Autumn Brew Review 2018

That would explain it, wouldn't it. Unless they also brew beer (like SCW does), I don't think it's possible for a cidery to join the guild.

 

Sociable Cider Werks doesn't actually brew any cider. It's all legally graff. Weird right? But really smart...

 

What's the difference? I know less about cider than I do beer.

 

Graff is a beer cider hybrid. Or cider “brewed” with malt.

They yell the word SORGHUM into the fermenters and boom you’re a brewery and not a cidery /s

 

They use sorghum and hops for bittering since bitter apples aren't plentiful in MN.

When Sociable hired the brewer from Surly, there were brewing IPAs, stouts, etc....what happened to him anyways?

 

Graff is at least 51% malted products for the fermentable sugars (barley, sorgrum) and needs something like 3oz per 100 bbls of a hop addition (so basically none).

Sociable is legally licensed as a brewery, and cannot call their actual products cider (as they do not meet that legal definition). If you look closely at their packaging you'll notice the word cider is mentioned only in the name of the brewery. This is also why they can brew both "ciders" and beers and sell both in the taproom.

 

That indeed originally was the case, but Sociable applied for a winery license last year with the intention of making true cider in addition to the graff. It's not clear to me if it ever received that license, actually is making any true cider, or is allowed to sell any true cider in its taproom. Dara gives some of the details here (from August 2017). I like that Dara subtly calls out Sociable for confusing and miseducating the public about cider and graff.

Also note that Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery in Waconia sells both true wine and true beer in the same taproom, and my understanding (based on discussions with the owner) is that somehow it does it all with only a winery license (and not a brewery license).

 

I haven't been to Schramms but had heard you can't buy both from the same point of sale? Lije there is a wine purchasing area and a beer purchasing area. Is this not the case?

There's no way they are (legally) making beer under a winery license. The legal definitions of each kind of license state in it's definition the ingredients that must be used by the alcohol producer. For example:

Subd. 29.Wine.

"Wine" is the product made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of grapes, including still wine, sparkling and carbonated wine, wine made from condensed grape must, wine made from other agricultural products than sound, ripe grapes, imitation wine, compounds sold as wine, vermouth, cider, perry and sake, in each instance containing not less than one-half of one percent nor more than 24 percent alcohol by volume for nonindustrial use. Wine does not include distilled spirits as defined in subdivision 9.

 

Not the way I remember it and this picture seems to prove it's all purchased from the same spot.

https://goo.gl/maps/yxtGCvwXvSk

 

Confirmed. Sold from the same spot. The brewery space is in a separate building from the rest of the operation however. But everything else is intermixed.

 

One or more upper midwestern cider producers and meaderies would participate (White Winter Meadery) when beer fests first began to occur locally, but when the national brands crept in some of original local and regional focus was lost.

I’d say the Minnesota Cider Guild is worth noting, and has a pretty good fest of its own:
http://mnciderguild.org/mn-craft-cider-festival/

 

Was anything good today? I miss ABR

 

You didn't miss much, IMHO. We've been to 20+ festivals over the past 10 years or so, including many ABRs, & this was the first one we ever left early.

Really missed the out of state breweries, which were replaced by a bunch of newer, sub-par MN breweries. The water ran out at one point, which was just piss-poor planning. There were fewer food trucks, which led to longer lines & longer waits. Way too many places pouring mostly beers I can get on just about any shelf.

Apologies for all the complaints, but we've looked forward to ABR every fall for years, & this is the first one that failed for us. I hope it returns to form in 2019.

 

Agree on the lack of out of state beers and the running out of water for 1+ hours of the fest. Food truck avaviblity doesnt matter for anyone with uber eats or bite squad on their phone.

I had fun at the fest but it didn't feel as special as it had in the past. I will still attend annually until there is an alternative fall fest of similar size and quality.

 

It definitely had a different vibe from past years' events, mostly for the worse, although for me that had more to do with the inferior site (the historic brewery setting always was a draw), the heat (which, admittedly, would've been worse on asphalt at the old site), and the fact that the novelty of beer festivals clearly has worn off than the lack of non-Guild breweries. I personally don't mind not having to navigate around huge lines for overhyped special releases from out-of-state breweries, but I suppose I should be sympathetic to the people who choose to spend their time that way, and, sure, quality overall will be lower in a local showcase in an immature market like this one. I agree that the water running out mid-festival was problematic (potentially dangerous in that heat and with that much alcohol consumption). I think if the grounds of the festival could've stretched past the bike path toward the river, that would've helped considerably (better scenery, cooler air, more space).

 

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I liked Hall Island better...It was a larger space that didn't place the toilets next to the food/beer vendors; the grass was so much better on a hot day, but I imagine it would have been worse had it been raining; dropping a glass didn't win you a chorus of boos.
Running out of water was inexcusable.
Lack of gluten free options for my celiac friend (see cider rant in post #19), although kudos to Lift Bridge for 2 awesome GF sodas.
I was not wanting for more beer. There were some great ones, plenty of good ones and several more that were dumped on the grass.
The volunteers were great...Always had a smile.

 

It was OK this year. The scenery wasn't as good as the old brewery, but I felt the layout was better and not having asphalt was a huge plus with how hot it was. Beer-wise, it was really hit or miss. Wild Mind had some great stuff again this year, ditto for rarer/special releases from Junkyard, Barrel Theory, Lupulin, Sisyphus, and Forager. Town Hall had Czar Jack (great this year) and Indeed w/ Espresso Rum King, which are always welcome in my book. My disappointment seems to echo with what others mentioned: all of the out of state breweries were replaced with very mediocre or existing up-starts that are putting out very bland/not good ipas, lagers, and kettle sours. Once you rolled through the expectedly good stuff from some of the consensus best/fav breweries on here, there wasn't much left. I just hope the aftermentioned breweries continue to put the effort into bringing great/interesting stuff for next year and this fest doesn't turn into a glorified Beer Dabbler. 2016 & 2017 this festival felt like an ever growing mini-Great Taste. This year was a significant step back.

Hats off to Barrel Theory & Wild Mind for bringing their very latest bottles (same day release) in What the Fluff and La Reine. La Reine was my favorite all day, What the Fluff was worth the wait in line too.

 

Don't suppose anyone still has their glass that they'd be willing to part with for fair compensation? I managed to carry mine with me for several hours afterward but stupidly left it at the last bar I went to after the event and they didn't hang on to it.

 

Rule #6 of ABR: Don't keep drinking once you leave.
That said, I left my glass at a restaurant as well.