Really Good Beer Fest

It’s always hard to say what makes a good beer fest. Well, beer for one; we can certainly start there. After that there’s a whole host of intangibles, so let’s look at why I liked the latest Beer Advocate Belgian Beer Fest - Night of the Funk - in Boston this June.

Now truth be told it was not all Belgian brewers - like say the Modeste Beer fest in Antwerp; or even all “Belgian styles.” There were some Belgian styles such as Saison and Lambic represented, as well as several others. There were mostly American breweries, a smattering g of Belgian, and a few others from Canada and elsewhere.

What struck me was the Zen of the festival. All signs were the same, in black ink on tabloid size paper. Sure you could have signs in front of your table, or crazy ways to rinse a glass, but there was a sense of “we are all even”; at least how the festival is concerned.

The room was also a circular rotunda, with a nice open airy feel to it. The Cyclorama was the IMAX of the 1800s, was where you went to look at large panoramic paintings. And there’s a few more things that make for a good beer event. The food was located inside, was quite good and a fair price. Nothing frosts me more than an event where you are effectively trapped, and someone is going to exploit that be selling you a sammich for $12. The exquisite grilled cheese from Roxy's Grilled Cheese was amazing.

And bathrooms; let us not ever forget bathrooms. Carroll O’Conner as Archie Bunker made famous the phrase “you can’t buy beer Meathead, you can only rent it!” I’ve been to shows where the bathroom count is criminally low; this was not the case. Nice clean bathrooms with essentially no waiting.

All the folks pouring suds deserve kudos. Most beer fans were there for exactly what they wanted, I actually heard a few say “eww this is sour” (Hello McFly, a SOUR ALE?) Spoke with a lot of folks and had a really, really great time.

So all in all, by any standard a great event with a certain “je ne sais quois” - which means it was even better than expected.

And oh by the way the beers were pretty good!

New England Brewing   |   SpinCycle   |   Ale, IPA, Imperial   |   8.2%   |   7.5
Counterweight    |   Double Inundation   |   Ale, IPA, Imperial   |   8.2%   |   7
Collective    |   Stone tea   |   Ale, Sour / Wild   |   5.3%   |   8
Engine House no. 9   |   Amour Aux Myrtilles   |   Ale, Sour   |   6.3 %  |   7.5
Engine House no. 9   |   Wild Tacoma cherry table sour Batch 1   |   Ale, Wild, American, fruit   |   4.2%   |   9.5
Overshores   |   Good people bad habits    |   Ale, Wheat, Berliner Weisse   |   4% |   7.5
Overshores   |   Brett Qwad   |   Ale, Belgian Quadrupel Style   |   9.2%   |   8
Brewery Vivant   |   Tower of Sour   |   Ale, Sour   |   7.3%   |   8.5
Brewery Vivant   |   Angelina 2017   |   Ale, Sour   |   9.2%   |   9
Common Roots   |   Puncheon aged in Bloom with Peaches   |   Ale, Wild, American   |      |   9.5
Common Roots   |   Rooted   |   Ale, Belgian Lambic Style   |   6%   |   7.5
Funkwerks    |   Oud Bruin   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Old Brown style   |      |   7.8
Funkwerks    |   Luminoso    |   Ale, Sour   |      |   9.5
OEC   |   Tempus blend 10   |   Ale, Sour   |   5%   |   10
OEC   |   Oudilis Cerasus blend 2   |   Ale, Sour   |   6.2%   |   9
Lost Abbey   |   Mr Todd’s Wild Ride    |   Ale, Wild, American   |      |   9.8
Lost Abbey   |   Cuvée de Tomme    |   Ale, Wild, American   |   11%   |   9.5
Upland    |   Raspberry    |   Ale, Sour, Fruit   |   5.7%   |   10
Upland    |   Pearpawsterous   |   Ale, Sour, Fruit   |   6.5 %  |   8.5
Strange Roots   |   Grand Blu   |   Ale, Wild, American   |   8.1%   |   8.5
Strange Roots   |   Prismatic Omen   |   Ale, Farmhouse, American   |   8.9%  |   7.8
Nod Hill    |   Monty gets funky   |   Ale, Sour   |   5%   |   8.5
Silly   |   Stupid Silly Sour   |   Ale, Sour / Wild   |   5.5%   |   8.5
Boon   |   Oude Geuze Boon à l’Ancienne - vat 92 mono   |   Ale, Belgian Lambic   |   8%   |   9
Dunham, Brasserie   |   Funk Sibérian   |   Ale, Farmhouse   |   5.2%   |   8.5
Dunham, Brasserie   |   Jane Doe Assemblage Hors Série 8   |   Ale, Wild, American   |   5.5%   |   9
Whiner   |   Sasha Fontaine    |   Ale, Sour   |   6%   |   8.4
Whiner   |   Francis Lambicus   |   Ale, Sour, American   |   6.5%   |   7.8
Zero Gravity   |   Bearsharktopus    |   Ale, Sour / Wild   |   6%   |   9
Steenberge, Brouwerij van   |   Monk’s Café grand cru   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Brown   |   5.5%   |   9.5
Brabandere Petrus Bavik   |   Brewmasters Wild Tripel hop    |   Ale, Belgian Tripel IPA   |   8%   |   8.2
Väsen Brewing Group   |   Fœder blend   |   Ale, Farmhouse, American   |   7.5%   |   8.2
Lost Abbey    |   Veritas Peach   |   Ale, Wild, American   |   6.5 %  |   10
Archetype    |   Devil’s nest   |   Ale, Belgian Tripel   |   10.2%   |   8.9
Archetype    |   Walk the earth   |   Ale, Saison   |   8.6   |   7.5
Brewery Vivant   |   Strawberry Rhubarb   |   Ale, Sour, Fruit   |   5%   |   8.5
Nod Hill    |   Age of Winds   |   Ale, Sour   |   5%   |   8
Sam Adams   |   Brett Pale   |   Ale, Sour   |   4.3%   |   8
Omer Vander Ghinste   |   Jacobins Prestiege   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Red blend   |   7.6%   |   9
Bockor, Browerij De    |   Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Red   |   5.5%   |   9.5
BlackBerry Farm   |   Pleiades   |   Ale, Saison   |   6.1%   |   7.8
OEC   |   Artista Zynergia Plumtastic blend 2   |      |      |   9

At the end, went to the Tip Tap Room to meet up with some friends, meet some new folks, and try a few more!

Molen, Brouwerij De    |   Bommen & Granaten (heaven & hell)   |   Ale, Barleywine   |   12.9%   |   9
Cascade  |  Cherry Bubonic Plague  |  Ale, Porter, Sour, Belgian  |  12.9%  |  9.0/10.0
Grimm   |  Tom Tom  |  Ale, IPA, Imperial  |  8.0%  |  9Grimm   |  1 million tomorrows with nectarines   |    |  7.7&  |  8
Toppling Goliath  |  Fire Skull & Money IPA   |  Ale, IPA, Imperial  |    |  8.5
Rhinegeist  |  Press Tart Berlinerweisse & Fruit  |  Ale, Sour, American  |  4.4%  |  8.5
Engine House 9  |  Bramble Sour  |  Ale, Sour, American  |  6.4  |  8.5