Category: Festivals

Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines (redux) -- v. 2016

1/11/2016

Shooting star effects courtesy of Ma Nature.

All 3 of y’all who read this blog (hi, Mom!) know that we attended last year’s Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines festival in Vail as consumers. We had a blast (excellent time, file under“market research”) and were pretty psyched to come back this year and pour a few beers. There’s a lot of the weekend I didn’t capture, some awesome seminars that our team attended, a cigar-and-beer-pairing that I missed (alas), and a ton of fun craft beer folk.

I think this festival was started, back in the day, because some now-revered craft brewers wanted to get together in the CO mountains and hang out (and a wise choice that was, because HELLO, scenerygoodbeergoodpeople). I’m pretty sure several of them weren’t in attendance this year, but for those who were – and for all the brewers who’ve come on the scene since then who were here, many thanks for the stellar idea and gathering!

When this is what you see on the drive and out your porch door the first morning,
how can there be anything wrong with the weekend?

Plus, where else but on the way up that canyon are you going to find a school with a mascot like this?

Stocked the 'fridge and then headed out to the Thursday night Brewers' Reception. Slight consternation upon being greeted by this when arriving:

These are not the 'droids you're looking for.

We eventually found the right room, where some tasty beers were being poured by some fun peeps, e.g.:

Tim of Strange Craft and I think the BSG CraftBrewing guy, who sponsored this shindig for all of us, and whose name I've inexplicably forgotten (I am so very good at this networking thing!).

Antics ensued.

Titus sat on the high side of the table at dinner.

Chadwick trying to persuade all to participate in a round of spin-the-shot-wheel.

Saw this sign in Vail Village. All listed in the correct order.

Friday we did some teambuilding.

@Bonfire Brewing.

Bonfire shared a new sour with us!

@ Crazy Mountain Brewery

That's what the kids are calling it these days.

Titus & Luke tried their best to teach some of us some dart technique. Please weigh in on our teachability:

The remarkable thing about this photo at Vail Brewing Co. is that none of us are wearing the same H&D shirt. Not as easy as it sounds, to wit...

...Luke & TimCo sporting the newest fashion in men's P.J.'s: Sad Panda LS tee + plaid trou.

Friday night we had BEERTOSHARE, in which we so firmly believe that I think it's a program we need to get on. Is there a better way to gather than over a large-format bottle of great craft beer?

We were ever so social until Chad learned that the pour list for the next day's commercial tasting had been released. Here he is 3 nanoseconds later:

I managed to miss the Saturday morning seminars (which I hear included some samples of 2006 Utopias, the last year they did an unblended version of this beer) and hearing from our friend Neil Fisher of Weldwerks empaneled alongside giants from Sam Adams & Lagunitas (woot woot!), and a by-all-accounts impressive presentation on human's beer-sensing anatomy in The Science Behind Flavor by Nicole Garneau. I missed these because I was running back to FoCo for a meeting -- during which trip I had cause to be grateful I don't make the Saturday-morning drive west on I-70, ever. (Saw some cool decorated-by-the-elements trees and a great sunrise, tho'.)

[Speaking of FoCo, huge gracias to these folks for holding down The Fort while so many of us were away!]

We've done this. It isn't easy. Thanks, Tucker!

A couple of notes about the actual tasting event at Big Beers -- to be in the festival, a beer must either be over 7% ABV (big), a Belgian style (Belgian, natch), a barleywine (by definition big?), or an experimental beer. It makes the commercial tasting quite an experience – a ton of beers I hadn’t tried before and the ability to talk with people integral to the companies that made each beer (often the brewers themselves) makes this festival a standout. And then there are just the fun folks you bump into (almost all of whom know a ton about beer – it’s an education to wander around this place). *If you're after extensive reviews & beer-tasting notes, stop reading here and go on over to one of the real beer reporters' blogs or articles. I got some good tasting advice from a few of them, including Jonathan Shikes of Westword, who's likely to have a column on it in a minute here. Though I missed him I'd be shocked if Tristan Chan of porchdrinking.com was not there. Focus on the Beer also had a camera or two there. *

Tom (Black Bottle brewer) & Diana & Matthew. And a dude from Barrelworks, if his hat is any indication.

We recognized this guy serving up samples behind Odell's jockey box.

Theodore, returning to his home turf.

Some attendees who knew Linsey in her college days (pre-brewing, during the Zoology era).

Such a high to be around folks who are brewing and showcasing great beers and who love what they do.

Now, back to the (great) grind. But with happy memories of a weekend well spent!

