Last Sat night, I attended the largest, most prestigious Beer Fest in the USA, the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. This was the 28th annual fest, and had 400+ brewers (microbreweries and brewpubs mainly) serving 2100+ brews. My friend Brian and I were in line 45 minutes ahead of our entrance time, 5:30pm. Still, I couldn't see the entrance. It was fun watching everyone else walk by us (roughly 10000 for this session), trying to find the back of the line. Many people were in costume, from traditional German men and woman's dress, people in what would normally be softball-like matching shirts, to WILD people dress as everything from fake cops to construction workers.
Two other events were also at the convention complex. Van Morrison was playing one side, and a Sex Show was playing the other. These added to the
strangeness of waiting in line. Still the most common thing we kept seeing was people walking to get in line for the beer fest wearing necklaces of pretzels. Mainly mini pretzels, but also large Bavarian pretzels, and sometimes string cheese and beef jerky still in the wrapper, and the rare Funion.
The line started moving at 5:30 and we were in about 5-10 min later. There were a series of checks. First was ID and ticket, then just ID so we could get an 'over 21' wristband, than going into the hall, giving our ticket to get the 1oz (although it holds 4oz) plastic beer glass.
From there we were let loose upon the hall, and could go up to any booth and ask for a taste. The hall was arranged by region, and then by a-z, with some larger breweries on end-caps, and non breweries on the outside walls. Very quickly I figured I wouldn't try everything, or even everything out of a single category of beer. I didn't want to just drink beer I knew, but I came to the conclusion that it was of little 'value' to me if I found a beer I liked from a place far away that I couldn't get in Colorado. Still, if my cup was empty, I'd look at the sign behind each table listing the brewery, location, and beers offered, and find something I wanted to try. In all, I figured I tried about 50 beers in the 4 hours of the session, or about a beer (12oz) an hour.
My highlight was going to the Sam Adams booth, getting to the front of the line, and hearing the guy next to me ask the server holding pitcher of dark liquid, "Is that what I think it is? The server nodded yes, and I knew that one quest was at an end. I wanted to try Utopia, considered the highest Alcohol by Volume (ABV) beer ever made, at 27% abv. It was the result of an experiment they started in the late 90s to see how high they could get a beer. The server poured me, then Brian, a shot (1oz) and we walked to an open area and I explained to Brian what we had. The smell was intoxicating (pun intended), unlike anything I had smelled before. It was a thick liquid, and left fingers on the glass, much like brandy. I sipped a small amount. It was a very complex taste: sweet, with what seemed to me to be Carmel, butterscotch, vanilla, and other flavors at the same time. It was unreal. I spent the next 1/2 hour milking it, mainly just smelling it with the smallest of tastes, almost a lick of the tongue.
Incredible.
Still, we were only 1/2 way done with the hall, so I had to finish it so I could try other beers. Red Stone Meadery, a local micro, was the only booth giving out mead, but by our (last) session, they were down to only one choice, a mead with beer taste called Nectar of the Hops. It was still mead, so it tasted more like apple juice than beer or wine. If it were more popular (and cool), I would be happy drinking just different kinds of meads.
Getting back to my plan, I looked for breweries in the Colorado area I had never heard of, as well as ones in the Indianapolis area. I sampled some great beers from a place in Broad Ripple called Brugge Brasserie. We must do a meal here over the holidays! We talked to many people from around the country, and it was fun introducing them to local beers that were our favorites (yes, Sigda's Green Chili Beer was one I pushed, to the amazement of the attendees I mentioned it too).
The strangest non-beer thing happening in the hall was in the back. Oskar Blues Brewery, out of Lyons, CO, sponsored a 'Silent Disco'. They had a wood dance floor, and had a DJ mixing dance(?) tunes. People would borrow 80s style headphones that would receive the tunes, and they would dance. At 9pm all the headphones were out, and the dance floor was moving, with a line of people waiting their turn. It was weird to see all these people dancing to a common beat, but being unable to hear any music.
Oh, I was surprised at the demographics of the fest crowd. I expected mainly male college aged, but there were almost as many women as men, and there were many older people there too. (the dance floor was still mainly women)
One other strange custom was noticed. Whenever someone would drop their plastic glass (making a loud notice on the bare floor), everyone in the area would loudly jeer at the person and would sometimes even try to keep the glass away from the person, kicking it back and forth. I found out later, that our session is known for the drunkenness, and that earlier sessions received glass tasters. One attendee had taped his plastic taster to his hand, to avoid dropping it. :)
Brian and I bailed a little after 9pm after hitting the whole hall. Last pour was 9:30, and we wanted to avoid the crowds. We hit Waffle House on the way home (almost a standard place we go to after drinking (Open 24hrs, and kinda sleazy).
We did some other things before the show, but they're not worth writing about, although I will mention we ended up walking a couple of miles before the show (I got blisters on my pinkie toes, which is standard for me whenever I do distance).
