Attending a Beer Festival

Written by Tom Becham for Professor Goodales

(Octoberfest picture courtesy piximus.net

A relatively little known beer festival known as OCTOBERFEST in Germany!
A relatively little known beer festival known as OCTOBERFEST in Germany!
Okay. As a new or seasoned Beer Geek, you will at some point want to attend a beer festival. Should you? If so, which one(s)? How do you approach them? What should you take?

Well, I’m here to give you a good guide to attending beer festivals.

First of all, at this time of year, when the weather is starting to warm up, there will be a metric assload of beer festivals. Sure, they happen all year ’round, but Spring and Summer are when you will find a huge number of them. And, unless you are independently wealthy and don’t have a steady job (and possess the liver of Hunter S. Thompson), it will be literally impossible to attend all of them just in your area! So, you need to be selective.

Check out a festival carefully before purchasing tickets. Continue reading “Attending a Beer Festival”

Beer Profile: A Tiny Beautiful Something

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Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Pours a hazy honey orange color with golden and yellow highlight. As if the sun were shining from out of the beer. A fat pillowy head of off white foam that lasts and lasts and leaves plenty of lace.

Nose is bright, floral and fresh! Just brilliant with hop character that includes sweet and tangy pineapple softly sweet fresh orange, and a bit of citrus peel from both orange and from earthy grapefruit. There is a a small earthy pine in the background. For malt it has the scent of a light and flaky little biscuit.

10314009_1519550758272599_3198246089346972842_nTaste is outrageous! The active carbonation dances across the palate and enlivens the tongue to be ready to taste the brilliant hop fruitiness. Sweet, orange, bright orange peel, tangy pineapple and the just sweet, just dry and lightly breaddy biscuit. One of the best malts on a pale I have had lately. Crisp malt that is the dryness in this drink. The hops bite only a little and finish with a lingering sweetness that includes that lovely biscuit malt presence.

This beer was lively, fresh, had boisterous fruity flavors and was indeed a tiny beautiful something. One of the best pales I have had.

4.5

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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_________________________________________Beer HERE

meMaria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Beer Reviews by Tom Dumenjich: Dogtown Duck IPA (Venice Duck Brewery)

dogipaIn an effort to broaden my beer-tasting horizons, I decided to revisit IPA territory. I’ve had recent success with Goose Island’s India Pale Ale and Fuller’s Bengal Lancer, so I felt reasonably confident heading into the bar across from my office and ordering a pint of Dogtown Duck, produced by Venice Duck Brewery in Venice Beach, CA.

Peering over the shoulder of the bartender, I watched as the beer flow gently from the tap into my glass, producing a smooth and modest head. I had a better look at the color once the barkeep placed it before me – an even and healthy copper, not too dense.

So far it had been an amicable introduction, and the initial fragrance was just as polite. As a relative neophyte when it comes to beers that aren’t produced en masse, I tend to expect all IPAs to have the same level of hoppiness and, subsequently, a lively and prominent nose. Not so with Dogtown Duck. The gentle aroma led me into a refreshing first sip.

Goose Island, Bengal Lancer, and now Dogtown Duck…it was going to be a trifecta of blissfully brewed indulgence. I was ready to become a full-blown IPA evangelist.

I took a triumphant second sip.

Indeed, I was all set to trumpet the drinkability of every India pale ale being bottled. It was clear that my earlier unpleasant experiences were entirely my fault, for not having enough of a sophisticated palate. Well, bring it on!

I threw back my head and gulped down a hearty mouthful…and did all I could to keep it from coming back up.

Imagine one of those high-speed, time-lapse blooming flowers you might find in a nature documentary. That’s what flashed through my mind as an explosion of citrus coated the back of my throat. Whereas the other IPAs I recently enjoyed played nice with notes of lemon and blood orange, an aggressive grapefruit sourness went from underwriting to overpowering the flavor.

I stoutly finished my pint, feeling the full effect of the hops and every bit of Dogtown Duck’s 6.8% ABV. Luckily a plate of hot wings kept me from becoming too light-headed (note to self: never sample ANY beer when all you’ve had to eat that day is a cake donut).

Perhaps this is a lesson for IPA (and high alcohol-by-volume) newbies like myself. By pairing an India Pale Ale with an appropriately spicy meal, like Buffalo wings or a bold Asian curry, you not only temper the buzz but also allow its bigness and bitterness to dampen the heat and cut through the sauce.

To be sure, Dogtown Duck IPA ain’t no leisurely happy hour brew to enjoy with the interns and co-workers. It’s a beer with a quirky and audacious personality, just like the town where it’s brewed. I recommend trying a pint just as I would recommend visiting Venice Beach itself – count on an eye-popping time, but follow it up with familiar ground if you intimidate easily.

