Hello A Final Time This Week Beer Lovers!

I am finally finishing the four-part beer log for this week, because I have so much to tell you about this past Saturday’s 4th Annual BEERTOPIA! A Festival Of Beer event that was put on by Baxter Village’s own Grapevine Wine Shop in Fort Mill, SC, and it really couldn’t all be in one entry!

The festival is an annual benefit for the Pints For Prostates organization, and this year additionally supported both York County Cancer Association, and the Charlotte Beer Girls’ choice organization, Project Halo.

Today I am going to outline all of the craft beers that I tried (or have tried) from the festival. We are finally to the end, woohoo! (Or Boo, if you prefer, which I’m okay with, haha).

And finally I remembered to take a picture of the beer tasting glass (plastic, fine, call me out why don’t you!) included with the tickets!

Grapevine's Beertopia 2012 Glass!

Breweries Present (In Alphabetical Order):

Abita
Barley Wine, Triple Haze, Double Dog – I have had the Triple Haze before and I really liked it, however I didn’t actually see Abita in my travels that day, and so am now going to have to go find the Double Dog because it sounds DELISH!

Ace Premium Hard Ciders
Joker Dry Cider, Apple Honey Hard Cider – I have had the Joker before, and it’s good but a dry cider, but the Honey Cider is DEElicious. I love honey, so it’s a great blend of honey & apple with a kick of spice to make you realize it’s HARD cider, and not the kid’s drink we all remember and love.

Allagash
White, Dubbel, Fluxus 2011 – Like Abita, I totally missed this brewery. Although I do enjoy the White, as I’ve had that quite a few times! Booo on me!

Anchor
Steam, Porter, Old Foghorn Ale – Okay not only have I never heard of this brewery, but I didn’t even see them out there. Pssht oie vey. Old Foghorn being a barleywine, I probably wouldn’t have tried, but that Porter would’ve been delicious I’m sure. **sigh**

Avery
IPA, Ellie’s Brown Ale, The Maharajah – I like Avery, but I didn’t make it to them before they ran out, darnitall. Clearly I did not do this alphabetically, people, give me a break! I am definitely going to try the Ellie’s Brown though, because it sounds delicious. That is also the main one I wanted to try that they went out of by the time I got there. 😦

Bell’s Brewery
Oarsman Ale, Bell’s Lager, Kalamazoo Stout – Okay, disclaimer. I LOVE Bell’s. Bells & Sam Adams are my 2 favorite breweries, hands down. I am from Kalamazoo so that is a big part of it. AND the brews are freaking spectacular, so that makes it even better. The Oarsman is probably my least favorite Bell’s, as it’s a very traditional “light beer” taste. It isn’t bad, but not the best of theirs. The Bell’s Lager is just yummy for an every day beer, any day. I like it. So my first sip of the Kalamazoo Stout really rocked me, it was so delicious, and had a very good chocolate and coffee balance – not too strong, just hints. Yum!

Birdsong Brewing
Free Will Pale Ale, Lazy Bird Brown Ale, Higher Ground IPA – Another brewery I didn’t see so didn’t get to try. 😦

COAST Brewing Company
Scotch Ale, Blackbeerd Imperial Stout – I tried a sip of the Scotch Ale – it was delicious, not too scotchy, just the right amount of scotch flavor so you remember you’re drinking a beer!

Dogfish Head
Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, Namaste – This is my brother’s FAVORITE brewery. I will say, the Palo Santo Marron was one of my favorite beers from the entire Beertopia experience. It. Was. Delicious!!!! The guys loved (and I concurred it was delish) the Midas Touch, and the Namaste was agreed to be the least favorite though by no means was it a bad beer, it was good in its own right, just paled next to the Midas & Palo for us! YUM!

Duck Rabbit
Milk Stout, Brown, Cask Ale – I really like the Brown Ale by Duck Rabbit,

Four Friends Brewing
I77 IPA, Queen City Red, Gold Rush – We tried the I77 and Queen City Red, and I really, really enjoyed the Red. The I77 was good, but the Red just had so much flavor it was very much my style of beer – full of flavor.

Grand Teton Brewing Co
Bitch Creek ESP, Sweetgrass APA, 5 O’clock Shadow – We absolutely HAD to try this brewery due to the name of that ESP, haha. It was surprisingly delicious, hoppy, a little caramel-like undertone that isn’t overpowering in the least. The Sweetgrass was also sipped on, and it was a good, light APA style beer with a sharp citrus flavor that was a tad different from IPAs and made it uniquely scrumptious. Both were good, and I regret that we didn’t try the 5 O’Clock Shadow. Oh well, next year.

