Great American Beer Festival 2010

The 29th annual Great American Beer Festival took place in Denver the weekend of September 16th -18th, the largest gathering of craft beer brewers and beer aficionados in the country. Over 49,000 people attended, and were offered over 2200 flavors of beer to sample from. What an event! Being a newcomer to the festival, my expectations were guided by accounts of past festivals from friends and co-workers. Get there early, have a plan for what you want to taste, hold on tight to your tasting cup and enjoy the ride. And what a ride it was! I was fortunate to attend the festival with my brother, who had acquired media passes for the weekend for a documentary he is working on. This allowed me to get a great feel for the festival and what goes on behind the scenes throughout the entire weekend.

It's a good thing that they hold it in the Convention Center, because they sure need the space. The room held food booths and tables, a huge t-shirt sales area, a book store, a large stage area with seating for the awards ceremony and multiple displays on kegerators, beer glasses, hops, brewing maps and just about anything else beer related, all surrounding 16 gigantic islands that each housed tasting tables for about 30 breweries, each of which offering anywhere from 2-6 samples of suds. The islands were arranged by region, which helped put the myriad of brewers in perspective. The tasting sessions ran Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 5:30-10 p.m., along with a Saturday afternoon tasting. Participants are given a 4oz. plastic tasting cup upon entry. At first I wondered “why plastic?” But that question was answered early and often. The sound of the cup hitting the hard floor is quite distinctive, and is always followed by a huge “OH!” from the surrounding crowd. The Saturday afternoon session is a members only session for the Brewers Association and American Homebrewers Association. A real glass tasting cup is provided, and yes, I saw some of those hit the floor as well, with an even louder “OH!” to follow. Each pour was about an ounce of beer, which at first seemed small, but made sense by the end of the weekend with so many different flavors to try.

For the most part, the attendees are beer geeks, and this is their Super Bowl. Almost everyone was wearing a t-shirt or outfit promoting their favorite beer, brewery or style. Costumes, hats and beads all contributed to the festive nature of the event. These folks sure know their beer and breweries! Lines grew quickly for some of the more fabled breweries and brews. The folks at Dogfish Head probably hosted the most consistent line, averaging around 50 people or so throughout the weekend. Charlie Papazian, the author of the Complete Joy of Home Brewing and current president of the Brewer's Association was treated like the Godfather of Beer, as folks approached him left and right for photos and autographs. He also presented the awards to each of the 240 plus medal winners. Bronze, Silver and Gold medals are given out in each of 79 different categories of beer styles. I thought wine was the more complicated beverage with all of its regions and varietals, but I now have my doubts! There were awards for fruit beer, rye beer, bitters, extra special bitters, wheat beer, Scotch ales, smoked beer, barrel aged beer, sour beer, stouts, German style this and British style that, and…well you get the idea. The individual names of the beers are often fun and colorful: Smokey the Beer, Skidmark Brown Ale, Oil Change Stout, Hop Crisis!, Key Lime Pie and What in the Helles? were among my favorite monikers.

