American Craft Beer Festival

Last weekend, Beer Advocate brought craft beer enthusiasts together under one roof to celebrate American craft beer at the second annual American Craft Beer Festival in Boston. For those of you who attended, I hope you had as much fun as we did. For those of you who missed the event, I hope you do everything in your power to attend next year. Rumor has it, Beer Advocate is already talking expansion. I don't think they'll have an option as 9,600 tickets were scanned over three sessions. With numbers like this I think New England can say that we have our own little version of the GABF!

Here are a few thoughts that I took away from the ACBF. 

1) Don't go to a beer festival with a group of 14 people. For some reason it sounded like a great idea but it was a logistical nightmare. Our session had 3,800 people. We all arrived at different times and rarely had the group together. Think that is bad, try getting 14 people to agree on a post beer fest meal. I wish I had a video camera for that debacle. 

2) I wish there were more brewery representatives at the festival. For a festival of this size I was really hoping to see more industry names like Sam Calagione and Greg Koch.  On the other hand, the festival was packed and it's not the place to strike up a riveting conversation. Not a big deal. I can't say that there weren't any big names as I did see Richard Norgrove and Shaun O'Sullivan was rumored to be in attendance. Here is a picture I tried to take of Richard Norgrove. Sorry for the poor quality but the  Bear Republic table was packed!   

 

3) What an amazing selection of American craft beer to sample. I'm glad we had 3.5 hours because we needed every last second to finish our ambitious list. For a full list of breweries who attended, click here. Here is a list of my top 5 beers, in no particular order, but let me say one thing, I love me a Belgium IPA!

a)  Allagash, Hugh Malone, Belgium IPA

b) Otter Creek, Russian Imperial Stout

c) Odell Brewing Company, India Pale Ale

d) Smuttynose, Gravitation

e) Weyerbacher, Zotten

Notables: Sam Adams India Pale Ale and Dunkelweizen. I hope both of these go into production because they were great beers! My third beer of the night was Speakeasy IPA. Pleasantly surprised! How did I miss that when I was in San Fran? Finally, Mayflower Brewing Company has hit the nail on the head with all of their offerings. 

4) Up and coming brewery - Pretty Things Beer and Ale project. Three letters: W-O-W! Do you want artisanal beer? Find a bottle of Pretty Things! Pretty Things was at the top of my list when we arrived and they did not disappoint.  Pretty Things currently rents brew space where brewer, Dann Pauquette works his magic. I have a feeling Dann and Martha will be looking for their own space soon as they have a truly unique product that beer geeks everywhere will go crazy for. Dann, Martha, when will you be available in CT? Good luck, Pretty Things!      

It was great to see so many craft beer enthusiasts under one roof. Generally speaking, breweries were friendly, guests behaved, volunteers were helpful, bathrooms were plentiful and lines moved fast. It is exciting to see the craft beer scene growing in New England! 

Here are a few more pictures from the event:

This is the view from the back of the room 15 minutes in. 

Last call at 9:30. 3,800 people hitting the streets of Boston in search of a much needed meal...and beer 

Taking craft beer by storm! Who the hell took this picture? Too drunk to zoom?