Great Divide
Wild Raspberry Ale, Espresso Oak Aged Yeti, Claymore Scotch Ale – I missed this brewery, but I had really wanted to try the Yeti. I am now going to have to try to find it somewhere – aww shucks!

Green Flash Brewing Co
West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red, Barleywine Style Ale – I missed this brewery as well, and had wanted to try the Hop Head Red, as I have never had a Red IPA before. Better luck next time. 😦

Harpoon
Celtic Ale, Leviathan – I have had the Celtic Ale and Leviathan before and enjoyed both. Celtic is a great red ale, with a malted flavor that is true Irish-Red flavor, and the Leviathan IPA is a very hoppy and clean citrus flavor. Both are good!

Highland Brewing
Little Hump Spring Ale, Gaelic Ale, Tasgall Ale – The Gaelic is of course an all-time classic ale. Great for a summer or winter eve, lots of flavor, and not too heavy or hearty. The Tasgall is a great Scotch Ale that just has such a rich and full-bodied flavor, it is unbelievable. I didn’t try the Little Hump, but as with all Highland brews, I’m sure it’s delicious as well.

Kind Beers
Pale Ale, Belgian Red – I somehow missed yet another brewery, but luckily it is a local Charlotte brewery so I can track it down here and try it out.

Lagunitas Brewing Company
A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, Maximus, Cappuccino Stout – yet another that I missed tasting because they were out by the time I made it over to them. I did at least get a visual, for all the good that did me. **sigh**

Left Hand Brewing Co
Sawtooth Ale, Week Sauce, Black Jack Porter – Again, a brewery sold out when I finally found them. Sad face here.

Lightning Brewery
American Amber, Black Lightning Porter, Electrostatic, Sauerstrom Ale, Thunderweizen Ale – I missed this one too, and REALLY wanted to try that Electrostatic, darnit! 😦

Mad River Brewing Company
Steelhead IPA, Steelhead Extra Stout, Steelhead Porter, Jamaica Sunset IPA – Another missed brewery that I didn’t even see. 😦

Magic Hat Brewing Company
#9, Circus Boy, Vinyl – The #9 is a classic beer that is light but good for summer nights with friends. I didn’t try the other two, however they had a demo beer that was tasty!

Mendocino Brewing Compnay
White Hawk Select IPA, Red Tail Ale, Black Hawk Stout – Missed this one due to the fact they were out when I found them. 😦

New Blegium
Fat Tire, 1554, Cocoa Mole Ale – The Cocoa Mole was one of my favorite beers of the day. Spicy, chocolatey, with a nice finish full of flavor and pizzazz! YUM! And the Fat Tire and 1554 are always good choices as well! 🙂

NoDa Brewing Company
Ramble On Red, NoDaRyeZ’d, Midnight Madness, S’more Porter, Tri-Umphant – I. Love. Noda. I’ve tried all of these but the S’more Porter, which will be rectified next week, and I have yet to have a beer of theirs I don’t like. Yum. My. Deliciousness. Period. Plus they come out with new stuff all the time, which my creative heart loves, too! And the Coco Loco they have (and pairing cupcakes) is just sinfully good.

Ommegang Brewery
Abbey Ale, Belgian Pale Ale, Three Philosophers – Three Philosophers is honestly one of my all-time favorite beers. It is a splurge beer, a celebratory beer, a quadrupel ale that has such chocolate and malted cherry goodness I cannot stand it (okay yes I can, let’s be real – it’s chocolately beer, I can stand it TOTALLY!). And I totally got the guys all hooked on it Saturday, too, muahahaha! 😉

Oskar Blues
Dales Pale Ale, Mama’s Little Yellow Pils, Ten Fidy – I have had the Dales PA before, and it’s okay. Didn’t try the other two, as I got there after they ran out.

PALM Breweries
PALM Ale, Steenbrugge Tripel – PALM? Where the heck was this? I totally missed it on the program, not just in the event. Whoops! Sounds good, though… I do like my Belgian beers… Drat.

Redhook
Long Hammer, Pilsner, Nut Brown, Demo Ale – YUM. Their Demo was the best Demo I tried, and no it didn’t have a name, darnit. I’ve had their Pilsner and Nut Brown before and both are pretty darned tasty. But that Demo was magic, I must say.

RJ Rockers
Patriot Pale Ale, Black Perle Dark IPA – Dark IPA sounds intriguing, and I’d have loved to try it, but they were sold out completely when I found them. Boo.

