The Barley Whine

Beer debates, more civil than sober

Picking Cleveland Beer Week Events

October 10, 2014 by Steve 1 Comment

Cleveland Beer Week 2014Cleveland Beer Week is nearly here, and with over 350 events scattered all over the greater Cleveland area, picking an event can be enough to give you a hangover. And while most people know about the flagship events like Brewzilla and Culture Yourself, the smaller events can be some of the most rewarding, if you know what to look for.

THE BAD FLIRT

A few years back, I dragged some coworkers to a Cleveland Beer Week event at a bar near our office. The location was one we had been to a few times for happy hour, with a nice craft beer selection. When we arrived, there was only one other person on the paying side of the bar, a heavyset fellow working his best Hahn Solo lines on the bartender. We sat and asked her what was going on for the 21st Amendment Brewing event. ‘He is here’ she said, pointing to the man she was working to be polite to. I approached him and asked if there were specials beers on draft or some activity. He stated simply ‘no’; he was the beer rep who sold 21st Amendment to bars. ‘You should really should try the Hell or High Watermelon Wheat’ he offered. Now October is not the best weather for that beer, but we all ordered one, despite all having tried it before. There were no special or rare beers, no glassware giveaways, or bottle sales, contests, games or even swag that night. Just us and a beer rep. And I was a tad embarrassed, having taken people Beer Week virgins to what I thought would be an organized tapping on par with other small Cleveland Beer Week events I had attended. This was in fact, no ‘event’ at all.

Since that night, I have attended dozens more Cleveland Beer Week events, over many years. And I have learned a few things to look for to make certain that the craft beer dinners, tastings, food pairings, or old-school arcade video game parties, make for killer times with the people and beers of the craft beer community, in some of the superlative locations in greater Cleveland.

So what do I look for to make the most of Cleveland Beer Week? Three basic criteria help me decide where to spend my limited.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Founders' Dave Engbers and me enjoying some CBS at Mike's
Dave Engbers and me enjoying some CBS

Live where you want, real estate investment is a speculative scam. It did give us this three word cliche to emphasize what should be an important, but often overlooked element of Beer Week events. Have you been meaning to check out BottleHouse Brewing Company (2050 Lee Road
Cleveland Heights 44118)? Their first ever barrel aged beer, BBA Double Chocolate Hazelnut Stout is being released to the public on Oct 10th. You can even meet the distiller and sample the bourbon that aged in the barrels before the stout did. Even if you don’t make it to The BottleHouse, make your Cleveland Beer Week events an opportunity to explorer new spots. The first time I went to wonderful yet unassuming Mike’s Bar and Grille in Berea, was for a Founders Brewing event. From Annunciation Greek Church to The Tilted Kilt, Cleveland Beer Week has locations for every proclivity, and there are certainly some hidden gems, just waiting—with beer at the ready—to be discovered by you.

THE BEER

CleBeerWeekJackieOsSure, this seems so obvious, beer for beer week, most people would have listed it first. With amazing beer on tap all over the city each night however, there can be trouble in taking a reductionist view, and focusing solely on the draft list brewery, as the only reason to pick an event. Incredible food pairings prepared by skilled chefs, concerts, costume contests, educational events, vintage flights letting you see how a Brooklyn Black Ops or Schneider Aventinus cellar, all of these are possibilites as part of a beer week experience. But the beer is important too.

Perhaps you love hoppy beers and want to try something different. Wine Spot (2271 Lee Road Cleveland Heights 44118) is hosting a not only a nice lineup of Green Flash beers, but two employees from the brewery to tell you all about what you are trying. The best advise on beer is to make certain the event as a whole, beyond say that one adjunct tweaked variant you really want to try, is appealing. Kegs get lost in shipping or get killed while you were look for parking. Then again, sometimes surprise beers show up that never made the marketing materials. Cleveland Beer Week is that more enjoyable when I look for events whose theme or whole lineup of beers appeals, rather than the ones that are merely people queued up for a small sample of the beer of the moment.

THE PEOPLE

BeerPeepsAtRozisIn the end, these events are a gathering of people. A city’s week long beer party is an opportunity to meet up with old friends, and to make new ones. Smaller events are great for the latter because you often have an opportunity to interact directly with the folks that help make Cleveland such a great beer city. Beer industry people are a marvelous lot. To put up with everyone from the guy demanding a particular InBev adjunct lager when none is to be had, to the geek/hoarder at full on Beanie-Baby-Mom levels of tickers addiction, losing it when bartenders have the audacity to continue serving customers before climbing a ladder to take down the listing of a kicked keg. Brewers, the “beer guy” at grocery stores and wine shops, bartenders, cooks, chocolatiers, distributors, and beer nerds all can be found making the rounds during the cities celebration of all things craft beer.