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1601482_10203603202547284_1834977986_nTom Dumenjich is a new writer here at PGA, but a beer lover and obviously lives on a cloud, if we are to believe his picture from Facebook! He and fellow PGA writer Tom Becham have been known to meet and discuss beer over, well beer… what else would you discuss beer over? Expect updates on Mr. Tom as he provides us more great reviews.

Beer Profile: Kona Longboard Island Lager

Profiled by Maria Devan for professorgoodales.net

Beer-Profile1-258x300Pours clear and softly golden with a flourish of bubbles and a fat white head that falls to a thin layer on top. Nose has the scent of light grain and some cut grass.

Hints of flaky biscuit in the nose and a subtle noble hop presence. Taste is surprisingly smooth.

It’s creamy and just rolls over the palate seemingly forever and without end.

A touch of herbal and hop bitterness takes this one to the finish almost dry. The biscuit is doughy and the grains start to stand out on the palate toward the end. The carbonation is ample but it does not disturb the creamy smoothness of this beer.

Overall I would call it earthy and a good and tasty lager. Mild overall and with a just enough hops to keep it interesting. My only criticism is that it’s a bit too soft for a lager. The doughy quality starts as smoothness but then drinks a bit heavier towards the end of the glass. It had some kind of sweetness like almonds in the very last moments after it warmed.

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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__________________________________Beer HERE

meMaria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Beer Profile: Hill Farmstead Society and Solitude

Profiled by Maria Devan for PGA

Beer-Profile1-258x300 10259698_1518091571751851_7393052848773062759_nPours hazy and like grapefruit juice. Yellow and with a big white head of foam that fell pretty fast. Leaves some lace.

Nose is citrus! Orange, grapefruit and a little sweet grass. The malt peeks it’s head out with a touch of sweetness on the nose.

It drinks lovely. Not a hint of alcohol on the palate. Just beautiful citrus. sweet orange, sweet earth, a touch of grapefruit and some grass. Finishes with a perfect bitter that does not reside too long and that reminds you to take one last notice of all that fruit. Malt is a bit of weight on the palate but has a sweetness that seems to come out of nowhere and so delicately. Drinks clear and fruity and finishes dry but with a bit of tartness to keep your mouth watering long into the finish.

Another fabulous beer from Hill Farmstead.

4

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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______________________________________Beer HERE

meMaria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Florida Senator Says She’s Being ‘A Parent’ To Craft Beer Breweries

If she’s being a “parent” she’s being an ABUSIVE one the the opinion of… the professor.
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beer-news10A Florida state senator who has recently received thousands of dollars in donations from large beer distribution companies is proposing limitations on smaller craft breweries.

“I have five kids and unfortunately I feel like I’m being a parent in this process,” said Republican State Sen. Kelli Stargel on the senate floor on Tuesday.

Stargel is the sponsor of Senate Bill 1714 which passed in a 30-10 vote after senate debate.

The bill forces breweries that make more than 2,000 kegs of beer a year to sell to distributors – companies like beer giant Anheuser-Busch – which then sell it back to craft breweries for consumption in their own tasting rooms.

Records show that Stargel has received a $5,500 in campaign contributions from numerous large beer distributors since 2013. Anheuser-Busch, Miller-Coors, Pepin Distributing Co., and others have donated to Stargel in that period, with more donations from “Big Beer” stretching back to 2008.

The lawmaker tweaked her bill Monday, allowing breweries to sell 20 percent of their inventory above the 2,000 keg limit on-site.

Stargel says that small breweries have been exploiting a loophole carved out for Busch Gardens 50 years ago and that the new law will provide “certainty in the law to do what they are doing.”

“I know they don’t believe it,” continued Stargel on Tuesday. “And I’m sorry, I know my kids don’t believe it when I tell them they can’t do something, but sometimes I know it is what’s best.”

Opponents of the bill argue that the state’s growing craft beer industry will be stifled by the proposal. In 2007, Florida had six craft breweries. By 2013, the state has 50 with another 28 in the works, said Republican Sen. Jack Latvala in the senate debate.

“This is what this bill aims to stifle,” said Latvala who pointed out that the industry generated $69 million in 2012.

By going through a middleman, the price of the drinks will be marked up by 30 to 40 percent, a prohibitive increase for some small brewers.

Included in SB 1714 is a measure that craft breweries have actually supported. Florida breweries have long fought to allow 64-ounce growlers – glass or ceramic jugs that are popular in the craft beer industry.

Under current Florida law, only containers 32-ounces and less or 128-ounces or more are allowed to be sold. Florida is unusual in this regard. Forty-seven states allow the sale of 64-ounce growlers.

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