a lot to be proud of : my first beer festival

After a requisite trip up the block to buy an umbrella, we were off!

This year, each brewery was paired with a food truck. Each pair created a beer-food duo, but many breweries offered up to four different samples. All beer was included in the reasonable ticket price ($35) and any food beyond some samples was extra. All in all, I tried about 20 beers in samples that varied widely from 2 to 5oz. Follow along!

Excelsior Big Island Blonde came next, one of the better blondes I have had by far. Its a style I don’t get hyped up about, but a very good brew none the less.

Next came some consistently solid local brews for the Aussie: 612Brew’s Rated R and Six, along with the Badger Hill MSB and High Road. I’m happy to say that after some inconsistency in batches, 612 tasted lovely. And after all that beer came the first food stop: Anchor Fish and Chips, split between the two of us.

After hanging with the over-the-top fun Koo Koo Kangaroo for a while, we were curious to try Olvalde Farm and Brewing Co. The Brynhildr’s Gift was the definite oddball of the festival, and I mean that in a good way. It is a difficult to spell sour beer brewed in a traditional farmhouse style using rye and juniper berries. Although hops were used, it faintly reminded me of my experiences with gruit. I should have gone back in line to try their second choice, the Auroch’s Horn Aged on Rhubarb [label below].

My friend Jen was pouring for Lift Bridge, and I’m always up for a Hop Dish IPA. Tasty as always, especially when the other choice is Farm Girl, which I’ve never loved.

I was sad to learn that The Herkimer had run out of their gose, but enjoyed the Eva. The Eva is also an odd style, German but brewed like a Saison with distinct honey notes. I’m not sure what they were really going for here, but it was tasty.

Time was really running out quickly, and we wasted some trying unsucessfully to find Harriet brewing. At last we wrapped up with the Indeed Day Tripper and the Big Wood Morning Wood.

This was a fun, easy-going, and seriously yummy beer festival. It was well-organized and laid out in a way that made sense. Even some downpours didn’t damper the vibe, and I highly recommend this beer festival for the years to come.

I’m so proud of Minnesota for its growing support of marriage for all, and the recent policy changes made the beer all that better.