GABF Takeaways

I heard 3 Floyd's didn't even show up.

 

Sun King has a bourbon brl aged dopplebock that was fantastic.
New Belgium's Y-...something or other was a nice sour.
Blind Tiger java stout is always nice
I was "pouring" for Backcountry and couldn't go wrong with their beers

 

Thought DESTIHL had a great sour portfoilio.

Managed to get a couple pours of the BCBCS tapping that lasted all of 15-20 minutes. Was one of the beers I was chasing, and was worth it.

Three Floyds did tap out early, but I got to try Zombie, Permanent Funeral, and Arctic Panzer early on. While Zombie Dust was great, I question the 100 pt. rating.

I managed to balance the big brewery releases with the smaller guy's stuff, lots of good stuff here even amongst some of the smaller guys.

All-in-all it was a great session. I agree very chill and friendly all around.

 

Weasel Boy's Anastasia Woodford Reserve BBA Stout was a gem.

 

Nice effort 3 Flloyds! I vote to give their slot to to one of the breweries who showed up just to give out beer and not compete. Closing up after an hour with nothing more than regular production brews on the Thursday session was disappointing. I guess they just aren't that interested anymore.

Destihl was great as previously mentioned. Sierra Nevada's BA Narwhal was pretty good. Event Horizon was great as usual. I was sad to see Hair of the Dog didn't make it again this year.

 

Wait.... Permanent Funeral is a regular production brew? SWEET!!!! Can't wait to get it everytime I go there in the future.

 

That was my favorite beer of the festival, "Y's Leopold" was the name I think. It was using the Felix base along with blackberries and some other details that my mind isn't cooperating with. I went back for that one 4-5 times.

 

Guess I missed that one

 

Damn. I was really hoping you knew something I didn't.

 

Overall, I came away happy. What was most notable to me is the overall quality of the beer being served. In past GABF events, I'd say about 25% of my random beer samples were just okay (or worse). This year, I came away impressed with nearly all of the samples I tried. Breweries are stepping up their game and it shows.

Highlights:
- Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze (beer of the night) and Framboise
- Port Brewing Board Meeting - an excellent brown ale. Older Viscosity was good, but needs more aging
- Bruery Chocolate Rain, SiTR, Oude Tart
- Alesmith Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout...really all of their stuff
- Ommegang Tripel Perfection

I actually thought Almanac's stuff was just okay. Their sours never resonated with me - not sour enough.

I also didn't get to nearly as many breweries as I thought I would. Oh well - that's what Saturday is for.

 

Beers I can remember that stood out...
The Bruery Oude Tart with cherries
Half Acre Space IPA
Funky Buddha No Crust
System of a Stout

Also Tahoe Mountain Brewing was great! Locals will know the head brewers connection to CO. The Viejo Rojo and Saison Savoureuese were my favorites. Check them out. Cheers.

 

Chocolate Rain, System of a Stout, Mother of all Storms, Saint Arnolds Pumpkinator

Looking forward to The event horizon, Framboise for a cure, Utopias, and No crust tonight

 

My beer of the fest was Sun King's Batch 666 American Black Ale.
Good lord, what deliciousness... I went back for 3 or 4 of them.
Other standouts for me included:
TRVE Death Ripper
River North B-Side Quandary
Deschutes Sage Fight IPA
Shorts Sagejuana
Ninkasi Sleigh'r
and a bunch of other stuff... but my head is fuzzy right now.

 

Two that stood out for me was Captain Pumpkin's Maple Mistress by Saucony Creek Brewing Company and
Sweet Yamma Jamma by Indeed Brewing Company (in the brewer's guild).

 

If you twisted my arm for two I immediately remember BA Narwhal and the Flanders at Distihl.

 

Class X from Kern, DDG, CL Rosso E Marrone, and the fresh hop brews at Fatheads stood out. Also agree on the NB Ys. Almanac is one booth to linger at and try all the offerings.

 

I definitely walked out of there with a greater admiration for The Bruery, Lost Abbey, and Russian River, and a new found disdain for Three Floyds (nearing boycott status). As others mentioned, I was extremely disappointed in Three Floyds showing, to say the least.

Closing your booth after less than an hour into the first session doesn't mean you're too popular, it means you did not plan very well. I'm hoping there was some explanation as to why they weren't pouring anything after 6:30, but if that really was all the beer they sent for that session (five 1/6 BBL's is my guess, at the most) , shame on them.

On the other hand, Duck Duck Gooze was easily pouring until 8, maybe even 9, as were nearly all of Russian River and The Bruery's selections. The lines were manageable everywhere, and I personally was more than happy to wait in line for DDG, CR, Hunahpu, and FfaC.

In addition to the ones I mentioned were worth the wait, I'll echo others on some beer recommendations:

Best beers you don't have to wait in line for:

• Pelican MoaS (2011)
• BA Narwhal
• NB Y's Leopold (favorite surprise of night)
• AleSmith Vietnamese Speedway
• Bruery SitR w/ Peaches, Oude Tart w/ Cherries (they made a separate line for CR, so the line for the rest of The Bruery's line up was surprisingly short)
• Goose Island everything, or specifically BCBS, BCBCS (new 2013 batch with Los Imortales coffee), Sofie Paradisi, Lolita, Juliet
• Olde Hickory Event Horizon
• Bell's Black Note (shortest line I've ever seen for Bell's)
• Live Oak Hefeweizen (must try if you've never had it)
• Bear Republic Tartare (another great surprise)
• Destihl everything
• Almanac everything
• Cambridge Arquebus and Cerise Cassee
• Captain Lawrence Rosso E Marrone (ISO)
• Wicked Weed Freak (went pretty quick)

Just to name a few...
IMO, this was the best beer list for GABF yet. Some pretty incredible beers to be poured for 49,000 people (or 490 if you're Three Floyds and did the math wrong before sending beers). Hope everyone enjoys the last 2 sessions tomorrow.

 

Not sure if the logistics behind the scenes changed, but I felt the Thursday session was easily the most organized GABF in years. Lines were at a minimum, the crowd didn't seem as packed-in, there were TONS of quality unusual beers being poured, etc.
This was my favorite GABF going back to roughly 2008 and earlier.

 

Here's a couple more, no lines (Friday Night):

AC Golden American Wild Ale
TAPS Remy
Revolution A Little Crazy
Hangar 24 Barrel Roll No. 3 Pugachev's Cobra
Kuhnhenn DRIPA
Logsdon Seizon Bretta
Knee Deep Simtra Triple IPA
Freetail Ananke
Swamp Head Saison du Swamp w/ Brett