Great American Beer Festival on the Road
Baltimore, MD
Sat. 5/16/98, noon-4:30pm
Once upon a time, GABF went on the road. I really mean ONCE upon a time. I don't know why it didn't continue - the one festival was a huge success as far as I could see. Since we've never made it to Denver for the real deal, this is as close as we've come, and it was awesome!
Becky's Beers: (I recommend you not count them)
Catamount Porter: Catamount Brewing, Windsor, VT
Seeing as how I am a Vermonter, I had to start here! Lighter brown color than most porters. Light body but good flavor. Nice hoppy finish that doesn't overpower the malt. 8.4
Brooklyn Brown Ale: Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
Nutty color. Faint watery aroma. Slightly ammonia too. Ammonia is in the flavor as well - not a well balanced taste. Too little malt. The hops taste over-cooked (?) - a rather unpleasant chemical taste. 7.7
Ozzy: Brewer's Art, Baltimore, MD
Belgian style golden. Clear gold color. Faint aroma. Nice clean taste of yeasty/spicy. Perhaps a little too highly clove spiced to be excellent, but it is very good! 8.5
William Jones Wheat: El Toro Brewing, Morgan Hill, CA
Pale gold-filtered wheat - somewhat unusual for the style. Wheat showing in aroma. Very light in flavor. Refreshing. Good body. Good, but not outstanding. 8.0
Bare Ass Blonde: DuClaw Brewing, Bel Air, MD
Slightly cloudy looking. Yeasty aroma. Rather similar to previous beer. 8.0
Blonde Bombshell: McNeill's Brewing, Brattleboro, VT
Not surprisingly, hoppier than other samples of similar beers. More flavor, more finish. A subtle but important distinction. 8.2
Dram Tree Scottish Ale: Front Street Brewery, Wilmington, NC
Light coppery color. Smells -- potent!! Smooth but too light in body. Decent flavor. Could use a little magnification - all the punch is in the aroma. 7.8
Low Down Brown Ale: Cottonwood Brewing, Boone, NC
Opaque dark brown. Interestingly complex aroma. Strong hop nose but malt also evident. Finish is strongly hoppy. A well-made beer. Body slightly thin. 8.4
Smoked Porter: Alaskan Brewing Comany, Juneau, AK
Deep brown color. Very light head. Smoky-hoppy aroma. Very smoky flavor - but tasty. Middle of swallow sort of lacking. Starts with smoke, finishes with hops. Otherwise quite yummy. Good fluid body. 8.5
Bundaberg Ginger Beer: Bardo Rodeo, Arlington, VA
Effervescent. Ginger evident in aroma. This beer would be good for an upset tummy. Hops and ginger not a match made in heaven. Body rather light. It should be a lighter beer - but not this light. 7.8
Immort Ale: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Lewes, DE
Golden red. Cloudy. Not much aroma. Beer's recipe includes maple syrup. A strong, sweet ale. Just shy of being cloyingly sweet. Not much hops. Enjoyable. 8.1 [2010 notes: in the winter of 2010, this was one of my favorite beers!]
European Zebra Raspberry: European Zebra Beers, Indian Springs, OH
Not overpowering but not subtle raspberry aroma. Clear golden color with thick head. Flavor is subtle with a gentle wheaty taste. Body slightly thin. Wheat-like qualities very prevalent. 8.2
Arapahoe Amber: Great Divide Brewing, Denver, CO
Dark gold color. Effervescent. I think the previous beer - raspberry - polluted this sample; but it seems tasty. Trying to filter the raspberry out of the taste, but its too predominant. Very faint hops. 7.8
Edmund Fitzgerald Porter: Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH
Hoppy aroma. Almost black color. Good combination of hops and malt. Well balanced. Good body. A noticeable hoppy finish that doesn't leave you puckered. 8.4
Raspberry Wheat: J.J. Bitting Brewing, Woodbridge, NJ
Watery aroma. Bitter. Too little raspberry flavor. Too much hops for a wheat. 7.2
Summer Wheat: Henry Ortlieb Brewing, Philadelphia, PA
Thick head. Pale yellow. Unfiltered. Bubble taste. Slightly bitter but clean and crisp enough to be refreshing. 7.8
Chocolate Porter: Old Hickory Brewing, Hickory, NC
Deep brown color. Light head. Faint aroma. Chocolate is present but is overwhelmed by hops. 7.6
Stovepipe Porter: Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, VT
Smoky aroma. Gentle hoppy finish. Good body. Enjoyable. 8.2
Framboise: New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI
Tart raspberry aroma. Red! color. Very effervescent. Tart - more like soda or cider or wine. Exceptionally drinkable! 8.7
Belgian Red: New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI
Similar to Framboise but flavor is black cherry. Wow! Very tasty. 8.5
Razz Wheat: Oaken Barrel Brewing, Greenwood, IN
Subtle aroma. No head. Guava colored. Would consider this pretty good but it pales next to New Glarus' example. 8.0
