ACBF '09, Ben's take

I volunteered Friday, and was a patron Saturday. All of it was a good weekend. My notes written are in italics, some I will try to decipher.

Here are the beers that I sampled:

++:
Black Butte Porter - Deschutes Brewery, OR
Super smooth. Oh yes it was, yum!

Mirror Mirror - Deschutes Brewery, OR
No notes, because I tried this on the first day. This was certainly one of the biggest surprises of the fest. A barleywine so good that Beth liked it.

Palo Santo Marron - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, DE
Nice whiskey taste and strong. You got to love the fun stuff that Dogfish has, and I would definitely seek out a 22oz. bottle of this fine beer.

Archangel - John Harvard's Brew House, MA
Hoppy. Wow, I didn't say much for my favorite beer of the fest. It was made especially for this fest and boy did John Harvard's hit it out of the park. A lovely example of a DIPA.

Paper City Summer Brew - Paper City Brewery, MA
Super refreshing. I do not know much about Helles Bock, but I know that after a lot of ales and stouts, this was quite the pallet cleanser. It wasn't too kitschy like their peach beer.

Saint Botolph's Town - Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, MA
Refreshing and good body. Apperently good body is really important to me. I want my beer to either match what it looks like, or find a blance with taste so I am not distracted when I drink. This was a brown. Pretty Things was awesome and you should support the homegrown movement.

Duck-Rabbit Barleywine - The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, NC
Wow, strong but balanced. While Duck-Rabbit wasn't the show stopper, it certainly was a highlight of my fest. I only had this and the porter, but both were so enjoyable that I quickly gained faith in them and want to try more.



+:
Dorado Double IPA - Ballast Point Brewing, CA
Way too fruity. And we all know that I love the IPAs

Crazy Ivan - Bear Republic Brewing Co., CA
Smooth but tart. Beth actually got this sample, though I tried it. It was so tart compared to the Norcal.

NorCal - Bear Republic Brewing Co., CA
Not all that bitter. It is supposed to be a bitter, but it didn't have all that much bite for me. But overall I trust Bear Republic.

Flashback Anniversary Ale - Boulder Brewing Co., CO
Good, but light. Trust in Boulder beer.

Mojo Risin' - Boulder Brewing Co., CO
Good and solid. this is a cheat. I have had it before and I know that I like it. Do not get it confused with just Mojo, though.

Cuvee de Cardoz - Brooklyn Brewery, NY
Nice and peppery. A Belgian style ale.

Obsidian Stout - Deschutes Brewery, OR
Smooth and big body. Probably would have been better if I hadn't drank it next to the porter.

Titan - Great Divide Brewing, CO
Solid. I've had it before, and it is solid.

Toasted Brown Ale - John Harvard's Brew House, MA
Smooth. Apparently at John Harvard's booth, I had given up description. But, overall, they have fine beer.

Milk Stout - Left Hand Brewing Co., CO
Milk-like. Well, I should hope so. This is a good basic stout from Left Hand and you should try it.

Oak Aged Imperial Stout - Left Hand Brewing Co., CO
Not too stout, better than Stone's. Way to go Left Hnad, beating one of my favorite brewers at their own game. Imperial stouts should have a kick, but be drinkable, too.

90 Shilling - Odell Brewing Co., CO
Smooth. A Scottish ale, and one that I have seen a lot in stores, especially in Colorado and Kansas. I would consider this next time I am looking for something different.

One Eared Monkey - Paper City Brewery, MA
Wow, like peach! This brewer had some exciting flavors that were enjoyable. I wouldn't necessarily buy a 6-pack, but it is good to try something different.

Baby Tree - Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, MA
Good Belgium, no real plum taste. A quad, with plums. But really, it felt like neither of those, and was simply refreshing.

Honey-Orange Wheat - Rogue Ales, OR
Crisp and summer. A realy tasty summer beer, which I guess I think I like more than I will admit. Sometimes I am scared of what Rogue offers, but this worked.

Shipyard Export - Shipyard Brewing Co., ME
Refreshing but plain. An English style ale. Shipyard is good, but never can make it to the next tier with me. But Beth loves their Blueberry!

Coney Island Human Blockhead - Shmaltz Brewing Co., CA
Bittersweet. These are the same gus that do HE'BREW. Enjoyable, but from a Barleywine, I want more.
HE'BREW Rejewventator - Shmaltz Brewing Co., CA
Enjoyable. Best name of the fest. A half dopplebock, half dubbel. Though this isn't upper tier material, I would like to try more from them.

Gravitation Ale - Smuttynose Brewing Co., NH
Yes raisin! Raisin beers have their one distinct taste that you have to try. You'll love it or hate it, and you'll definitely know when it doesn't work. This is a great example from a great brewer.

Prohibition Ale - Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, CA
No notes. But I was pleasently surprised how enjoyable it was. I had it with my free meal.

2007 Stone Imperial Russian Stout - Stone Brewing Co., CA
Tart. I had high expectations for this, and was a little disappointed. It wasn't bad at all, but I really feel like imperial stouts should be a malt first.

Duck-Rabbit Porter - The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, NC
Nice body with balance. Porters are so fun to drink, because they have a little bit of everything, and this one worked all the parts in equally.

XVI Anniversary Barley Wine - Uinta Brewing Co., UT
Drinkable. Good job for something that I was trying because the line to Dogfish was so long that I was at Uinta's booth.



0:
Summer Solstice - Anderson Valley Brewing C0., CA
Berry flavor. Apparently.

Red Barron Ale - Blue Hills Brewery, MA
Okay, not exciting. This matched with the other Blue hills that I tried, not impressed with a local brewery.

Brooklyn Moster Ale 2007 - Brooklyn Brewery, NY
Not a great barleywine. I was actually disappointed that Brooklyn did not make a good barleywine.

Hurricane Amber Ale - Coastal Extreme Brewing, RI
Not really an amber feel. I want my ambers to have some body.

Morimoto Soba Ale - Rouge Ales, OR
Yeasty. Which, apparently is not enjoyable.

Star Island Single - Smuttynose Brewing Co., NH
Good if you want an abbey. Yeah, but I really didn't want an abbey at the time.

Bootlegger Black Lager - Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, CA
Smooth, licorice. It is what it is, probably a good example, but I didn't like it.

Special Taco Mac 30 Year Anniversary Ale - Terrapin Beer Co., GA
Fun, but not that exciting. 30 ingrediants, that were well balanced, but it wasn't that good. I still find myself not trusting Terrapin, yet I keep trying.



-:
Blue Hill IPA - Blue Hills Brewery, MA
Boring. You would expect an IPA to at least have a bite.



--:
Imperial Skibsol - Cambridge Brewing Co., MA
Bacon. The initial taste was bacon. And I couldn't get past in. Sad, for I love CBC.