And the myriad of flavors did not disappoint! I am a big fan of IPA's, so I devoted Thursday evening to sampling that style, tasting such familiar favorites as Pliney the Elder, O'Dell's IPA and Pizza Port's Hop 15, as well as previously untried offerings such as Russian River's Hopfather, 21st Amendment's Hop Crisis! and Pizza Port's Doheny Double IPA. All were so good and unique, it was hard to pick a favorite. I devoted most of Friday's session to stouts and porters. Maui Brewing's Coconut Porter, Fade to Black from Left Hand Brewery in Longmont and the Night Rider Imperial Stout from Pizza Port Carlsbad were among my favorites. I made several trips back for the coconut porter over the weekend. Saturday's afternoon session was a bit more serious than the previous sessions, as it was a members only session for Brewer's Association and American Homebrewer's cardholders. I saw lots of folks taking notes and acting more like judges than swillers Saturday afternoon. The awards took place during this session, and there was a huge standing room only crowd around the stage. Boisterous cheers popped up around the crowd as various winners were announced. I devoted most of this session to tasting some of the winning beers, as did many others. Lines were long for Short's Brewing's Key Lime Pie, New Glarus' Raspberry Tart, Pizza Port's Revelations and Firestone Walker's Red Nectar. Winners in the Brewery of the Year categories were Blue Moon for large Brewer, Utah Brewers Cooperative for mid-sized brewery and Mad River Brewing out of Blue Lake, California for small brewery. TAPS Fish House out of Brea, California won the Brewpub Group award, and Pizza Port Carlsbad and Pizza Port San Clemente won large and small Brewpub of the year awards, respectively. Colorado was well represented on the podium, with breweries such as Pagosa Springs Brewing Company, Blue Moon, New Belgium, New Planet, Denver's Sandlot, AC Golden, Steamworks Brewing Company from Durango, Dry Dock Brewing from Aurora, Twisted Pine from Boulder, Del Norte Brewing from Denver, CB Potts from Fort Collins, Pug Ryan's from Dillon, Glenwood Canyon Brewing, Ska Brewing from Durango, Mountain Sun from Boulder, Yak and Yeti from Arvada, Boulder Beer Company, Rock Bottom from Louisville, Bristol Brewing from Colorado Springs, Equinox Brewing from Fort Collins, Great Divide from Denver, Dillon Dam Brewery and Lefthand Brewing from Longmont all winning awards. Great showing Colorado!

Saturday evening's session was the most raucous and crowded. I had already done a ton of tasting by then, so I spent my time tasting the few things that slipped through the cracks, but mostly just enjoying the scene. We started by checking out the line, one of the longest I have ever scene at any type of event I have attended. It ran the width of a city sidewalk and stretched beyond the 4 blocks that I could see from standing on a barricade. Our media passes allowed us to bypass this line so we could get inside to shoot film of the eager crowd entering the hall. We also spent some time in the Farm to Table room, tasting beer that had been paired with delicious appetizers prepared by local chefs. The media passes also allowed us to join a tour of the Breckenridge Brewery and Stranahan's Whiskey Distillery, and important side trip as Stranahan's only uses a barrel once when aging whiskey. The used barrels are then snapped up by brewers from around the country for aging beer. Yes, there is a waiting list.

Denver was the perfect host for this event. The weather was sunny and perfect for late summer, and the friendly downtown area allowed us to walk everywhere in the evenings, from breweries to pubs and restaurants, most of which offered specials and promotions to all of the beer devotees in town. My brother and his buddy are very savvy city dwellers from New York, and aren't easily impressed. But both said that Denver and its brewing culture blew them away. Where are all of the people? (compared to over-packed New York), and Is it always this nice here? were common comments, and they were impressed with how easy it was to walk from place to place. Coming from the other end of the spectrum, I was happy to be in such urban surroundings without having to deal with driving and the traffic. Denver is truly a special city for beer lovers, and we are lucky to have it so close by. My first G.A.B.F was a smashing success, and I look forward to many happy returns.

Chip Bartsch

West Vail Liquor Mart

Colorado Craft Beers

It's been a bit more than four years since I moved West from the East coast of this immense land called the United States. One of the things that called my attention to this rugged state is the amount of microbrews in operation that are relatively new and still growing in this country. My curiosity about the world of spirits and beers began when I went to ABC Bartending School in South Beach, Florida in 2002. Although, honestly, I have never seen a larger selection of beers anywhere else besides here, (and high-end liquor stores in New York City).

At West Vail Liquor Mart we carry all hand crafted beers from our state that are bottled or canned and distributed for the public (Avery, Great Divide, Odell, New Belgium, Backcountry, Ska, Boulder, Oskar Blues, Breckenridge). It is really impossible to mention all of the restaurants that have their own brew on tap; the list would go on for ever. But this time I am only going to write about a couple of the Colorado craft beers.

