2016 GI Clybourn Stout Fest

Man, there's some good stuff on there.

 

Any updates for the tap list on Sunday?

 

Nothing huh

 

So, does anyone know if this starts at 11 or Noon for sure? I've seen Noon just about everywhere, but then my ticket e-mail says 11. I could try calling them, but they aren't open yet, so I thought I'd see if anyone else noticed this and if they inquired to verify.

 

I believe if you're an MBA member you're going to get in an hour early at 11. My ticket says 11 as well and I'm planning on being there around then.

 

Think it's just 11:30 check in 12:00 start. I thought MBA only gets to purchase first not enter first. I could be wrong.

 

According to their twitter MBA do get in at 11AM.

https://mobile.twitter.com/GooseClybourn/status/707614639845052416

 

Just got here and 18th street is here! Lots of others, that list was small compared to the booklet they handed out.

 

This may sound lame and boring, but GI BCBS regular and Prop were my two favorites. The GI Clybourn Proprietary had lots of people talking, but it was too inconsistent. The first pour I had was all coconut and the second pour from a newer keg was all bourbon.

I left about around 3, so I'll be interested to hear what won the judging.

 

Had a good time overall (a bit tired and drunk now) but I felt a little disappointed that GI regal and prop both ran out within about 30 minutes of opening for general admission. It's your name on the building, you think you'd have enough to last more than 30 minutes...

 

Technically it's not their name on the building, though, right? I don't know that the sale has been finalized yet. And, they brought backup kegs of 2014 Coffee and Templeton Rye, which both may be better than 2015 Prop or Regal anyway IMO.

I did get some Prop and could have easily gotten Regal, but I moved on to other things. I personally figured they were going to run out of Prop pretty quickly, so I first got some Vanilla Abraxas and then headed to GI.

 

If John Hall is to believed, this is one of the reasons they sold Clybourn finally; the brewpub is NOT the same as the GI that produces BCS, and that confuses a lot of people (that's the reason there is a Clybourn station at Stout Fest, AND a Goose Island Beer Co. station). I believe the deal is finalized, but AB-InBev isn't taking over until...I dunno, next month or something?

Honestly, I think it's awesome they had Templeton Rye ready as a replacement for when Prop tapped; it's one of my favorites, and no one would've expected them to have more kegs waiting.

 

Pretty good Stout Fest. Seemed a bit more crowded than last year, but that could just be me. Some nice surprises around. Cafe Deth rocks and is apparently getting bottled in December. Much lulz at the Perennial line evaporating once VANILLA Abraxas kicked. Mehe-co-co a nice surprise favorite of the day.

Disappointed that @Vav wasn't there silently judging people who wandered across the street to avoid the horrendous men's room line at GI.

 

Yeah, Meh-he-coco was easily one of my favorites, as well. I really liked Proprietary (I'm a sucker for GI's BA beers, and I love anything with coconut in it) as well, and hope it pops up at the brewpub again. Missed out on Vanilla Abraxas, and while I would've tried it, I can't say I'm sad, as I have a lot of trouble getting overly hyped about non-BA stouts (unless that stout is Darkness). I also can't 100% blame people dipping out to use the bathroom at Binny's, because GI does not have the facilities to handle that many dudes at a beer fest.

It seemed comparably crowded to last year, to me (I came in at about noon both years), but I could be wrong. I think it also really depended where you were, since this year the Patio had a lot more space in it than it did last year (no Madagascar probably helped).

 

I don't blame people for going to Binny's either. Vav's implied facepalms were just hilarious.

Perennial's imperial stouts manage to get the body perfect, which is increasingly rare. Worth trying when you get the chance, but probably not worth fighting the hordes.

 

Did anyone stick around to see what won the judging? I saw a tweet from GI about Spiteful winning something, but that's all I saw.

 

Thought it was an awesome, and really well run event - can't wait to go back next year. 3 best beers IMO, BA Jones Dog, Cognac Hunter and 2 year Templeton Rye.

 

I like regular Abraxas fine, and understand why people dig it, but even so, it doesn't do it for me (neither does regular Malevolence Caliente, whereas the BA version is one of my favorite beers) in a "have to call stores until it hits, and then rush out to buy it" sort of way. I'll definitely give it (vanilla) a shot if I ever have the chance, I'm mostly just saying that at this point it seems like people are just jumping on anything with a "big name." I'll agree with you on body, though; I think that's one of the most underrated parts of the bigger stouts, currently; too many delicious stouts that need just a little more thickness to them.

Yeah, I was curious about that myself. They won "Brewer's Choice," which I guess means the brewers liked what Spiteful was doing? I'm wondering what the overall fan favorites were though, given that there weren't as many obvious choices (besides BCBS and variants), I didn't think.

 

Highlights: Everything from Second Shift, Cask Caliente, Pig Minds BA RIS in the 25 year barrel for a year, Templeton Rye BCS

"Meh": Vanilla Abraxas, Cognac Hunter, GI Clybourn Proprietary (seems I'm in the heavy minority on that one), Might Meets Right variants, Cafe Deth, everything from Half Acre

Missed the mark: Everything from Cademon, BCBCS (heavy green pepper off flavor in that keg), Bo and Luke (not a fan of smoked beer, so not representative of quality of beer I suppose, the mouthfeel was fine, good structure, etc.)

Despite it being crowded at some points, I cannot remember a time when the wait for a beer (other than Vanilla Abraxas at first I suppose) was more than a minute or two. Well done and kudos to GI Clybourn for making the most of the space (save the downstairs area I suppose, which was both packed pretty tight and got a bit warm) and putting on a great event.

 

Yes, forgot Pig Minds! That was pretty great. I actually liked Cademon's maple beer, but that's all I had from them.


I honestly wish GI would sell a few less tickets (although I know that's never going to happen). The lines were never an issue, I just wish there were a little more room to move around/hang out/sit/etc. It gets pretty cramped, and that can be tiring. All in all though, this was my favorite event of last year, and there's no reason to complain much (outside of FFF always half-assing their entrant ).