October
21, 2006
Brewtopia - World Beer Festival
And then we went to Brewtopia
By Jackie Beach
In line for Rogue Brewery’s Shakespeare Stout, I nudged the young lad in front of me. “Spout some Shakespeare,” I teased. The dark-haired, sample glass-wielding young man bit his lip and looked heavenward.
“Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well,” he responded.
Impressive. And so is the beer. The stout’s creamy head follows with a light
chocolaty, smooth finish. The young man and other hundreds of youngish men and women traveling in hordes to fill the Javits Convention Center for the 4th annual Great World Beer Festival, aka
Brewtopia, are not looking to merely score unlimited beer. No, these men and women are serious beer drinkers and paid their $45-$60 tickets to taste their way through a plethora of global microbreweries’ finest brews.
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Brewtopia World Beer Festival
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We commenced the tour by dropping by Peter Cherpack’s Beer Appreciation table, where we compared unrefined and compressed hops and get a tactile sense of the four components that make up beer. Cherpack was a cheery fellow with a Philadelphia-based business complete with beer education classes as well as tutored and hosted dinners and
tastings.
Next, we tasted a unique brew from Ommegange called Rodenbach Grand Cru. This sour ale, results from “fermenting with close to 20 different yeast strains and bacterial flora” which has matured for two years in oak barrels. The chap pouring from the tap said this beer would actually keep maturing, turning sherry-like over time. ‘Sound more like a complex liquor or wine than a beer? This is the vein along which the majority of these infamous breweries tap into. The beers are involved and interesting; a far cry from Newark’s finest Budweiser brand.
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We move along to Ithaca Beer Company, a New York state brewery located in the Finger Lakes (primarily wine country) region. Eric Vanzile pours delicious Apricot White and Nut Brown flavors and the dedicated group crowded around this booth sips and murmurs happily. Vanzile says to expect Ithaca Beer Company beers back in New York City bars and liquor stores next month, as they just ended a relationship with a distributor.
Fruity flavors persist in the form of blueberry from Paper City Brewery from Holyoke, Massachusetts and pineapple, peach, strawberry, green apple, and root beer from Long Island
Meadery. No, root beer isn’t a fruit, but it is a mead flavor offered by the Meadery and both women and men lined up to taste its sticky sweetness and feel the effects of its 11%
ABV.
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It’s no wonder women were stumbling and eyes were reddening as we meandered our
way to the notorious Brooklyn Brewery booth. Brewmaster Garrett Oliver chatted
with beer lovers and Brand Manager Christopher Rom and crew poured
exclusive, limited beers such as Monster Ale, Brooklyn Blast, and the Winter Ale.
The Monster Ale is brewed in classic barley wine style and can only be enjoyed
for a short time this year. Oliver says the brewery only produced 2 double brews,
about 160 kegs of the powerful copper ale.
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The floor gets stickier as you walk towards the back of the massive room. Here, you’re greeted by the ever popular, Oregon-based
Rogue Brewery where you learn about the Morimoto Signature Series, where Iron Chef Morimoto has teamed up with Rogue to work on dishes to compliment the Japanese-inspired beer.
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Beer and food is mentioned again at the Carlsberg booth where Martin Olesen introduces Jacobsen, a brand that will be launching in New York in about a week. He lovingly pours the Saaz Blonde, explaining the pale ale with a wheat beer taste.
“In Denmark, everyone was talking about wine and Carlsberg got together with great chefs and brewmasters with one goal in mind: Get beer back on the dinner table,” says
Olesen. He describes Jacobsen’s Dark Lager as “what Carlsberg was 50 years ago.”
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As the din of the crowd meshes with a rendition of “Comfortably Numb,” we revisit the
Dogfish
Head booth, now teamed up with Doc’s Cider because the woman who
works for Dogfish has a brother who happens to own Doc’s. Although Dogfish
Head had poured out in the earlier session and has nothing left to offer its devoted
fans, the husky-voiced woman does not disappoint. She gave us information about
an upcoming Dogfish Head event in the city and promises to include us on the guest
list. “It’s the least I can do,” she said, pouring us large samples of Doc’s
Raspberry and Apple flavored fizzy and delectable hard ciders.
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Among the hundreds of beer drinkers, we were fortunate enough to literally bump into Brewtopia’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Keith
Reichenbach, who took the time to discuss his views of the new Brewtopia digs.
“This place has its ups and down, “ admits Reichenbach. “There are good bathrooms, which is very important. The security is great and there’s certainly plenty room for more people than at any previous Brewtopia event. Unfortunately, there isn’t great transportation this far on
the west side and I think that’s prevented a lot of people from coming.”
Nevertheless, the turnout of people and brewing companies proved stellar and unbeatable as many people remarked this was “the best event I’ve ever been to.”
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Your reporter Jackie Beach with
Brewtopia's Keith Reichenbach
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More
photos of Brewtopia...
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Links:
Brewtopiafest.com
DavidCopperfields.com
HopDevil.com
Jackie Beach |
.
. . And then what happened? |
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