Summerfest: Much more than just Saison

This passed weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at Drink Craft Beer’s Summerfest. You may have seen me, I was passing out cups at the entrance during both sessions on Saturday.

Keeper of the Cups

From a volunteer's perspective I have to give a major thanks to Jeff and Devon and Jeff Lawrence for making it one of my favorites. I think it was the simple instruction to, “keep the brewers happy,” that made it such a great success.  Happy brewers make for happy patrons and happy patrons make for happy volunteers, so everyone wins!

Between handing out cups, emptying buckets and lugging ice, I had the chance to sample a few beers that have been on my list for a while, as well as a couple beers brewed specifically for the festival. Here are a few standouts:

#1.  Harpoon Saison. Brewed specifically for Summerfest with bananas, grapefruit and oranges, each of these ingredients added to the already fruity/citrusy Saison. I went back to try this one again later in the evening just to make sure I loved it…yup, I did.

#2. Night Shift Rose Au Poivre and Viva Habanera. Both of these beers were unique in their use of special ingredients. Rose Au Poivre is brewed with rosemary and aged on red peppercorns, which are both quite prominent in the flavor and Viva Habanera employs chili peppers, which provide flavor as well as a mild heat. Each time I try a new Night Shift beer I can’t help but think about pairing it with food.

#3 Pretty Things Meadowlark IPA. What else can I say that hasn’t already been said about this magnificent specimen of an IPA?  You’ll die and think you went to Citra heaven. Flavorful, juicy, Citra hops attack the palate with a monsoon of tropical fruit and citrusy flavors. I need to find bottles of this as soon as possible.

#4 Slumbrew Rising Sun. A little-known and under-produced style, Slumbrew’s take on German Dampfbier employs the same wheat beer yeast as their Happy Sol. Caramel malty with hints of earthy hops and subtle toastiness, man, am I a sucker for obscure styles!

Leftovers.

At the end of the night the stage at the Armory was filled with pizza and Idle Hands and Night Shift opened their taps to the volunteers.  Cleanup was pretty quick with a lot of the staff remaining and I think I managed to get home well before midnight. I’d say “I can wait for next year,” but I hope Jeff and Devon don’t wait that long to host another festival…Winterfest anyone?

It's Gustatory Time-Travel, Marty!

I’ve been a big fan of Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project since Dann and Martha Paquette started brewing in 2008. From their always flavorful, year-round offerings such as Jack d’Or to their festive seasonals such as Our Finest Regards, Pretty Things produces fantastic products that suit a variety of tastes.

One of their most recent releases comes as part of their line-up of historic recreations in the once Upon a Time Series. With these beers, Dann and Martha have teamed up with noted beer historian Ron Pattinson to recreate styles from old brewery notebooks and journals. These beers are created just as they were written down in the time when they were first brewed. I’ve enjoyed each of the beers in this series thus far, but I was particularly impressed with a set of English Mild Ales recreated for the latest installment in the series.

What was fascinating about these beers was that they came from the same brewery, under the same name only separated by 107 years. From the years 1838 to 1945, the beer known as Mild from this London brewery changed so drastically that under any other circumstance you would think it a different beer. Due to a variety of socioeconomic changes (not to mention a couple World Wars) the beer in question went from a light golden-colored beer of 7.4% ABV, to a dark amber-colored beer of 2.8% ABV.

I drank the 1945 Mild with lunch and the 1838 Mild with dinner.  The 1945 exhibited hints of grain and slight caramel malt-like sweetness.  Hops were light with just a breath of bitterness lingering into the finish.  The 1838 was significantly hoppier with a hint of sweetness balancing—just a touch of alcohol warmth in the flavor with a hint of grain and herbal hoppiness playing out through the finish.

I can’t say enough about what these kinds of beers do for beer drinkers, it allows us to taste the past—it’s gustatory time-travel! So here’s to Dann, Martha and Ron, and to their travels through beer history. I look forward to seeing where Pretty Things sets the dial next.