GABF '11

Gotta love the Great American Beer Fest. I covered twenty-two breweries, 50 beers before nearly passing out.

The sweet 16:

1. Sam Adams' Utopias
Certainly not the best beer I had, but it's the most brag-worthy. At 27-percent alcohol and a ridiculous price tag on the open market, this was a good get. It was so strong, it tasted like bourbon and even burned going down. The 1-ounce taste was enough.

2. Goose Island Bourbon Barrel Coffee Stout
Had it last year, and it was awesome. Liked it even better this year. A really wonderful stout.

3. The Bruery's Black Tuesday
Had it last year, and it was awesome. Liked it a little less this year. So over the top and really sweet. Damn good though. Their Oude Tart Flander's red was a nice surprise, as well.

4. Ballast Point Victory at Sea Imperial Porter
I've always wanted to try Ballast Point's beers, and they didn't disappoint. I thought Sculpin IPA (see below) would be the best, but this imperial porter, which checks in a 12.2 percent was amazing. Smacked of vanilla.

5. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
Very high-quality IPA. Read a lot about it, and it didn't disappoint.

6. Brooklyn Brewery Black Ops
Amazing imperial stout, black and chocolatey.

7. Three Floyds' Zombie Dust
A hoppy pale ale that was refreshing and highly drinkable.

8. Troegs Perpetual IPA
Really hoppy and crisp. A nice drink.

9. Port Brewing's Doheny Double IPA
Big and hoppy. A serious hop bomb.

10. Lost Abbey Veritas
Excellent sour with hints of oak. Their whole line-up was amazing, but this jumped to the top.

11. Allagash Mattina Rossa
Great sour with many different flavor levels. I got the last pour of it at the festival. Glad I did.

12. AleSmith Speedway Stout
This is another brewery I wanted to hit up. A nice stout. The AleSmith IPA was really solid, as well.

13. Alpine Nelson
The rye IPA had a big hop nose and was very crisp. Really delicious. The Ugly black IPA looked really dark but hardly had any malt notes at all. I liked it, as well.

14. Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout
Cigar City was the belle of the ball -- long lines and tons of beer. I tried their White Oak IPA, Jai Pai IPA, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. Hunahpu, though, is a world-class beer that I could drink forever.

15. Nectar Ales (Firestone Walker) Black Xantus
A strong imperial stout. Rich, robust, and coffee-like.

16. Bear Republic Racer 5, Racer X and Cafe Racer 15
I've had the previous two, and the 15 didn't disappoint. I love Bear Republic.



The flat 5:

1. Kern River
I really wanted to try their raved-about Citra Double IPA, but they ran out. Thumbs down.

2. Bell's
They didn't bring anything interesting. Really weak showing.

3. Russian River
The only new thing they had was Defenstration. It was an OK blonde. Don't get me wrong, Pliny and Supplication are still amazing. I was just hoping to try new things from them.

4. Founders
They didn't show up this year. WTF?

5. Minneapolis Townhall Brewery
Their Mango IPA was interesting, but I was expecting more from this raved-about brewery.


Notable trends:

1. Oak-aged imperial stouts dominate
They still rule the beer world. Big, bold and boozy is the way to go to prove your brewing chops.

2. Sours surge
Sours are increasingly becoming mainstream. Lost Abbey, Russian River, the Bruery, Allagash, Cascade and others lead the way.

3. Experimentals emerge
Short's Brewing, which created a bunch of off-the-wall flavors like Key Lime Pie, created quite a buzz. Cigar City's oatmeal raisin cookie still rules that category, though.

4. IPAs passe?
Seems like fewer and fewer IPAs pop up at GABF. In the adventurous swell, maybe the good ol' standbys are losing favor.

5. Breakfast beers abound
I had a bacon and egg porter that was gross. Saw tons of other similarly themed beers.