The festival was, of course, a blast, and we enjoyed sampling tons of interesting beers, but what struck me most about the festival was the unapologetic experimentation offered by brewers. From spicy chile beers from Buffalo Brewing Company in St. Louis to a cashew nut brown offered by Founder's Brewing Company, it was easy to think that experimentation was the order of the day.
And why not? As a brewery, your fans get to try your usual beers every day. You need something to reward them for making the trip (and taking the expense) to come see you at what could be the single hardest festival into which to gain admission. The club only sells 6,000 tickets per year, which sell out in the first day, and each ticket costs $50.
Don't balk, though. If you get a chance to go to this festival, do not pass it up, as it is worth all the trouble and more. The beers available range from the high number of bourbon-barrel aged beers to some hop monsters which made no excuses for being completely out of balance. There were also a ton of well made sour ales and some really creative and delicious session beers.
Incidentally, my favorite beer of the day was the All-Day IPA from Founder's. At 4.7% ABV and 42 IBU's, this beer can really be consumed as easily as a pale ale, but it packs a huge hop aroma and flavor. It's an IPA which won't coat your tongue in hop resin and which won't have you feeling unsteady.
Another highlight for me and my brother was finding the Hopfenstange Pils at the Delafield Brewhaus tent. IT was an excellent pils, incidentally, and had a great name to boot. The picture is a sign from their booth.
I'll talk more about the festival and a ton about the St. Louis beer scene with Mike Sweeney from STLhops.com on Beer Buzz Radio this weekend, so check it out.
Cheers, folks!
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