Microbrew Festival

Our "staff" enjoyed a return to the festival this year after a 2 year absence. The session we attended wasn't as crowded as previous years, so we were able to chat with some of the other attendees and share opinions on the various selections.

Toby's New Zealand Dark - Brewed locally at Watson Brothers this Dark Lager has a great smell and taste. Surprisingly not as full bodied as you might expect. Slightly watery finish.

Hebrew Jewbelation - "The world's first Chanukah Beer" Nice rich taste, good finish.

Hebrew Messiah - Did not like this one at all... Sweet and malty, not a good blend of flavors. Possibly a bad bottle???

Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale - Sweet, but not overbearing. Smooth finish. A good session beer.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout - Outstanding Stout, Great flavor and finish. Hints of coffee and stuff in there.

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout - Tasted fairly average, expected something different with the Chicory addition.

Dogfish Midas Touch - We decided this tasted like bad communion wine. Sorry about the religious imagery, that's all we could come up with.

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre - Mahogany Ale, dark and heavy. Complex taste,

Two Brother French Country Ale - One of the favorites of this year. Loved the taste, great body, great finish.

Mackeson Stout - Always a favorite, It is sweet and heavy, so it is an acquired taste.

Bar Harbor Coal Porter - Nice chocolate flavor, but too much of a bitter coffee finish.

Shipyard Old Thumper - Distinct malt flavor, good finish not too bitter.

Buzzards Bay Golden Ale -

Summit Porter - Another great Porter, the stuff from Summit is usually top notch.

Summit Winter Ale - Again nothing bad to say about Summit, nice flavor, good finish, very solid ale.

Bert Grants Scottish Ale - Good Stuff ! I really like the smell and taste of this one, Sweet and malty, smooth finish.

Pyramid Snowcap - Another favorite, Seemed like it was a hit with a number of people we spoke with.

Unibroue Don de Dieu - This one got pitched so quickly I can't even begin to say why it was so bad.

Unibroue La Fin DuMonde - Also a bad experience,

Adams SSB -

Tilburg Dutch Brown Ale - somewhat disappointed, I am a big fan of the Brown Ales and expected a richer taste.

Goose Island Demolition - Big Winner. The Favorite of the Festival as far as we were concerned. The new special reserves from Goose Island have been great.

Ommegan Three Philosophers -

So this year I attended the Microbrew festival with my sister Beth. We tasted a combined total of 28 beers. You will notice her reviews are probably more in depth due to her background in wine tasting. She also favors lighter (not light) beers than I, so there is a better variety of beers than last year.

Main Street Brewing Pale Ale - This was so incredibly hoppy it almost seemed like we had a bad batch.

Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout - Pretty standard oatmeal stout, good but not outstanding

Bluegrass Brewing Darkstar Porter - Very Dry tasting like a red wine, kind of a tanniny taste

Stoney Creek Original Vanilla Porter - OK so this is a repeat. This is the one my sister got me started on and we both love the stuff.

Left Hand Brewing Black Jack Porter - It's really good with surprisingly little aftertaste

Stone Brewing Co. Smoked Porter - A really good Coffee / chocolate tasting porter

Weihenstephauer Hefeweiss- A Fruity, possibly Banana taste, if that kind of thing works for you

Barrelhouse Brewing Powderhorn Porter - seemed too watery or my taste buds were numb by this point. ***Upon further research, I found this to be really tasty, full flavored (and very heavy).***

Barrelhouse Brewing Hocking Hills Hefeweisen - Has the cloudy look of a good Hefeweisen with all sorts of fruity tastes going on in there.

Barrelhouse Brewing Oktoberfest - Good lager with a nice hoppy flavor and a nice finish.

My first visit to the Barrelhouse Microbrew festival. The festival was 3 city blocks of beer booths. I sampled 17 different beers (they were small samples, but Barb drove home anyway) and I really can't say anything bad about any of them. If you get a chance to try one go for it. I was drawn that day to darker beers like Stouts and Porters. Here are some thoughts on the beers I sampled.

Western Reserve Nut Brown Ale - I am partial to the Nut Brown's and I loved this one

Rock Bottom Brewery Rocktoberfest - Yet another entry into the crowded Oktoberfest category. Good beer but I like the Oktoberfest at Alcatraz brewery in Indianapolis better.

Traverse Brewing Company Stout - Not my favorite stout, too bitter for my taste ( with apologies to my Michigan relatives )

Brooklyn Brewing Brown Ale - I just can't lose with the Brown ales. Loved the taste. Great balanced flavor.

Boonville Beer Oatmeal Stout - I really like what oatmeal does for the flavor of stouts.

Broadway Brewery Road Dog Scotch Ale - I still think they are a bit too sweet but I like the Scotch ales.

HC Berger Brewing Co. Chocolate Stout - This stuff is like a chocolate beer milkshake. Good Stuff. I found the 2nd try it was kinda flat and the flavor was not as good. I am thinking this is a beer to get out of a tap not a bottle.

Optimator from Spaten - Not too overbearing for a German beer. Very full, rich beer. Watch out for the alcohol content, it's higher than most.