Not too long ago I was at a ski resort still in operation. I'm a very passionate snowboarder, so I ride from day number one, until A-Basin closes. And most of the time on my way back to Vail, I have to make a stop at the Backcountry Brewery in Frisco, to recharge after a long day of adventure in the mountains. If you walk in the restaurant up the stairs, on your left, you'll see their boilers and fermenting tanks. You would be really impressed how small the operation actually is. They always have a Porter, IPA, Amber, Wheat, a specialty beer for each season and a Pilsner (Ptarmigan) on tap. The pilsner is my favorite for this time of year; it has a very light hop aroma, smooth malt flavor and a very crisp and clean finish. Their brews are around 5 to 6% alcohol, but they all taste fresh and full of flavor. So if you're passing by the area, is not a bad idea to stop on Main Street, Frisco to locate the Brewery and get a hamburger or ribs and a Porter (Peak One) to pair it with. They use 6 different malts and 2 varieties of hops to create this creamy, dark and toasty brew.

A couple of weeks ago I went to Fort Collins and on my way back to the mountains. I made a stop in Longmont to visit Nick at Oskar Blues Brewery for a quick tour. These guys really know how to make good and consistent beers. The most particular thing about them is that they began using cans before any other microbrewery in the U.S. by making their hoppy and award winning Dale's Pale in cans in 2002. Their original location was in Lyons before they expanded to a bigger facility in Longmont. Their Lager style beer or Pilsner as they like to call it, Mama's Little Yella Pils, is made with 100% pale malt, German specialty malts and Bavarian hops. It is a beer with full structure and flavor, refreshing, smooth and has a very gentle bitter end. It is exceptional and unlike other mass market Pilsners, this brew is not diluted with corn and rice. It is by far my favorite pick for the summer. And, the fact that cans are a superior container than glass bottles is a plus because these are completely sealed and they are not exposed to oxygen or light. This keeps the beer fresher until you pour it into your favorite glass. Also, cans are welcome everywhere like the pool, hot tub and all over outdoors. They are easier and lighter to travel with. These are a few reasons why Oskar Blues is one of my favorite breweries. It's meant to be here in Colorado.

Beer is our gift from above to enjoy in our lives and nature as well. Drink responsibly and have a great summer.

By Felipe Cueto, West Vail Liquor Mart

Sweet Tea Vodka

It seems that just a year ago, no one would even recognize “Sweet Tea Vodka.” Now it is in every liquor store and bar across the country. What is it? Where is it from? What do you do with it? These are all questions a consumer would ask about something that is so new and so completely unique.
Let's start with where it is from. Because it claims to be the original, I would like to take the story from the guys who started Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. Anyone from the South can remember drinking plain old sweet tea in the summer, the very hot and humid summer, that is. Firefly started on South Carolina's Wadmalaw Island. A man by the name of Jim Irvin moved there in 2000 and planted a bunch of Muscadine grapes and started to produce his own wine. While selling this wine he ran into a liquor distributer Scott Newitt. Newitt was impressed with his wine and suggested the idea of starting to distill spirits.
What is it? Firefly is vodka distilled four times and infused with tea grown on a plantation four miles away. It uses no artificial flavoring. It is essentially tea infused vodka. It is then combined with Louisiana sugar cane keeping true to its Southern mentality. It essentially tastes very similar to non-alcoholic sweet tea, but it has alcohol. Now they offer an array of other flavors including raspberry and mint. It is a wonderfully refreshing summer spirit.
What do you do with it? First and foremost, you can sip it on the rocks with lemon. It is vodka, so remember that it still does pack a punch. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is in an “Arnold Palmer.” Mix equal parts Sweet Tea Vodka and lemonade over ice for a great summer drink. You can also go to the Firefly website and find a recipe list of ideas.
From great food to great music, the South has always created great things that Americans can truly call our own. Here is another one. Sweet Tea has blown up across the country simply because it tastes really good. It is a comfort drink. It is a drink from our childhood, with an adult twist.
Enjoy!

