Here are the results from the 2007 Toronado Barley Wine Festival in San Francisco:
Congratulations to all the winners.
The 7th annual Double IPA Festival was held yesterday at the Bistro in Hayward, California. There were 42 beers that we judged, narrowing it down to four. All four were terrific beers and any one of them could have ended up in first place, though ultimately Ballast Point Point Brewing‘s Dorado was the one we picked. Judging when pretty smoothly and we had a great group this time, including three Brits in town working on a CAMRA book on the west coast.
Judging in the cellar, trying to take the final ten beers and pick three winners.
Ben McFarland, this year’s British Beer Writer of the Year, and Tom Sandham. The pair are in town along with my friend Glenn Payne (who helped start Meantime Brewing) to work on a CAMRA guidebook for British and European tourists coming to the west coast.
The other end of the judging table, with me flanked by Pete Slosberg and Dave Keene.
While upstairs it was raining something firece.
Darn, I forget the woman on the left’s name, but the rest are Dave Keene (owner of the Toronado), Melissa Myers (with Drake’s Brewing) and Ed Chainey (with Anderson Valley Brewing).
Vinnie Cilurzo (from Russian River Brewing), Shaun O’Sullivan (from 21st Amendment) and Pete Slosberg share a Falstaff.
Ballast Point Point Brewing‘s Dorado was chosen best in show at the 7th annual Double IPA Festival today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full winner list is below.
In case you missed it, I went to London and Brussels last week with a couple of Bay Area brewers, Shaun O’Sullivam from 21st Amendment and Christian Kazakoff from Triple Rock. Photos from the trip were posted back to the date when we were there so, unless you were looking for them, you probably missed them. Here are the photo gallery links from the trip.
1.24 London Pub Tour
1.25 Fuller’s Griffin Brewery Tour
1.26 Brussels in January
1.26 Cantillon Brewery Tour
1.27 The Old Ale Festival at the White Horse
Our primary reason for the trip to London was to attend the 24th annual Old Ale Festival at the White Horse on Parson’s Green, which is located in southwest London. Landlord and cellerman Mark Dorber, who’s been at the pub for decades, is leaving this year and we wanted to visit him at the bar while we still could. He was, as always, a gracious host and we spent a fabulous full twelve hours there at the festival, from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Of the 47 beers listed for the festival, we tried all but eight, and that’s because those beers were not yet on tap while we were there.
The White Horse on Parson’s Green.
Pulling a pint behind the bar.
Our little corner of the world for the day.
Mark Dorber conducted a tour/tasting of the cellars.
Motor and Shaun O’Sullivan with a couple of Burgundian Babble Belt members at the festival.
Roger Protz and me toward the end of the evening.
For more photos of the day’s events, visit the photo gallery.
The results are also in for the 2007 SacBrew Barley Wine Festival. Since I wasn’t able to go north to Alaska, I was fortunate enough to be able to judge in Sacramento last night. Here are the top three Barley Wine winners:
The results are in for the 2007 Great Alaskan Beer & Barley Wine Festival.
Here are the top three Barley Wine winners:
Results courtesy of Tom Dalldorf, publisher of the Celebrator Beer News.
A couple of weeks ago the Portland Holiday Ale festival was held in the Rose City and award-winning beer writer — and Portland resident — Lisa Morrison was on hand to sample the holiday beers. Lisa filed this report along with a few pictures from the festival. Thanks, Lisa, for sharing the festival with us!
I don’t have a lot of detail on how well the fest was attended or anything, but I do know the “buzz” beer was called Jim, named after Jim Kennedy, one of the patriarchs of Portland beer and, really, one of the founding fathers of the good beer movement nationally. It was created by Preston Weesner and Alan Sprints (Hair of the Dog). It was conceptualized one day when the two were sitting around talking and enjoying some beer and cheese. Preston said Maredsous 8 was always a “Jim beer” for him in that he thought of Jim whenever he enjoyed it. They worked on a blend of some Hair of the Dog beers with a keg of M8 and Alan painstakingly aged it in oak barrels until the fest. Truly a one-time, one-of-a-kind beer that was appreciated and celebrated by all. A fitting tribute to a really great guy.
Fest-goer Eric Bressman shows off a T-shirt from recent travels while enjoying a beer at the fest.
Having some fun at the Holiday Ale Festival.
Chris Crabb, who does PR and is an organizer for the event, keeping chaos under control. With a smile, even!
Saturday was the first-ever beer festival for wood-aged beers in the west. It was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California and they were pouring about 42 different beers who had in common only that they’d been aged on some type of wood barrel. At one time, of course, all beer was stored in wooden barrels and the cooper was just as important to the brewing of beer as anyone else. Eventually stainless steel overtook wood as the vessel of choice for beer, and indeed it has many advantages, one of which is that it doesn’t impart anything to change the flavor of the beer. But that is precisely the point of the new wood-aged beers, and how they change the beer is what is so exciting about this trend. Brewers are learning through experimentation what works best and in general barrel-aged beers gain enormous complexity from their time in the wood, and what type of wood and/or what was in the barrel before the beer transforms the beer into a whole new experience. The most common used barrels once contained bourbon, scotch, wine, port or brandy. And these residual flavors, in addition to the wood itself, are also apparent in the finished beer.
The scene outside under the tent at the Barrel Aged Beer festival, with Rodger Davis from Drake’s making faces at me.
Here’s something you don’t see everyday, Falstaff beer in cans.
The 21st Amendment Girls enjoy some yummy Tri-Tip sandwiches (oh, and Steve, too).
Bistro co-owner Vic Kralj announced the winners.
The first barrel aged fest was very well-attended, boding well for another one next year. The weather was decidedly cool for the Bay Area, which made it perfect for enjoying big, strong beers.
Our hosts, Bistro owners Cynthia and Vic Kralj.
Judging the four categories of beers kept us sequestered in the cellar for five grueling, delicious hours. Because all the beers have in common is being aged on wood, it was very difficult to choose among so many diverse, but deserving beers. There were very lively discussions every step of the way. Rumor has it one of the other judges wanted to “kick my ass” afterward, so I know I must be doing something right. What a blast!
Port Brewing’s Old(er) Viscosity was chosen Grand Champion at the 1st and (hopefully) annual Barrel Aged Beer Festival Saturday at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full list of winners is below.
Category 1: Sour Beers
Category 2: Wine Barrel Beers
Category 3: Wood Barrel Beers (New Wood)
Category 4: Bourbon Barrel Beers