On Friday, a group of us went to the Stoudts Microfest which is held at Stoudts Brewery.  It was the first beer festival I had ever gone to and it was a blast.  You had to buy tickets in advance, they were $30 a piece but for that you got a tasting glass, a great food buffet, live music and of course, all you could drink for the 4 hours you were there.  The festival had 3 different sessions, one on Friday night, one on Saturday afternoon and one on Saturday night.  We went to the Friday night session and from what we have been told, it was the least crowded which was great for us, there was no waiting in line for more beer!

The list of breweries was pretty impressive, at the Friday session, there was:

• Union Barrel Works
• Stewarts Brewing
• Allagash Brewing
• Unita Brewing
• Old Forge Brewing
• Troegs
• Boston Beer/Sam Adams
• Riverhorse Brewing
• Smuttynose Brewing
• Climax Brewing
• McGillins
• Lagunitas Brewing
• Great Divide Brewing
• Clipper City Brewing
• 21st Ammendment
• and of course Stoudts Brewing

There were a few other breweries that were supposed to be there, like Flying Dog Brewery but there table was empty on Friday, I don’t know if they were there on Saturday.  I had great intentions of interviewing breweries and writing up intelligent reviews on the beers I tried.  Unfortunately, it didn’t work out like I had planned, the music was loud so interviews were out and after trying so many different beers it was really tough to come away with a lot of clear thoughts on individual beers.  Not that it really matters, in the end, I had more fun not having to worry about getting all the details down.

Fortunately, I did manage to at least keep a record of what I tried.

• Lagunitas Little Something Extra
• Stewarts Highlander Stout
• Stewarts Octoberfest
• Stoudts Brewery Reserve Bock
• Climax ESB
• Old Forge Pale Ale
• Old Forge Ludwigs Anniversary Lager
• Troegs Dead Reckoning Porter
• Allagash White
• Allagash Abbey Ale
• River Horse Double Wit
• River Horse Unfiltered Lager
• 21st Ammendment Hell or Highwater Watermelon Wheat Beer
• Great Divide Samurai
• Smuttynose Old Brown Dog
• Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop Ale
• Great Divide Hibernation Ale

As you can see, it was a pretty impressive selection of beer and I had quite a bit of fun.  Keep in mind the sample glasses were only 6 ounces so we were only drinking 3 to 5 ounces at a time so I am not as much of a drunk as it may seem.  There were a few beers that really stood out that I went back for seconds and thirds but I can’t say they were my definitive favorite as there were others I would have liked to gone back and gotten more of.

I had never heard of Stewarts before but their Highlander Stout was really good, as was their Octoberfest.  They are pretty close to me, they are in Bear, DE which is only an hour and half or so from where I live.  Definitely a place I am going to have to check out.  I also couldn’t get enough of the Allagash Abbey Ale and the River Horse Double Wit.  The great news is, I didn’t drink a single beer that I didn’t enjoy.  It was a really fun night and I can’t wait for the next one.

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   October 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 am

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