By Nick Agnew of West Vail Liquor Mart

Colorado Native - Pure Colorado

There's a new brew in town, and, considering the amount of beer that is produced in Colorado, it's very unique. Colorado is known as one of the biggest producers of craft beer in the nation. But of all those craft beers, none can lay claim to being completely comprised of Colorado ingredients, until now. Colorado Native is a new product from the A.C. Golden Brewery, a small brewery located within the Coors complex in Golden. Most everything from the water and barley to the glass and cardboard comes from Colorado (less than 2% of the package is comprised of non-native hops.) The Moravian two row barley is grown in the fertile San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, as are most of the hops (Chinook, Centennial and Cascade.) Other finishing hops are grown and hand picked on the western slope. The water comes from Clear Creek near Golden. Even the yeast is an American descendent of a Tuborg style strain that was introduced to Colorado in the 1930's, making it the oldest known strain of brewing yeast in the state.

Colorado Native is an amber colored lager that strikes a nice balance between lighter mass produced beers and the bold microbrews that Colorado is known for. It's not too hoppy (26 I.B.U.'s, a relatively low number on the bitterness scale) and offers a mild amount of roasted malt. The beer pours with a nice foamy white head, and goes down smoothly, with just a hint of citrus in the finish. Colorado Native comes in at 5.5% alcohol by volume, a bit stronger than the mass produced stuff, but not nearly as strong as many of the other microbrews in the state. The fact that the ingredients come from Colorado, and the beer is only sold in Colorado means that there are not a lot of transportation costs involved in producing and distributing the beer, giving it a small carbon footprint. A.C. Golden also donates a portion of the proceeds to charity. This is a beer that Coloradans can be proud of. So the next time you have a hankering for a true Colorado beer that is both flavorful and refreshing, try a Colorado Native.

By Chip Bartsch, Beer Buyer

The French and their elderberries

St. Germain Liqueur
Product of France
750 ml bottle
$39.99 at West Vail Liquor Mart

St. Germain is a very unique liqueur hailing from France. The star of this amazing, all natural liqueur is the 100% fresh handpicked elderflowers. They are harvested only once a year and rode by bicycle in rural France to be processed. A special press was created so the sweetness of the elderflower could be preserved.

The beautiful belle époque bottle is reason enough to buy this liqueur simply to display on your bar. After you get past the vanity of the bottle alone, you can acknowledge its sweet, lemon aroma and honeyed pear flavor.

St. Germain will impress the most discriminating of guests. Imagine offering cocktails such as a Pear Tree Martini, Sangria Flora or La Rosette. The beauty of St. Germain is that you can serve it on the rocks or pair it with a variety of spirits to create new and interesting cocktails.

La Rosette is a cocktail of a ½ part St. Germain and topped with sparkling wine. Add a strawberry or raspberry garnish and you have a lovely cocktail for a special day or any day!

Marissa at West Vail Liquor Mart

Lost Abbey's "Angel's Share"

Lost Abbey “Angel’s Share” – Port Brewery, San Marcos, CA
12.7 ounce bottle - 11.5 ABV
$19.99 at West Vail Liquor Mart

Lost Abbey’s “Angel’s Share” is a rare treat! This special release is brewed once a year and is aged for 9 months in oak barrels that had been previously used to age whiskey. The result is apparent from the time you pop the cork. The aroma of oak and whiskey accompany the barleywine scent, allowing your nose to prepare your palate for the delicious flavor to come. The ale pours smooth and dark with little head. The dark caramel malt in the ale gives it a rich deep brown, almost black color. It is a sweet ale with a good kick at 11.5 alcohol by volume. The ale is best enjoyed slowly as it warms and opens is subtle notes of vanilla and caramel. “Angel’s Share” is a term used by whiskey distillers, and refers to the portion of whiskey that evaporates into the barrel during the aging process. Fortunately, the brewers from the Lost Abbey have found a way to recoup a bit of the “Angel’s Share” for us mere mortals! This very limited release is available while it lasts!