FOBAB 2016

Wow. This shows how much palates differ.

I really enjoyed the Weldwerks, but I though this year s Spiteful was just as good as BA Abraxas. It was spot on perfect. Last year was great, but I didn't get the universal praise. This year though, I thought it was perfectly balanced and dialed in.

To each their own though, and glad we all got to try some amazing beers.

 

Malevolence was a bit thinner and lighter in all the flavors this year, but I still preferred it to the very thin Achromatic (which was still very tasty). Overall, the best "Mexican" stout this year was easily Pipeworks The End of Days for me. Malevolence was a close second, however, and Malevolence in bottles was better than any other iteration of the Mexican stout style including BA Abraxas. I did slightly prefer DB Huna, but that's not really a fair comparison, I don't think.

 

I didn't have any of the BAMC, but I loved the End of Days. I grabbed it and enjoyed for a while. I then went for the Sam Adams Utopias on Cherry and the booziness of that perked up the tastebuds on my tongue and I tasted the pepper on the EoD fot quite some time after. I get how some don't like the pepper, but I loved the lingering burn on the EoD.

Overall, what a great night. So glad I got the heads up on the WeldWorks beers. The Peach was fantastic as was the Achromatic. Chickow! was worthy of the hype.

I had so many good beers and missed so many great beers. If there was a medal and there wasn't a line, I gave it a try.

The event was really well run and I don't have a single, reasonable complaint.

I can't wait for FOBAB 2017. Thanks again to all the folks who went before and shared their experience. Mine was notably better due to the pre-planning. :cheers

 

I know it doesn't get the press like others..but man, I absolutely love Claire's Thirsty from Haymarket.

 

I had never had BA Malevolence before, and it ranked ahead of BA Mexican Achromatic for me. It was pretty close, but there was a smoothness to Malevolence that I preferred over a bit too much sweetness I got from Acrhomatic. They're both really good beers, though.

Overall, I had a lot of great beers...but they were pretty much all in the beginning. I managed to hit things like Parabajava (no line right at the beginning), Malevolence, Achromatic, Impervious in the first 30 minutes, but after about 2 hours I honestly felt like I was drinking just "OK" beers. Maybe that's because I started out drinking such good stuff and there was nowhere to go but down. I got the last pour of Chickow! and thought it was pretty good, but definitely not a big standout.

As far as GI, I have been an avid supporter of theirs, but I will agree that Prop was bad. However, my buddy said it was great (he was also 5 beers deep before going into FOBAB, so who knows what his palate was like). It was just way too smoky for me. I do think that it could still turn into a great (or good) beer depending on if that smokiness tones down. I also thought '16 Coffee was so coffee-forward that I didn't care for it. Regular was OK - definitely got the berry flavor. Their lines were crazy stupid - I chose '16 Coffee over '14 Prop because I knew I wouldn't make it back through again. I think some of that line madness has to do with the remaining stuff after a couple hours just not being that great. I managed to get Templeton thanks to a guy that works for Binny's giving me his pour, so I was grateful for that - such a good beer.

 

My first Beer Fest. Wow! Tried so many different things to check off my bucket list. So glad I was able to attend. Thought it was very well done and everyone played nice. Utopias was unreal. Several times we got lucky and got pours just before they blew.cant wait to go back next year!

 

So imbibe is early entrance? Was it an option to purchase that versus a regular ticket?

 

Saturday late session here...I guess I was one of the only ones here who genuinely enjoyed Prop 16? It tasted like biting into one of those fancy pepper dark chocolate bars mouthful of dark chocolate then a nice but strong and smooth chili pepper. I really also enjoyed the Hazle's Nuts actually one of my favorites from the fest. Fremont KDS Spice Wars was awesome, somehow was poured an entire glass of Prop 14 and wasn't mad, the 13 Templeton Rye BC was amazing too... Also got a nice pour of 15 Regal Rye. Was stoked to try that BA Ten Fidy and that didn't disappoint. The Goose Clybourne Impervious was good, but it seemed to be hyped up and I didn't LOVE it. And as everyone else said- so many good sour offerings. Great FOBAB.

 

This assessment of '16 Prop is spot on. Definitely one to lay down for a while. BC Coffee tasted great. The Reg BC was hot AF.
Compared to last year, the Goose line was a mess. Bring back the dual stations.
Also, I don't know if it was the "mood lighting" or if they sold more tickets per session, but this year seemed so much more crowded. In the 3 years I've gone to FOBAB at this venue, this was my least favorite crowd-wise. Things seemed to kick much earlier than usual too.
As far as offerings, it was fantastic as usual. Missed out on BA Malevolence Caliente but Weldwerks Mex Achromatic was a great consolation. Their Peach Climacteric was my standout sour. Lake Bluff's Kosmonaut was my standout stout. It was a chocolate bomb.

 

Yeah, you get in an hour earlier. But, you have to join IMBIBE like 30-45 days before the pre-sale for FOBAB.

 

It was certainly jam packed, crowd wise although in the AM session yesterday it seemed like the crowd thinned out significantly after the awards (or, maybe just because about 1/3rd of the people got in the BCS line). I'm glad they used larger signage to indicate what styles were in each aisle along with the color coding. And beers were in relative order too. That was my biggest gripe last year; it was very hard to find certain beers.

 

It was a very well organized event. The lines were not too bad, they seemed to be worse right in the beginning. Especially when they made the poor decision to have Prop 16 in a booth, caused a huge bottleneck.

I agree with others, Prop 16 was a disaster. Sweet and burn at the end and not in a good way. Prop 14 was the highlight of the night for me. First time I actually got to have that and it was amazing. I went with someone who knew a GI guy and got a full pour of Vanilla Rye. I honestly never understood the hype for this, it was just OK for me as it always has been. Just taste artificial. The 13 Templeton Rye was delicous. The coffee is my all time favorite beer and it will continue to be after having the 16. BA Ten Fiddy was underwhelming. I think I had 5 pours of Madame Rose, that was so refreshing.

Overall a fun night and glad I was able to go!

 

How awkward is Prop Day going to be if they're trying to celebrate this beer and NO ONE likes it. I mean, some people might be equivocal on it, but I've heard nobody say they love this thing.

 

They'll be some interesting #propday hashtags on twitter. That's for sure.

 

I'm so happy I didn't win tickets now. Outside of the vintages they'll be releasing, I have no reason to want to go. It was such a disappointment. And it doesn't make any sense. How hard is it to focus on tried and true flavors? Also, I thought they tested this stuff on a small level before going full scale. For a beer that's meant to be a thank you to the city of Chicago, it's starting to come across as more of a participation award.

 

I'm not sure how such talented brewers can screw it up again.

I mean, they clearly know what they're doing with fruit and coffee, and they do a good job with spices and peppers in their non-bcs beers, how do they screw this up so badly.

 

I think the problem lies in the constant turnover they have in brewers and at the head brewer spot, its always someone knew these days

 

You should read all the posts. People have liked it. Not me (at least not at this point), but if you read posts, there are people that have enjoyed it.

GI will not be hurting at all for BCBS love this year or next year.

 

That could excuse smaller batches of experimental flavors. But there's no good excuse for messing up Prop quite that badly. It is now at a 50% success rate for virtually all beer drinkers I know.

 

Throw me in the group of thinking Prop was disgusting. My buddy liked it though. Only waited in line for Parabajava and DDG. Would of liked to try the Weld Works beers but that BAMA line was long. Why couldn't you of been there when I lived in Greeley circa '98! It was crowded compared to years past but overall another successful FOBAB!