Maybe your pals don’t even like craft beer, or your husband would rather sip wine. Even if it wasn’t also a Portside tap takeover, who wouldn’t want to go to a DJ’d pig roast at Luxe? Certainly the small events provide ample opportunity to turn craft beer agnostics to fanatics. But even if all your friends remain unconvinced and unconverted, the experiences trying new brews and the friends you make will be more than worth the occasional disparaging remarks about “bitter hops” or “the taste of dark beer”. There are people I’ve met at CBW events that became close friends. If you can stand for hours in a sketchy tavern, humanity packed like Pringles, and still get along with the person next to you, it says a lot about how you might get along in better circumstances.

The location, beers and most importantly people are at the heart of what make great Cleveland Beer Week events. And almost no event is bad, save maybe one.

THE WORST EVENT

Is the one you didn’t attend? Nah, it’s the one where you pull a Michael Phelps. With Lyft and Uber as well as traditional cabs swarming many major entertainment districts throughout the city, you’ve got a lot of easy options to get home. A knocked up friend who “just wants to get out” is also good. However you get to and fro be smart, and always plan for that rare, wonderful moment when the bar about to start the event tapping a 12% ABV barrel-aged stout tells the brewer that they, “don’t have anything smaller than pint glasses”. Cheers!

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Cleveland Beer Week

A Visit to Cantillon Brewery

September 22, 2014 by Steve Leave a Comment

INTRODUCTION

A trip to Belgium would be a waste if not for a visit to the Mecca of true gueuze blending, Cantillon. Not a far walk from the tourist friendly, the relatively quiet street on which some of the finest traditional sour beers continue to be brewed, even as most other similar blenders have been lost to history and less discerning beer palettes. We took the self guided tour, tasted the two free samples that come with it, and then enjoyed a delicious bottle of Fou Foune. Cantillon owner and brew Jean Van Roy, who spied my Lost Abbey shirt, was even so kind to tell us some tales and share some of the yet unreleased Zwanze Day 2014 blend. Iris with cherries and a zesty undertone of spice was a real treat. Living history making history, this brewery continues a tradition of amazing lambic blending, while making new beers all their own.

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CONCLUSION

With an informative, easy paced tour, finishing with a relaxed tasting room offering up amazing beers brewed just a few feet away, this was a visit to remember. The Cantillon tasting room offers samples as well as full bottles of lambic and even a few rare bottles like Zwanze Day ’12 and ’13 the day we visited. There are also bottles for sale, as well as merchandise like glasses, shirts and even ceramic lambic pitchers. Beer geeks like myself arrive, as well as random tour groups, checking off one of the ‘1000 Places to See Before You Die’. With great people working there, eager to help with questions, along with some of, if the the world’s best sour beers, Brasserie Cantillon is a must visit for any beer fan with a taste for Belgian lambics, especially gueuze and kriek. If you ever have a chance to visit Brussels, skip the Manneken Pis, and head straight for the best brewery visit you’ll likely find anywhere.

Filed Under: Events, Places Tagged With: Brewery, Cantillon, Gueuze, Lambic, Lambic - Fruit, Sour Ale

2014 Firestone Walker Invitational

August 8, 2014 by Steve Leave a Comment

 “Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer.” – Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

In May of 2014 Dave and Steve attended one of the greatest beer events in the world: the Firestone Walker Invitational in Paso Robles California. Here are some thoughts and images. 
 
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We’ve never been to the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado, never been to Illinois’ Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers, nor any of the Beer Advocate festivals in Boston, nor Savor. Even so, could any festival be a greater venue for the world’s finest beers than the Firestone Walker Invitational? Paso Robles is returning to form as wine country, boasting 2013’s award for Wine Region of the Year. The food vendors, who get short shrift at a beer event but play a critical role—especially to a collective swarm of snobs—not only in keeping people satiated and buffered from unlimited samples of draught deliciousness, but as a compliment to the beers. Food must be up to the quality of the beer or the contrast will define both the food and overall experience as muddled. And the food served at the Invitation is superb. Local restaurants like Robert’s, Estrella, Fish Gaucho, Leo Leo Gelato and more brought top notch California cuisine in bite sized portions. And then there is the beer.

Brewpublic.com has the full list here 

BEER OF THE FEST:

Avery Brewing Co.

Lilikoi Kepolo

This sour ale from Colorado’s Avery makes great use of the tropical lilikoi fruit to add both sweetness and a further tartness, making for one of our all-time favorite sour beers. Against redoubtable company on draught, Lilikoi Kepolo stood above the rest, as the most complex and delicious beer we sampled .