Tasha's Red Tail Ale: Stark Mill Brewing, Manchester, NH
Flat aroma. Astringent feeling in mouth. Flavor subtle, but ammonia-y. Body weak. 7.8
Weiss: Tabernash Brewing, Denver, CO
Pale gold & bubbly. Strong hefeweisen aroma. Clean, crisp and unpretentious. Slightly spicy. 8.3
White: Allagash Brewing, Portland, ME
Belgian-style - lightly spicy aroma. Citrus has gone slightly sour but it's not gross. Good carbonation and body. Zippy finish. 8.2
Stoney Creek Vanilla Porter: Stoney Creek Brewing, Novi, MI
Almost black color. Foamy head. Hard to classify aroma. Wonder if previous beer polluted it? Coffee-like flavor with vanilla. Very sweet - would have it for breakfast. Very light hops on finish. Interesting flavor. I like it! (note: took 2 samples - aroma had not been polluted, was just faint). 8.8
Whiptail Golden Ale
Uinta Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT
Pale yellow color. No head. Light flavor and body. Not much to this beer. 7.7
St. Boisterous Hellerbock: Victory Brewing, Downington, PA
Medium amber color. Clover-like aroma. Complex aroma and flavor. Honey, clover, gentle hops - tasty! 8.2
Checker Ca Blonde Ale: Chelsea Brewing, New York, NY
Flat aroma. More like a pilsner than Blonde. Well made for a Pils but not very interesting as a Blonde. Not much to it, with an unpleasant ammonia aftertaste. 7.5
Maibock: Atwater Block Brewery, Detroit, MI
Deep amber color. Vinegary aroma. Vinegar/malt flavor. Too much vinegar. Flavor and body decent otherwise. 7.7
Wheat Bock: Boston Bay Brewing Company, Boston, MA
Medium golden. Sweet aroma. Sweet and malty taste from front of swallow to back. Somewhat too sweet. Found only a tiny trace of hoppiness and then only after the sample warmed up. Not a complex beer. 8.0
John's Brews:
Porter: Catamount Brewing, Windsor, VT
Thin body for a porter. Light brown color. Slightly bitter, hoppy taste. Nice taste, but not a classic porter. 8.1
Black Chocolate Stout: Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
A medium stout color with slightly lighter body than an average stout. Nice aroma. A malty taste that's out of balance. 7.8
Russian Imperial Stout: Bluegrass Brewing, Louisville, KY
A dark stout color with a reddish head. A smoky, malty, slightly bitter taste. 8.0
Poppy Jasper Amber Ale: El Toro Brewing Company, Morgan Hill, CA
Medium body. Interesting fairly hoppy tasate. Good balance. I could enjoy this on a warm summer day. 8.4
Roggen Schatz: Flossmoor Station Brewing, Flossmoor, IL
Interesting - subtle rye taste, good body for a relatively light taste. Could use more flavor, but interesting and different. 8.0
Brown Bier: Franconia Brewing, McKinney, TX
A light but flavorful lager. Not my style of beer, but a pretty good representative of the sample. 7.8
Golden Ale: Deep Creek Brewing, Oakland, MD
Light - not much body. It has some taste, but it's not the beer I'd choose to have on a summer day. Are they entrants in the "imitation Budweiser" category?
Frontier Ale: Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK
This golden ale has a definite zip to it. A strong but balanced taste. Malt and hops in good proportion. A tad light in body, but delicious. 8.5
Demo Tibetan Sasquatch: Bardo Rodeo, Arlington, VA
A "strong" ale without that much taste. A beer to get drunk on but not much else. 7.4
Old Thumper: Shipyard Brewing, Portland, ME
A cask-conditioned ale. It's relatively smooth for a strong beer. It needs more malt taste. 7.7
Eliot Ness Lager: Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH
A malty amber lager. Well balanced and tasty. A little thin in body. 8.3
Copper Ale: Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, VT
A nicely balanced red ale with a complex, interesting taste. 8.4
Apple Ale: New Glarus Brewing, New Glarus, WI
Effervescent. It tastes like cider. The taste is very clean, good and different. 8.4
Framboise: New Glarus Brewing, New Glarus, WI
Very fruity - a little too much for my taste. The underlying beer is good though. 7.8
Belgian Red: New Glarus Brewing, New Glarus, WI
A strong cherry taste. Again, a good beer but a little too much fruit. 8.1
Virginia Native Dark (notes did not include the brewer but believe this to be Virginia Beverage Company out of Alexandria, VA)
A nice malty beer. Mike [reference to a fellow beer geek in attendance] says this is the old "Dark Horse" recipe. 8.3
Porter: Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA
A classic. Tasty - leaning slightly toward the chocolate side. A tad think in the body department. Yes, I'd have this on a regular basis. 8.5
Red Ale: Bullfrog Brewing, Williamsport, PA
Weak body, good taste. Flavorful but watery. 8.1
No comments:
Post a Comment