What a great event. 35 brewers (most local), 125+ brews, and 1200 Northlanders. How could anyone who remotely likes beer stay away. Well, I was no different. It was a perfect set up; Pre-ordered tickets, check. Babysitter, check. Designated driver who gets in free, check. Drinking mates, check. Northland brewfests are always a major amalgamation of all sorts. Hippies, hipsters, jocks, intellects, drunks, friends, enemies, and what have you all come together for a drink......or 50. Everyone is friends for about 4 hours or so. That is fact because there is a fest-wide toast every ten minutes or so where you hold your tasting glass in the air and chant for a while.
I find the best thing at a big brewfest is to have a plan of attack. Get your priorities straight because this is not a Napa Valley wine tasting, meaning no spit buckets so you will be intoxicated at some point and the beers will all run together on you. We walked into the arena and Summit Brewery out of St Paul my right. Normally I don't visit their stand but they were tasting a new beer which hadn't been released yet. Summit summer is going to make this one a little brighter. If you can get a beer at a liquor store, there is no real point in having it at a brewfest but I have never part taken in a pre-release before so it was kicked off well!
The stand outs were surprising. The smaller breweries had the biggest impact on me and gave me a new GI destination list because a lot of these places are restaurants. Angry Minnow from Hayward WI had a Saison Olivia that really surprised me because the 2 SAisons I have tasted in the past were black like a stout. This was golden amber and was very wheaty, which I hate normally but this was fantastic.Tallgrass Brewery from Manhatten KS who is really making a name for themselves, had an ESB of sorts called 8-Bit which bit you in the throat on the way down. It was bitter like an IPA but more of a malt flavor than hops. A little risky here because we like our hops up here. It was a big hit.Rock Bottom Brewing from Minneapolis had the most unique beer of the day. It was called Smoking Goat. I have to imagine they used liquid smoke in the recipe because it was exactly that. The brewmaster described it as a smoked cheese flavor and it was close. I don't think I could drink too much of it for too long but it was a new experience for my pallet.
There wer many bombs that went right to the spit bucket. Having a Miles Finch moment would have been better than some of these. I ws dragged to the Leinenkugel's (Chippewa Falls, WI) booth to which i went with a bad attitude. I view them as severely over rated and boring.I sampled their red ale and it was as tasteless as the rest of their line up. The 'bro's' were lined up for their Honey Weiss and the girsl for their Summer Shandy. I sampled a Rye Ale from Sierra Nevada (who I like a lot) but it was very barley heavy and I was very dissappointed. You also had the Horney Goat Brewery there from CO. Just the sultry name alone deflates the experience.
All in all it was a great day. Brew Fests serve as one of the best people watching experiences you will have and this one did not disappoint. The beards and 'ironic mustaches" are definitely the funniest thing there. Wild facial hair is a Northland staple and has been since the 1800's. The guy's today do it because they want to show people they are so out of style, they may just be cooler than you. If you have a chance to attend one of these soiree's, by all means do. It is a GI experience you won;t forget!
