Firkin Fest 2010... Long Overdue

Well, I am still busy as normal, but I really had to get something up on Firkin Fest.

First off, let me say this... 64 casks under one tent is pretty solid. Firkin Fest is one of the only beer fests in which the host buys all of the beer. In this case, the Happy Gnome bought all 64 casks, which is quite impressive. There was many solid beers as well as some disappointments. Before I get to the beer I just wanted to comment on a few things.

Cost - $10 plus $1 each for an approximate 4 oz sample of any beer. I had talked to a few people in the beer industry and they had heard many people complaining about the price and the fact that they had to pay for the ticket and then the beer. I think that this fest is a great deal. After you pay for your ticket it cost $4 for a pint of beer! That is a great deal. Some beerfests range from $30 - $60 so this fest is in that range as well (unless you plan on drinking a ton of samples).

Space - It started out pretty packed. There was a line for a decent amount of time after the doors open. If you check out the picture here, you can get an idea of how many people were at the event. Seemed to be a popular event. The mass amount of people at the event made for a few problems. 1) Bathroom lines were very long. That was fixed later on in the event and they ordered more Out-houses. Also, the amount of people there caused the beer to run out an hour or two early. Lots of thirsty people I guess.

Now for a few comments on the beers:

First beer I started out with was Surly's 2010 Oak Aged Dry Hopped Darkness. I was a little letdown with this beer. It was good, but not as good as regular Darkness. It had a lot of chocolate flavors but a very odd mouthfeel. I would have liked the oak to show a bit more as well.

Next was a huge letdown: Avery's Uberschwein Barley Wine. This is their double dry hopped Hog Heaven. It tasted like ditchweed alcohol. 'Nuff said.

I then had the Ola Dubh 18 yr followed by the 40 yr. These were some big beers that had a lot of barrel flavors to them. The 40 yr tasted more like scotch/whiskey than it did beer. Pretty good though. This beer was only available with a golden ticket that you got if you bought 20 tickets. It sold out pretty fast.

Nightstalker on cask = bad. It had way to much citrus notes and it didn't even compare to what it is like on tap. I barely wanted to even finish my sample. Big stout meet citrus fruit. Ugh.

Fulton War and Peace. This beer pretty much was near the top of my charts for the day. I love coffee stouts and this one competed with some of the other top coffee stouts I have had. The peace coffee they used was so fresh and blended with the stout really well. I was shocked a new brewery (Fulton) could make a beer this solid. My hat is off to these guys!

Brau Brother's Elisha Old Ale.... not too much of an old ale imo. I am glad I had this hear and didn't have to buy a $10 750 mL bottle of it to try it. This beer was nothing near the caliber of some of the old ales I have had. It just had some caramel and toffee malt with some dark dried fruits. Some people may like it, but if I want an old ale, I will go with Hair of the Dog.

Founder's Double Dry Hopped Red's Rye was awesome. It was the typical goodness of Red's Rye with some great citrus flavors. Very fresh and extremely drinkable. I just wish Founders would have had some 'special' treats cough kbs/cbs cough.

The last beer that I want to comment on is by the Lift Bridge crew. These guys are awesome. I had a blast BS-ing with Steve and glad I got to try some of his wild beers. The beer that I want to talk a bit about is Ol' Pine Box. This is their Cross Cut Pale Ale dry hopped with Cascade hops and grapefruit zest added in. This beer tasted like Christmas. Lots of spruce pine notes. Very awesome tasting and original beer. The pictures with the LB guys are of the trophy they won for best cask at the event.

I had a 'few' other samples but these were just a few I wanted to write about. I have all my reviews posted on BA if you care to check them out.

Overall, the fest was great and I am glad I went. I will be back next year.

Thanks for reading and sorry it was delayed so long!

Cheers,
Ben