Orange County Brew Ha Ha 2015

Be careful driving in and out of this event. It's always a shit show and cops set up check points everywhere

 

Looks good, did not know about it, so I did not make plans. This weekend will be difficult as it's my daughter's birthday and I would not feel like a real father if I ditched her for a beer festival.

 

OC Brew HaHa is a great event. Only downside is the area is a cell phone dead zone, so prepare accordingly.

 

I mean, aside from the random one off a brewery is bringing to show off or make a splash, I've fo0und that Brew-ha ha and the many other random beer festivals have a tap list that you could get just by going to said brewery on any given day. Great for folks who are new to the scene, but offers very little in the way of special offerings.

Then when I overhear organizers of these babies-first-brew-fest that they like to keep lines fairly long and space food and beer far away so that folks have to make a clear choice of going to one or the other and having the distance pads out time so folks don't get so shit faced at the all you can drink format, then it just makes me not want to go to these events at all.

 

I've always had a blast at the event and I'll be there this year.

For the person who mentioned cops, I've been to every single one and never once seen a checkpoint. Don't get me wrong, don't drink and drive by any means but I wouldn't consider it a giant trap either.

As for the beer, for a main stream beer fest, this place always has the best options. Most breweries bring something special that will get tapped at a certain time. If I remember correctly, last year Bottle Logic debuted darkstar november. I got so many pours of that awesomeness. I'm hoping they bring out this years batch this year on Saturday.

 

Definitely interested in trying a few more options from Riip and maybe some darkstar (fingers crossed). Who knows maybe Goose Island will preview Rare at this event But in all seriousness this is my first year going do they typically post a taplist before the event starts?

 

For those without FB. Here is the info they posted in the link above.

Avery Brewing Company
Hog Heaven Barleywine
Joe's Pilsner Pilsner
Lilikoi Kepolo Belgain White Ale

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits
Calm Before the Storm Cream Ale w/ Coffee
Grunion American Pale Ale
Victory At Sea (BA blend w/ black marlin and cherries)

Big Sky Brewing Company
Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout (VIP)
Moose Drool Brown Ale
Summer Honey Ale
Trout Slayer Wheat Ale

Black Market Brewing Co.
Cherry Sour Sour Ale
Aftermath Pale Ale

Bootlegger's Brewery
Blonde Blone Ale
Far Out IPA
Knuckle Sandwich DIPA
Special Cask for VIP
Tropical Thunder Hoppy Wheat

Boulevard Brewing Company
Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale
The Calling IPA

Dos Desperados Brewery
El Hefe Hefeweizen
Session IPA Session IPA

Einstök Icelandic Craft Ale
Arctic Berry Fruit Beer
Toasted Porter Porter

Elysian Brewing
Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
Space Dust IPA

Goose Island
IPA IPA
Oktoberfest Autumn Ale

Great Divide Brewing Co.
Collett Farmhouse Saison
Lasso Session IPA
Titan IPA
White Water Hefeweizen

Legacy Brewing Company
Funding Fathers Nut Brown Ale
Hellfire IPA
That Guava Beer Fruit Beer

Modern Times Beer
Fortunate Islands Session IPA
Special release TBD

North Coast Brewing Company
Brother Thelonious Belgain Abbey Ale
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (nitro)
Puck Petite Saison

Oskar Blues Brewery
Death by Coconut Irish Porter
IPA (Brand new!)

Pizza Port
Chronic Ale Amber Ale
Swami's IPA

Refuge Brewery
Blood Orange Wit Belgian Style White Ale
Grapefruit IPA IPA

Reverend Nat's Hard Cider
Hopricot Belgian Hopped Cider
Revival Apple Cider

Ritual Brewing Co.
Climb On Pale Ale
Extra Red California Red Ale
Fat Hog Barleywine
Hellion Belgian Golden Strong
Hop-O-Matic IPA
Single Rye Equinox IPA

Saint Archer Brewing Company
IPA India Pale Ale
Mosiac IPA Double IPA
White Ale Witbier

Stadium Brew Co
Blueberry Lager Fruit Beer
Citra Double IPA

Stone Brewing Co.
Stochasticity Project Your Father Smelt of Elderberries
19th Anniversary "Thunderstruck" IPA with finger limes

Valiant Brewing
Bahama Breeze Belgian Golden Strong Ale w/ Lemon Guavas
Citcoe Drive Citra/Simcoe IPA
Haute Blounde Lauger Lager w/ Mango and Serrano
Unkel Dunkel Munich Dunkel

Weins Brewery
Deadpan American Pilsner
Insomnia IPA

 

I see a few things that excite me, mainly the death by coconut and I'm sure Modern Times will bring it with their special release. Fingers crossed its that new IPA they made with the South African hops. Honestly though, most of the breweries I'm excited for aren't even on that list so who knows what will end up being there.

 

Just go to the ha ha and try it for yourself. I haven't had it but I have full faith in Pizza Port in not allowing a F'd up IPA to come out with their name on it.

 

So does anyone want to meet up and grab a beer at the event?

