ACBF 2015: Highlights

Great Fest, also shout out to all the staff working the taps and bottles! Only disappointment was not bringing pretzels:not allowed to bring outside food yet everyone was wearing pretzel necklaces and the staff made us throw out our sealed water bottles before going in. What gives BA?

 

ABCC changed the Certificate of Compliance apps to online only this year. The online system did not work well, so unless an "authorized" brewery owner was available to get on the phone with Commonwealth IT, there was no way around the issues.

ABCC no longer accepts paper apps.

Meanwhile, ABCC added 3-4 new "requirements" with no changes in laws or regulations, crazy ones.

I wouldn't be surprised if undercover ABCC agents were lying in wait at the festival entrance checking for transportation permits ...

 

1) Amherst Brewing Pistachio Cream Pie - This was unbelievable.
2) Shhhhhhhh - Only waited in the line once, but it was worth it. Would love to have a full pour of this.
3) Tie: FH Hodad/Oskar Blues Death by Coconut - So much coconut at the fest but these two stood above the rest

 

If every brewery but one could figure it out, I'd say that's on the brewery.

 

Fantastic event, attended both night sessions, well run and definitely worth coming up from NC and trying beer from the NE region...favorites:

Stoneface RIS
Berkeley Strong Abbey Ale
Amherst Jess

 

Paul couldn't pour because the online system wouldn't load the application and ABCC rejected the paper application. I know one brewery who received their CoC on Wednesday. Paul did this four years in a row with no issues, so I can happily blame the Commonwealth's online system.

I guess the whole pay-to-play charges really tweaked ABCC.

 

Marz Jungle Boogie! Also Bear Republic Tartare & Stoneface RIS.

 

Foundation Epiphany and Anderson Valley Gose were the two beers I got more than 2 pours of. I enjoyed the stouts from Stoneface, Banded Horn and 3 Stars, and IPAs from Medusa, Brewmaster Jack, and Other Half.

 

How are these things related? The electronic form wouldn't load because of pay to play?

 

Since Stoneface is mentioned a number of times here it should be pointed out they ran out of RIS within an HOUR Friday night. That is always extremely poor form. If you're going to accept an invite to come to ACBF then you should know what you're getting into and bring enough beer. So while their RIS might be a fine beer, Stoneface should get some knocks for bad form.

 

ABCC have always been goons. There is no statutory or regulatory requirement to only file online, yet they returned the paper application. They gave another brewery an issue about FDA Registration exemption. First time. Why?

Perhaps they've been tweaked a bit.

I never expect government web apps to work properly.

 

This was a lovely beer, yes, but I tried it on Saturday! I would assume that it was going fast on Friday and they began to ration it out to ensure that something was available for each session. The brewery guidelines recommend that we bring 4-5 1/6 BBL kegs to the festival in total. In some cases that's surely not enough and it's not necessarily easy to predict which ones will be popular. Of the six varieties we (Medusa) brought, my slowest seller in my taproom was the first to kick at ACBF. Bizarro World.

 

Like TWStandley, I was busy (but having fun too), so I didn't get a chance to try a lot of beers either. I decided to use my breaks for discovery-adventure and try new places. Riverwalk Brewing surprised me with their "Rustic Pils". It had a pleasant mouth-feel and a rich flavor. I will have to make a trip up to Newburyport this summer and do some more tasting.

Another noteworthy surprise was Sebago Brewing's "Hop Swap" (an American IPA). It was aromatic and a deliciously balanced IPA.

 

Of all the breweries there, I was most surprised/impressed by Lively. Filthy Rich was perhaps my second favorite beer at the Festival (behind Shhhhhh...) and Dankenstein was quite good as well.

I'll echo the sentiment of quite a few folks on this thread: RIS from Stoneface was very, very good. I don't think I've had a bad beer from that brewery yet.

What's the deal with Ebenezer's/Lively Brewing? I looked around online for a while after the festival and only found a very outdated website and a Facebook page that didn't tell me everything I wanted to know. Is it a restaurant? Brewery with food? Do they have distribution? Thanks for any help fellow BA's can give.

 

Had that Pils at Amebury Alehouse a few weeks ago. Really enjoyed it. A pleasant surprise.

 

Highlights for me were Desolation from 3 Stars and Filthy Rich from Lively. I also really enjoyed the juicy fruit bomb that was Epiphany from Foundation. Also the Other Half - Barrel Aged Brett Saison was very good. Had a lot of fun hanging out with people at Lively and must have had at least 4 servings of Filthy Rich.

 

Im most excited about the potential for left overs. I will say we got teased earlier last week with a couple out of state brews showing up on the shelves (DC, Cincinnati) and was able to buy Rhinegeist Truth which was excellent. Am hoping there will be some other treats in Distro that will be coming by the bottle shops this week (a la EBF earlier this year). Anyone know if this may happen?

 

Glad to hear that you and so many others had a great time at this event! Sounds like it was a blast!

Did Southern Tier announce/let it be known that they would be bottling the Chocolate Oranj? I'd really like to try that beer!

 

3 Stars - Desolation
4 Quarters - Dreams
Finback - Auspicious Day

 

My favorites were Green Flash Silva Stout (had to try it with all the controversy) - GF rep acknowledged issues with some bottles - what they poured was liquid gold, Near East Palate Mallet, Marz Jungle Boogie, Banded Horn Daikaiju, OH All Green Everything, Lively Brewing Dr. Dankenstein, Foundation Epiphany, Otter Creek Backseat Berner & Jack's Abbey PB&J BA Framinghammer. Got to try Triple Sunshine and maybe 2 oz pour was not enough to make me see the light . . . nice pic though (a little blurry). Volunteered all three sessions and had a great time working with all the volunteers, BA staff and helping the rest of y'all stay hydrated and find what you were looking for. Thanks also to my new friend @Mmmkcr for making the weekend even better - cheers!