Rodenbach
Classic Ale – Same guys as PALM Breweries, probably why I didn’t see them AT ALL… 😉

Rogue
American Amber, John John Dead Guy, Chatoe OREgasmic Ale – American Amber was the only one I tried, but it was delicious, with a good lightly malted coffee taste to it. Hoppy, but not too much so. Very yummy. I wish I’d tried the OREgasmic Ale but alas, will need to find it in stores or draft now instead!

Sam Adams
Boston Lager, Dark Depths, Cinder Bock, Griffin’s Bow – This and Bell’s are my ALL-TIME favorite breweries. Period. Cherry Wheat is the beer that made me start liking beer, many moons ago. I. Love. All. Sam Adams. Boston Lager is just delicious and yummy and classic; Dark Depths had some very dark depths and was my favorite of these new 3, Cinder Bock was good with a true full Boch flavor, and Griffin’s Bow was kind of disappointing for a SA beer – it was probably my least favorite SA beer ever tried. It was just a little off in the hops. That was a first for me, but the other 2 were scrumdilyicious!

Sierra Nevada
Kellerweis, Pale Ale, Torpedo – Like this brewery, and the Pale Ale is good, but the Kellerweis was surprisingly delicious – I was pleasantly surprised by that one, wasn’t expecting that hefe to be so good and smooth, so yay, go SN!

Southern Tier
Eurotrash Pilz, 2XIPA, Unearthly Imperial IPA – Missed these as they were out when I got there. Boo! 😦

Spaten
Lager, Optimator – The Spaten Lager is a classic hoppy German Lager. It was good, but I have to be in the mood for it I think. While I didn’t try the Optimator (out!) I think that would be more my style…

Stevens Point Brewery
Point Special Lager, Point Amber Classic, Russian Imperial Stout – They were out too, boo on that fact, boo! 😦

Stone Brewing Company
IPA, Arrogant Bastard, Vanilla Bean Smoked Porter – These beers were all good, the IPA was nicely hoppy but not overpowering, the AB is a great classic ale with lotsa attitude, and that Porter was smoking vanilla-ey awesomeness!!!

SweetWater Brewing Company
420 Extra Pale Ale, Blue, Happy Ending – If I am in the mood for a very flavor-friendly beer, I get the SweetWater Blue, cuz it is nicely blueberry flavored without feeling like cough syrup just made a new flavor. Yum. The 420 is a great hoppy EPA, and I have to say I didn’t try the Happy Ending and boo on me for that, right?!?

Terrapin Beer Co
Hopsecutioner, Moo-Hoo, Wake ‘N Bake – Wake ‘n Bake is one of the best coffee porters I’ve ever had, period. It truly does wake you up. They were out of the others when I got there, but the Moo-Hoo is supposed to be FABulous. Boo for no Moo-Hoo! 😦

Thirsty Dog Brewing Co
Labrodor Lager, Old Leghumper, Siberian Night, Raspberry Ale – Totally missed this one completely, darn those sound fun!

Thomas Creek
Class Five IPA, Dockside Pislner, Conduplico Monochus – Yet another that I missed until they were out of beer, though I have had the red ale and it was delicious… 😦

Victory Brewing Company
Golden Monkey, Storm King Stout, St Victorious Doppelbock – Again, missed completely even seeing this one. 😦

Westbrook Brewing Co
IPA, Vanilla Tree Dubbel, Mexican Cake – The Mexican Cake is supposedly one of the best they have at Beertopia each year, but they sold out in like 5 minutes (shhh! that is my story, darnit, work with me!) so I had to try the IPA, which was a very full-hop beer, and yummy!

Widmer Brothers Brewing
Drifter Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, Drop Top Amber Ale – This Hefe is one of my favorite Hefe’s to date. YUM! Didn’t try the others cuz I was too happy with my Hefe. Nom nom nom.

Windy Hill Cidery
Ginger Gold, Strawberry Pippin, Gala Peach, Rusty Gold – I tried the Rusty Gold, I think, and it was a good hard cider with some unique fall-tasting flavors. Would definitely buy that one in the store, and would love to try the others!

Ayayayayaya – so much beer, so little time! It also didn’t help that I needed to stay sober, so I needed to pace myself so that I wasn’t drinking more than 1.5 beers per hour… I did it, but definitely wish I’d been able to try sips of some of these missed beers! Oh well, next year, for sure, I will plan this out MUCH more efficiently! 😉

So that is today’s (and the final!) edition – March 14.4 – of the Beer Log entries. I apologize it didn’t come out Friday as planned, but as you can see, it was a lot of links to find, a lot of notes to write, and a lot of eye-bleeding to avoid! Plus there was this thing called work on Friday that kept interrupting, and this thing called St Patrick’s Day on Saturday… Tsk tsk for both of them! 😉

Craft You Later,
Beth