 

Hey...I'll buy everyone a round of beers once we are inside.

 

Maan..I think my 14 year old kid sister has had those beers on that list. But of course she is 6'3" and 250.

 

On Saturday, September 12th, 2015 I was in attendance at the Orange County Brew Ha Ha Craft Beer Festival. (http://www.ocbrewhaha.com/) It was held at the sprawling Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, CA. The first thing I noticed driving to the fest was the isolated location of the venue. Living in Los Angeles County and having friends and family in San Diego and Orange Counties, this locale was a nice nature retreat and a pleasant escape from the crowded cityscape. The OC Brew Ha featured 250+ Craft & Import Beers from over 90 breweries. Unlimited tastings were the major draw of this event, at $45 for a pre-purchased general admission ticket and $55 at the gate. The event started at 12 PM for the VIP ticket holders and 1 PM for non-important people. The VIP ticket ran $60 (at the gate $70) and included everything general admission included in addition to early entry and a VIP Exclusive Beer Appreciation Seminar by renowned beer experts with specially selected beer. The Ultimate Experience Package went from 12:00 PM-4:00 PM for $150 and limited to 200 tickets. This ticket came with a private air conditioned lounge, exclusive beer and wine selections, complimentary small plate food offerings, VIP Parking, private executive restrooms, and special UE VIP Commemorative Glass.

Did I mentioned unlimited tastings? Okay, at $45 for all you can drink is a great deal, especially in So Cal where a 3 hour bender could run a hundred dollars, easily. Also, I want to try as many new beers I haven’t had the opportunity to taste. If I had to buy a bottle of each of the beer I tasted at the festival, it could cost a more than $45, so again the ticket price was a bargain. With the temperature eclipsing 100 degrees, it was nice for the event organizers to offer free soda and water for the participants imbibing and for the driving designees. The park setting was awesome with plenty of shaded seating. There was a live band and a chill cigar lounge, of which I partook. Porters and cigars are a great combo! The event also offered life sized versions of Jenga, Battleship, Connect Four, and Foos-Ball games. Adjacent to the cigar lounge were a few pool tables and a basketball court. And an afternoon of drinking outdoors wouldn’t be complete without a game of corn-hole. There were also some skaters taking advantage of a mini half-pipe.

Alright, enough about the weather, games, and location, on to the beer. To preface this portion, I’m not going to review any beers because every single brewery at the festival that I sampled from brought their best products. So in essence, everything I had was fantastic. Of course a few stood out more than others for different reasons, but it’s hard to be objective while drinking in a fun-filled environment like Brew Ha Ha. I’m probably going to miss a few breweries, but the one’s I mention may be worth a look. The first booth I hit was Epic Brewing from Utah. (http://www.epicbrewing.com/) Next I tried Boulevard Brewing Kansas City, MO. (http://www.boulevard.com/) I passed on the Bottle Logic from Anaheim, CA (http://bottlelogic.com/) booth because the line was 50 deep clamoring for the limited, special, reserve, super, exclusive beer they just made availabe to the festival. Oh well, I’ve had Bottle Logic before and I strategically decided to go to booths without long lines that I have never tried before to make the most out of my 3 hour ale allotment. On to the next one, which was Acoustic Brewing from San Diego, CA (http://www.acousticales.com/home.html). I moved to Tap It Brewing out of San Luis Opisbo (http://tapitbrewing.com/), a brand that I have enjoyed previously. El Segundo Brewing Co. hailing from El Segundo, CA (http://www.elsegundobrewing.com/home.html) was the next stop and it was a delicious stop. King Harbor Brewing Co. (http://kingharborbrewing.com/) coming straight outta Torrance, CA was one of my local breweries that I haven’t been able to reach, so this was a worthwhile sip years in the making. Next up was the cider section and the most interesting looking banner read, “Local. Organic. Probiotic.” That banner was for California 101 Cider House (http://www.101cider.com/) from Los Angeles, CA. 101 had an India Pale Cider that was fantastic and a farmhouse cider that was dark gray in color, but also delicious. We moved on to Golden Road Brewing (http://www.goldenroad.la/) a Los Angeles, CA company. Down the line was Firemans Brewery located in Canoga Park, CA .(http://www.firemansbrew.com/homepage) . The other part of the stratgy was to tag-team every booth with my wife (drinking partner) to maximize the number of beers we can cover. This is where the memory gets a bit fuzzy and I can’t recall the next 3 or 4 breweries, but I remember stopping a Hangar 24 from Redlands, CA, (http://www.hangar24brewery.com/) the favorite of my beer partner from Hangar is the Orange Wheat. We decided to have a stogie and a few more beers, and finally the last stop was Ballast Point, which is still one of my favorite brewery labels (http://www.ballastpoint.com/).

Overall, the OC Brew Ha Ha was an amazing festival. Tons of beer, food, games, and merchandise. Everyone at the festival was friendly and courteous. My only gripe is that it is only one day.

 

Cool story Hansel.

 

Thanks

 

So basically your saying you went to a beer fest...and had some beers.