International BeerFest Rocked Cleveland
The International Beer Festival 2011 tasted amazing. And, good news: This first year was such a success with 8,567 visitors, that they're bringing the Beer Fest back next year!!
It was like walking into the adult-beverage version of Candy Land.The festival brought in brewers from across the globe, including the fabled land of ale: Belgium. And if I've learned one thing, it's that Ohio is a veritable Mecca of Beer. We have so many heavy hitters, including (but not limited to...) Hoppin' Frog, Thirsty Dog, The Brew Kettle Production Works, Fat Heads and Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Two of these local heroes Hoppin' Frog and The Brew Kettle Production Works handed out an @$$-beating to the beer world at-large. They took home 14 of Ohio's 36 well-deserved medals between the two of them.
Showcasing their Café B.O.R.I.S. Stout, Hoppin' Frog also brought their other big names to the table, including the B.O.R.I.S. Imperial Stout, D.O.R.I.S. Double Imperial Stout, Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Stout and their Turbo Shandy Citrus Ale - all of which won awards:
CATEGORY: IMPERIAL STOUTS AND STRONG ALES
- Gold: D.O.R.I.S. Double Imperial Stout
- Silver: B.O.R.I.S. Imperial Stout
CATEGORY: CHOCOLATE, COFFEE AND SPICE BEERS
- Silver: Café B.O.R.I.S. Stout
CATEGORY: WOOD‐ AND BARREL‐AGED BEERS
- Silver: Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Stout
CATEGORY: FRUIT, VEGETABLE AND HONEY BEERS
- Gold: Turbo Shandy Citrus Ale
Fact: I am a hop-head. I presently have an unnatural attraction to hyper-hoppy IPAs. Luckily, I had the good sense to indulge my IPA sentiments in a froth-fest that ran the flavor gamut. One of my favorites was the Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA. It brought a hop-filled tear to my eye. The other notable IPA I stumbled upon was The Brew Kettle's Old 21. (I was happy to discover that ACME No.1 carries both of these hop-gems in 24 oz. bottles.) Apparently, I missed out by not trying each and every one of The Brew Kettle's entries... They took home 9 medals, including Best of Show. Lesson learned. Here's their haul:
CATEGORY: PORTERS AND STOUTS
- Bronze: Black Jack
CATEGORY: IMPERIAL STOUTS AND STRONG ALES
- Bronze: Tunguska
CATEGORY: AMERICAN PALE ALES
- Bronze: Four C’s
CATEGORY: AMERICAN IPAs
- Gold: White Rajah
CATEGORY: IMPERIAL IPAs
- Gold: Old 21
CATEGORY: WILD AND SOUR ALES
- Bronze: Quick Kriek
CATEGORY: AMERICAN WHEAT AND RYE BEERS
- Gold: Chief’s Rye
CATEGORY: SPECIALTY AND EXPERIMENTAL BEERS
- Gold: Dark Helmet
BEST OF SHOW
- Gold: White Rajah
Another Akron brewery, Thirsty Dog Brewing Company, took home a triplet of medals as well:
CATEGORY: AMERICAN ALES
- Silver: Hoppus Maximus
CATEGORY: BELGIAN ABBEY ALES
- Bronze: Cerberus
CATEGORY: WOOD‐ AND BARREL‐AGED BEERS
- Bronze: Barrel Aged Wee Heavy
One last note: I was really holding out for a Belgian Abbey beat-down. Unfortunately, only a few of the attending Belgians stood out, and despite what the festival beer list said, Chimay only had their Cinq Cents (White Label) out for sampling - and in tiny bottles to boot! Since I can't very well leave Belgium out of a discussion about brews, here's one that was surprising: Brouwerij Verhaeghe Belgium Duchesse du Buogogne Ale. The bouquet belies the flavor — a nostril anomaly.
If you are a beer aficionado (or someone who just likes good beer), you need to familiarize yourself with our local breweries — they are a world of beer at your finger tips. You also NEED to keep tabs on their small batch brews. Usually, they're here today, gone tomorrow and available only at the breweries.... for example: Hoppin' Frogs B.O.R.I.S. Royale....