selected a pulled pork sandwich for him from the kiddy menu, my wife had a Reuben, and I had a cheeseburger.  My son made the best selection, I found myself picking at his leftovers, my burger was standard bar fare, nothing to write home about, but apparently something to blog about...  My wife's chow was pretty good, but over all, the food was run of the mill.  

In case there were any doubts about the kid friendliness of Gritty's this art was on display.

I indulged in a pint of their 21 IPA...  Like all the beers I tried in Maine, this one was sweeter than I hoped for.  (Or should I say hopped for?)  Here's the promotional pitch from Gritty's...

"Gritty's 21 IPA is a unique blend of American hops with a British body utilizing English 2-Row Pale malts. This IPA starts with a hoppy aroma and taste; ending with a sweet finish. Plenty of Munich and caramalts are used to give the beer that golden hue. There are fifty-six pounds of Cascade Hops used in each 50 barrel batch that is brewed! Then we finish the beer with Willamette & Warrior Hops, (Warrior is a high-alpha acid variety of hops) All this leads to an IPA that is worthy to celebrate our 21st Anniversary!"

Maybe it was me, my tastebuds may still be recovering from a recent cold, but I think the "sweet finish" may have been slightly to sweet for me.  With that said, it have some of the hoppy flavor and aroma I was looking for, a nice golden red color, cyrstal clear, but with a limited head.  In fairness, the low head may have been due to a mad pour...  The 21 IPA was, like the burger, good but not great, just average... 

  Pretty looking pint, but the head was a little thin...  Overall a solid B.

 A brief glimps of Gritty's inner sanctum...

After a peek of the pubs brewery, I took my dogs for a walk in the back lot where they made a discovery.  Bins of expended hops and grains, most likely waiting to be disposed of.  Although they were positioned near a small pond in the back lot.  I briefly wondered if they just dumped them in the drink...  The dogs and I may never know...  When the dogs had completed their mission, the family and I high tailed it for home, thus concluding our Thanksgiving in Maine...

Christine and Leroy, the family hounds, located several bins 
full of expended grains and hops in the back lot of Gritty's during their afternoon constitutional...