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Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines. And alsotoo, big mountains.

1/11/2015

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We snuck away to Vail’s Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines festival this weekend. It was a good time with a load of good beers. (And also, editorial aside here, some more reminders that we are spoiled in FoCo with freshtastycraft beer on at most bars and restaurants – not so in Vail. However, a couple of places we stumbled upon are making an effort. I’m not sure if that was just for this festival weekend, or if it’s a trend that’ll treat us all to a variety of great beers on there in the coming year or two, but I hope the latter!) We attended a couple of seminars, learned a few things, met a bunch of folks, and tried what were, for me, a lot of new malted beverages. If you’re a true beer geek and want to know more than my “I liked this one, that one isn’t my favorite, I’m trying to teach myself about XYZ style” sort of rating system would tell you, I encourage you to read the entries of one of the many beer bloggers and “real” writers who attended, like this guy:

The upshot is that this festival is a great way to sample small amounts of fantastic beers. Breweries really did bring things you don’t normally see at a big ol’ beer festival. I sampled some stuff I loved from breweries in Belgium, California, Massachusetts, and (of course) Colorado. I also missed a wad of them. There are just too many offerings and interesting people with whom to chatear.

If you're able to go a day early and stay a night or two, there are both spontaneous and planned gatherings that are delicious, fun, and maybe even slightly raucous. Of course, since I'm a deficient beer blogger, I didn’t take photos of the beer. Too busy sampling it, I guess. I did get a couple of photos of other aspects of the festival that struck me.

People. Always fascinating. And looky! One of them whom we didn't know before this day was even wearing an H&D shirt. Woot! Also massive bowls of bread available for between sips, and icy portapotties with a snowy backdrop. Advice (that was Tweeted, so if you follow us on Twitter sorry for the repeat): if you’re gonna’ need to go, go early. These babies were going to ice over by 5 pm and the only thing I can think of that’s worse than a portapotty steaming in summer is one with an ice skating rink for a floor in the winter. As well, it’s good to know that even in Vail, people sometimes use an outhouse.

Aside from the people and the beer, here’s a little look at Vail in January.

Many thoughts on the way up there about the engineering feat that is I-70 and its tunnels.

[Despite these signs, we saw neither.]

The mountains are spectacular, even when you can't see the high ranges.

In the event that the mountain scenery needed some augmenting, someone in Vail was on it for the holiday season:

Vail copes (as does, one hopes, any ski town) with a lot of snow. The shoveling and plowing has got to be constant.

These guys were shoveling off the roofs before the next anticipated snowfall. One guy was using (I think I'm not kidding here), a drill -- to drill through the ice but, presumably, not the roof. Dicey.

There are enormous plow-residue mountains of snow everywhere. I realize this is not an astute observation.

Despite all this shoveling and plowing, icy streets and walkways are omnipresent, even at the resorts. It’s kind of encouraging that there’s a place left in the US where they expect common sense, rather than your legal team, to prevail. “Hey, it’s 10 degrees out and you’re at a resort built here because of the snow. Watch your step. If you slip, we’ll maybe help you up and we'll try not to call you a knob.”

Despite this indication that perhaps in the U.S. mountains, at least, we're still supposed to take personal responsibility for our actions and accidents, there was this sign on the (free) bus. I blanked out the firm's name because I can't stand this message. People! You are deciding of your own free will to go 10,000 feet above sea level, strap one or two planks to your feet, and point yourself downhill. You are going to do this with hundreds of other people who may or may not have any experience. Gravity, in one way or another, will prevail. You are able to assess the risks and decide if you want to assume them...

Here was a guy making Tim jealous:

And there’s plenty of evidence of hearty winter sportspeople – check out these ski tracks coming down the slope, with nary a ski lift in sight.

Our sweet condo was flying a Colorado flag. That’s how we knew we were home. (It also had some amazing pines out front.)

We finished the weekend with a birthday dinner for Luke at Atwater on Gore Creek restaurant – one of the few places we found that pays homage to craft beer and great food.

These two FoCo-ites joined us and pitched in on singing to Luke. Thanks Matthew & Cy!

I loved this restaurant's beer menu. Particularly this section -- what it's all about. Though I realize now that we didn't share a large format craft in a bottle. Shame. We'll have to go back. Alas.

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Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines (redux) -- v. 2016

Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines. And alsotoo, big mountains.

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Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines. And alsotoo,﻿ big mountains.

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Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines (redux) -- v. 2016

Big Beers, Belgians, & Barleywines. And alsotoo, big mountains.