Other favorites:

Alesmith Brewing
Barrel Aged Vietnamese Speedway Stout

Alpine Beer Co
Keene Idea

The Bruery
Black Tuesday w/ Pistachio & Vanilla

Cigar City Brewing
Tangerine-Orange Berliner Weisse

FiftyFifty Brewing
Coffee-Vanilla Eclipse

Firestone Walker Brewing
Parabajava

Kern River Brewing
Citra DIPA

Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Co
Red Poppy

New Belgium Brewing
La Folie

Surly Brewing
Pentagram

Taps Fishhouse & Brewery
Blanche de Conundrum
Remy’s Pappy

CONCLUSION:

The variety and quality of brewers and beers, the food and facility, and the overall execution make this one of the best beer festivals in the country. People in the area are blessed to have Firestone Walker, and especially lucky to have such a great festival to craft beer. If you ever have the opportunity, get to Paso and check out the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival.

 

Filed Under: Events, Places Tagged With: Avery, Firestone Walker, Surly

Dark Horse 4 Elf Party 2012

January 16, 2013 by Steve 1 Comment

On Saturday, December 8th the third annual Dark Horse 4 Elf Party featured nearly 50 beers on tap and are selling 13 specialty beers
 

WHY GO TO MICHIGAN AT 4:00 AM?

Dark Horse 4 Elf Party Line
Dark Horse 4 Elf Party Line

With scores of diverse and bold beers on tap, a battle of the bands, and an eclectic mix of offerings such as elk ribs, muscat brains, and Rocky Mountain oysters, the party to celebrate the first tapping of a Marshall Michigan brewer’s limited release holiday beer, may e reason enough for a beer lover to take a trip to Dark Horse Brewing. On top of all that, DH offered a battle of the bands and the sale of bottles, such as Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead the Fifth and Barrel Aged Monster 29, an imperial barley wine. These beers in particular sell out quickly, meaning you get in line early or get left in the cold.

And cold it was. Arriving around 7:30 AM, we approached an already winding line in a cold rain. Despite having left at 4:00 AM, our place was over 50 deep in the queue, and the temperature dropped every hour. We had some time to wait until 11:00 when tickets were handed out, assigning your spot in line for the beer buying at 3:00. Thankfully, the line was packed full of friendly beer geeks, ready to share a bottle or two of some rare tipple they had acquired along the way. the rain turned into snow, but we all felt warmer with the convivial atmosphere and delicious samples warming our souls.

Following the passing out of numbered tickets for those wanting to buy beer later, there was a three hour lull. This might of been a good time for a nap, or in our case, some well needed lunch. Food at the cozy Dark Horse bar was a tasty mix of pizza and garlic bread. While none of the special party beers were on tap at this time, I got to sample the delicious Thirsty Trout Porter, a Baltic Porter. Don’t recall seeing this one at my local shops, but try it if you can find it!

At 3:00 another lined formed for those buying beer, and the party started inside the brewery. Lots to be had:

Dark Horse 4 Elf Party Crowd
Dark Horse 4 Elf Party Crowd

Special Bottled Beer Release Availability:
2011 4 Elf Winter Ale: 19 cases / 2 – 4 pack limit – $13 a 4 pack/$4 a bottle
2012 4 Elf Winter Ale: 180 cases – no limit – $70 a case/$12 a 4 pack/$3.50 a bottle
2011 BBL Plead the 5th: 9 cases / 1 – 4 pack limit – $26 a 4 pack/$7 a bottle
2012 BBL Plead the 5th: 432 cases / 2 case limit – $130 a case/$22 a 4 pack/$6 a bottle
Monster 29 (Imperial Barleywine): 37 cases/1 – 4 pack limit – $26 a 4 pack/$7 a bottle
BBL Monster 29 (Imperial Barleywine): 73 cases (375 ml bottles)/2-4 pack limit – $30 a 4 pack/ $8 a bottle
MMMMM (Chocolate Rye Porter – (Rye Whiskey BBL Aged): 33 cases (750ml Bottles)/3 bottle limit – $15 a bottle
Ginger in Your Pants (Imperial Red – Rye Whiskey BBL Aged): 33 Cases (750 ml bottles)/3 bottle limit – $15 a bottle
Militiagan (Potable Oat Wine – Angels Envy BBL Aged): 33 cases (750ml bottles)/3 bottle limit – $15 a bottle
King of the forest: 67 cases (750ml bottles)/4 bottle limit – $15 a bottle
Aigre Plead the 5th: 33 cases (750ml bottles)/3 bottle limit – $15 a bottle
Whiskey Richard: 33 cases (750ml bottles)/3 bottle limit -$15 a bottle
Lambeak wants dragon fruit: 33 cases (750ml bottles)/3 bottle limit – $16 a bottle
Lambeak wants blood orange: 33 cases (750ml bottles)/3 bottle limit – $16 a bottle

Draft List:

    1. Crooked Tree IPA 2. Raspberry Ale 3. Amber Ale 4. Boffo Brown Ale 5. Reserve Special Black Ale 6. ONE Oatmeal Stout 7. TOO Cream Stout 8. TRES Blueberry Stout 9. Plead the 5th Imperial Stout 10. Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th 11. Monster 29 12. Bourbon Monster 29 13. Thirsty Trout Porter 14. Scotty Karate Scotch Ale 15. KBE Dark Horse Volume II (coconut raspberry porter) 16. Tall, Dark, and Crunchy’s 17. Death Star Lover 18. Artic Dekoorc Eert 19. Ollirama Dekoorc Eert 20. Sc-7 Dekoorc Eert 21. GingeRed 22. Militiagan 23. Ginger in yer Pants 24. MMMM 25. HomoBourbonSapien 26. Whiskey Richard 27. Lambeek wants Dragonfruit 28. Lambeek wants Passionfruit 29. Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock 30. Aigre Plead the 5th 31. King of the Forrest 32. Sour 3 Guy off the Scale Old Ale 33. Lost Droid Chenstnut Porter 34. Wassupwiththemonkey Blueberry Ale 35. F.F. Dekoorc Eert 36. Edacsac Dekoorc Eert 37. Belgianator Belgian IPA 38. Bourbon MMMM 39. Sarsaparilla 666 Stout 40. Sahti 41. Westy Wendell’s West Coast Wheat 42. 4 Elf 2011 43. 4 Elf 2012 44. Kmita Kolsch 45. MBG 15 Ann’y Ale 46. Bourbon Militagan
Dark Horse 4 Elf Party Draft List
Dark Horse 4 Elf Party Tap List

Of the draft beers I tried, Dark Star Lover, a raspberry chocolate stout aged in oak barrels was an amazing mix of flavors, possibly the best beer Dark Horse brews. Other stand outs were the odd but fun Ginger in your Pants, hop variants on their Crooked Tree IPA (named backwards as in ‘Ollirama Dekoorc Eert’), and the tasty chocolate based MMMM.  The lambics were not to my liking, unfortunately. Best part of the sampling was that we were able to do it while waiting in the very slow line.

But we didn’t rise at 3:00 AM for just a party, no matter how fun the tap list. Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead the Fifth is the prize I was after, and at our spot in line, I had no problem getting some, along with some Monster 29, BA Monster 29, Ginger in Your Pants, and MMMM… Mission accomplished.

But was it worth the cold temps, early rising, and long day? If your only enjoyment will come from scoring bottles, the costs may out weigh the benefits. There were a number of people that were shutout from some or even all of the beers they were hoping to buy. But if you are there to take in the massive selection of delicious drafts, try some succulent, obscure creatures, and hang with pleasant locals and generous beer geeks, the Dark Horse 4 Elf Party is a great event. One I will hopefully be returning to next year.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Beer Release, Dark Horse

5 Surprising Facts About Cinco de Mayo

May 4, 2012 by Steve Leave a Comment

Cinco de Mayo has become, for some Americans, an excuse to show off their multicultural sensitivity while putting away gallons of yellow, fizzy beer. The history of this popular holiday however, is often clouded in misconceptions.

1. Cinco de Mayo is not widely celebrated in Mexico.

The day is celebrated in certain communities, mostly in the the town of Puebla, and is not a national bank holiday.

2. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day.

Not even close. It’s September 16th. May 5th is the anniversary of the Mexican victory over the French in the first Battle of Puebla.

3. The Most Interesting Man in the World is not an actor living in Vermont.

Don’t get me wrong, Jonathan Goldsmith is an interesting guy, but he’s no Richard Branson class polymath.

4. Beating the French in battle is hardly a cause for celebration.

While it was a surprising victory, Mexico being vastly outnumbered, the French ultimately won the war. And it was the French.

5. Cinco de Mayo was first celebrated in the U.S. following a Corona marketing campaign.

During the foreign beer craze on the 1980’s Grupo Modelo (makers of Corona Extra) heavily invested in manufacturing Cinco de Mayo as a Mexican St. Patrick’s Day. They were in large part successful. The holiday was however first celebrated by Mexican immigrants in Texas and California decades earlier.

A Better Idea

If you really need a reason to get your drink on, how about an alternative May 5th event? Raise a glass to Cy Young on the anniversary of his throwing the first perfect game May 5th, 1905 with a Pennant Ale from Brooklyn Brewing. Or take in the sport of kings and try beer aged in bourbon barrels while watching the Kentucky Derby. If your friends insist on a beverage reminiscent of Mexico, why not try something like Westbrook’s Mexican Cake, a beer made with chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, and hot peppers? Now that is something to celebrate!

Westbrook's 1st Anniversary Beer
Westbrook Mexican Cake

 

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Brooklyn, Westbrook

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