Hey all - sitting in Phoenix getting ready to catch the last flight to Dallas. GABF was fantastic, and it sucked.
Fnatastic in the way that there are way too many many beers to try. Had some great ones (Pliny the Elder is friggin awesome) and had some beers that I will never brew myself - I hope they were infected becuase if they meant to brew them that way I could think of better ways to handle grain, hops and yeast! Could be just my taste too. Meeting the Brewcasters and other TBN'ers was definately the highlight of the show. We got to spend some great times together, share thought on beer and life, and make some plans for the future of the TBN. Justin does not talk near as much in person than he does on the radio, I guess he saves it all up for the shows! He is a super guy and loves this industry. Daniela is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. She genuinely cares for each and every one of us and it shows, thanks for the hositality and I hope I can call you a dear friend now.
Sucked??? Yeah, I should have expected this with an open show like the GABF. So many people piled into the hall that had one ambition - getting trashed. As we as brewers like to try different beers and hope to recreate some of those great styles in taste, the younger crows (and some of the older) show up to see how many one ounce pours they can down in 4 hours. The show was sold out every night and it was elbow to elbow - Friday and Saturday we tough days to get to the booths and try different beers so we sat back and watched the "fools" make asses of themselves - which was quite comical. Would I go again even with the crowds? You bet your ass I would, the good outweighed the bad in huge form.
I have to tell you about one beer though that drew huge crowds - Sam Adams Utopias. We got to taste it on Thursday (they poured it each session, but Thursday was the only one that you didn't have to wait with hundreds of people to try). That is an amazing beer. If you like Port wine after a big meal, then you will really enjoy Utopias. It is very sweet, and will burn the inside of your nose when inhaling as the alcohol content in that is 25%+. an ounce or two will do you, it is strong, sweet and will kick your ass quickly. I can see why it is so expensive, they only brew a small amount a year and it conditions for almost three years. The 2003 batch won a bronze at GABF for Experimental Beers.
There is so much more to talk about, but my battery is getting low and this post is long enough. Thanks to all of those that we got to visit with this week, it was a great time. I look forward to seeing you at a beer function again soon!
H2
Brian Emert
I did run into Henning and Bug so that was cool but no TBNer's. I went Sat. afternoon and the crowds were not a bunch of drunks. It seemed like a good one to go to if you wanted to avoid the drunks. The only problem with Sat. afternoon is that some beers were gone.
