Sour Fest

No problem, I wasn't complaining about the Odell/NOLA thing, just pointing it out to anybody that might be making a geek list of the beers to check out, like I do

Thanks for putting on another great sour fest, and I'm happy to hear the money went to another great cause.

Cheers, Avery!

 

Awesome event, ran flawlessly. Thanks Avery!

Highlights for me:
Lost Abbey Framboise. Never disappoints
Odell Piña Agria
AC Golden Troys blend. Holy moly Troy is creating gueuze/lambic without a "coolship"/spontaneous fermentation.
Avery Erimita 2. Nom nom
New Belgium/Avery blend #2

Disappointments:
Asher Eaux de vie. tasted like pure ethyl acetate. I think they sent a 1/6 barrel of nail polish instead of beer
Cascade manhattan. Sour emergin-C kinda weird
Crooked Stave running out of waels blood before I could try it

 

Likewise I thought it was really well done this year having more beer under tents and up front and making more room for seating.

Highlights:
Crooked Stave Dry Hopped L'Brett D'or & Waelz Blood
AC Golden Troy's Blend & Peche
Le Terroir
Framboise de Amarosa
Red Swingline (after not having it before, simply amazing)

Surprises:
Odell Piña Agria (actually surprising how good it was for pineapple + brett & lacto)
Great Divide Saison Brauer (so much better than last year's Bretti Yeti, sour program is moving right along)
Grimm Brothers Farmers Wild Daughter (knowing it was an Oktoberfest before drinking helped, this was a really interesting mix and again another style of beer that was brett'd up and complemented the munich/vienna malt well)
NB Ooh La Leopold Stout (probably the best sour stout I've ever had, impeccably well done)
FW Lil Opal - wish they bottled this session-able sour, while just a hint of sour it was sooo smooth and sooo good, one would never guess it spent 3-years on oak. Vanilla and caramel goodness.

If I had any disappointment it was Perennial. Good, not great. Not bad beer, but not the same high standard as their barrel aged stouts. Although if you're reading this Perennial, I really do appreciate the sours they sent, they're on the right track. I think out of both Savant Beersel was the better. The strawberry rhubarb needed a bit more balance.

 

Yesterday was a great time. Waelz Blood was gone when I got back to the CS tent, which was the first place I went.

Pizza Port's Double Entendre, Dry Hopped L'Brett D'Or, Troy's Blend and La Terrior were my favorites of the day.

The Asher beer (aged 18 mos in 50yr old cognac barrels) was one of the worst beers I've ever had, though the description sounded amazing.

 

That asher beer was a trainwreck.

Odell's Pina Agria was my favorite of the day. Lots of strong showings, but something about how the pinapple caught me off guard made me just love it.

 

I echo everybody's sentiments: Avery deserves kudos for running a great event. Other than my disappointment that certain beers tapped out relatively quickly (not Avery's fault), it was pretty flawless. I hope the money raised goes to a good cause.

Luckily I didnt waste a ticket on that Asher beer. My friends forewarned me. Odell's Pina Agria seems to be getting alot of love. I liked it, but it was too one dimensional for my palate (all I tasted was pineapple).

Biggest hits for me:
Avery's Homebrew Club Miscellus
Crabtree Ottow-Bahn
Lost Abbey Cuvee
Crooked Stave Origins Grand Cru
Upslope Belgian Dark
Verboten What Hump? (a surprise for me)
NBB/Avery Blend #2

Biggest surprise: easily NBB's Coffee. It shouldn't work, but I couldn't stop tasting it.

Disappointments:
Asher
Trinity's Gangsta and Ten Minutes of Pleasure
Cascade Vlad the Imp (although this may be a result of super high expectations)
Grant Teton's Oud Bruin
Grimm's Farmers Wild Daughter

But to taper my opinion: all of the "disappointment" beers were still good (except for the Asher, which I didnt care for). It's just when youre tasting some of the best sours in the world, your palate gets used to luxury. :-)

 

I wasn't @ sour fest, but I had a pint of the GT Oud Bruin last week in Wyoming, and I feel your disappointment. It wasn't bad, but it sure as shit wasn't sour. I'm so glad I won't be buying any bombers of it.

 

I was definitely happy with the selection this year. Some good, some not so good. Troy and AC Golden brought it for sure, the peach was awesome as well. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned NOLA as a disappointment...I had all three and they were hard to drink.

 

Can not emphasize enough how much ASS AC Golden kicked at the Festival. The Colorambic is about as close to gueuze from an American brewer you are going to get. Not to mention, the Plum, Peche, and Berliner were all exceptional, as well.

 

Yeah, I can't believe the amazing beers that Troy and the AC Golden crew have put out in the last year. Between them, Crooked Stave, and a few others, I feel so lucky to live where I do.

 

Haha now I know. I hadn't had anything by them before, so it was a new experience. I guess disappointment came based on the descriptions sounding good, but agreed that I should know better.