GABF 2016: A Recap

The Great American Beer Festival 2016 was this past weekend. How do you sum up a festival where there were over 3,800 different beers poured, 780 breweries in attendance, 286 medals awarded and 60,00 beer loving attendees celebrating GABF’s 35th anniversary?? I say stupendously successful!

GABF

Those statistics may seem a little overwhelming and rightfully so. GABF is one of the top beer festivals in the US! Walking in to the festival hall is both extremely exciting and also a bit daunting. Rows and rows of breweries from across the nation are pouring tons of styles of beers. As the crowds pile in, the space is filled with happy, beer drinkers and plenty of choices!

GABF BEER

Barrel-aged beers ranked high on my list of favorites. You’ll find many listed at the end. With imperial and barrel-aged stouts big favorites already, I was on a mission.

GABF

Though I had plenty of awesome beers, if I had to pick just one beer from GABF 2016 that was most memorable it would be the No Rules Vietnamese Imperial Porter by Perrin Brewing. This beer is a big 15% ABV but doesn’t drink like a 15%. It is brewed with coconut and cinnamon and then aged in bourbon barrels. No Rules was outstanding and I hope to get my hands on a bottle or two!

GABF

BAMA by Weldwerks was another phenomenal beer. BAMA is the Barrel Aged Mexican Achromatic. It had some nice spice but not too much, good chocolate, and was just an all around amazing beer. Their Coffee Maple Achromatic was also delicious. It was definitely one of those beers that would go nice with ‘breakfast for dinner’ on a cool winter night.

GABF

Black Note from Bell’s was another one of the delicious, dark, and barrel-aged beers. This beer is a blend of their Expedition Stout and Double Cream Stout that is then aged in bourbon barrels. This blending brings the best of both beers.

GABF

Though I tried multiple barrel-aged beers, I also went after some IPAs intermittently to switch things up. Juicy Bits by Weldwerks is a great tasting IPA. It has yummy citrus notes and is not very bitter. The Hop Knife by Troegs was also a delicious IPA that I stumbled upon.

GABF

The week leading up to GABF I got the chance to try Boom Sauce by Lord Hobo at Barrels and Bottles (Golden, CO). Not only is the name awesome but it is also a tasty IPA. Though I had already tried it I went back for a sample.

GABF

Weldwerks was clearly a favorite brewery overall with multiple delicious options. Modern Times also brought some great selection and they are making incredible beer. Though I thought everything I tasted from them was delicious my two favorites were the Thermometer Island Sour and the Monsters Park Imperial Stout. Though completely different beers, Modern Times knocked both of these styles out of the park.

GABF

For anyone in need of a beer break, or just love cheese, the American Cheese Society brought lots of yummy cheese to taste. It was a fairly long line but worth it. They even brought some samples out while you were waiting. I tried the Cremont Aged Goat and Cow cheese from Vermont Creamery and it was wonderful. They paired it with the Scotch Ale from Livery Brewing (Benton Harbor, MI) and they went very well together.

GABF

By the time I got the chance to try the Levanto with Chamomile, Hibiscus, and Raspberries from Madtree Brewing, it was towards the end of GABF and so its light body and easy drinking was perfect. This beer is considered a Sour/Wild Ale but I would consider it more of Wild; I did not find it very sour. It had great flavor but was not overpowering in any way.

GABF

Favorite GABF Beers

The Dark and Bold

  • No Rules by Perrin (Comstock Park, MI)
  • Barrel Aged Mexican Achromatic (BAMA!) by Weldwerks (Greeley, CO)
  • 2014 Cabernet Nikolai by Funky Buddha (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
  • Black Note by Bell’s (Comstock, MI)
  • Monsters Park by Modern Times (San Diego, CA)
  • Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate by Foothills Brewing (Winston Salem, NC)
  • Bbomb by Fremont (Seattle, WA)
  • Whiskey Barrel Double Pecan Porter by 512 Brewing (Austin, TX)
  • Bourbon Barrel Aged Ten Fidy by Oskar Blues (Lyons, CO)
  • Fundamental Observation by Bottle Logic (Anaheim, CA)
  • Nightmare Fuel by Rivery North (Denver, CO)

The Hoppy

  • Juicy Bits by Weldwerks (Greeley, CO)
  • Acequia Wet Hop IPA by Bosque Brewing (Albuquerque, NM)*
  • Boom Sauce by Lord Hobo (Woburn, MA)
  • Hop Knife by Troegs (Hershey, PA)
  • Superpower + Fresh Hop Superpower IPA by Comrade Brewing (Denver, CO)

*Won silver in the Fresh or Wet Hop Ale category

The Sour and Wild

  • Farm to Face in Peaches by Allagash (Portland, ME)
  • Oxcart by Black Project (Denver, CO)
  • Artial by Jester King (Austin, TX)
  • Garcon de Ferme by Wicked Weed (Asheville, NC)
  • Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Framboise by Destihl (Normal, IL)*
  • Thermometer Island by Modern Times (San Diego, CA)
  • Chamomile Levanto by Madtree (Cincinnati, OH)
  • Purple Drink by Toolbox (Vista, CA)
  • Sixfold IV by West Sixth (Lexington, KY)

*Won silver in the Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer category
Here is a full list of this year’s GABF winners.

GABF

GABF BITES

Beer, Bite, Beer

I got the pleasure of joining the GABF Paired Craft Beer + Food Event this year. This was a really fun experience tasting unique foods and their beer counterpart. There were 21 chefs matched with 21 brewers to bring you over 40 pairings.

GABF

To pair food and beer you should first start by taking a sip of the beer, then take a bite, and then follow it with another sip. Pay attention to how the flavors change, which flavors come forward in the beer after the bite, or if the flavors do not become more superior. My favorite pairings are based from this method. I looked for beers that held their own and complimented the flavor in the foods they were paired with. There were a lot of unique and yummy dishes served though!

GABF

My favorite pairing hands down was the Total Domination IPA by Ninkasi paired with Smoked Brisket Pastrami by Tim Rattray from The Granary. It may have partly been due to the fact that this pastrami was to die for. It was topped with sauerkraut aioli and rye crumble. The flavors were incredible and the Total Domination IPA paired wonderfully. This is an IPA that I have already enjoyed on many occasions and thought it made a stellar pairing.

GABF

Another one of my favorite pairings was a completely different pairing: the Incorrigible Reserve Berliner Weissbier by New Holland with the Potted Salmon with blackberries, horseradish, and sourdough from Salon Brixton. The flavor of the beer and the dish were both light, which allowed the flavors of each to still shine. Michigan blueberries and blackberries were added in the second fermentation of this beer, which complimented nicely with the salmon and blackberry in the dish.

GABF

Along with all the tasty pairings was a table with assorted cheeses + charcuterie brought to you by the American Cheese Society, Olli Salumeria, and Cerminelli Fine Meats. I did not directly pair any of the items with beer but the table had some tasty meats and cheese!

GABF

Old Jackalope Barleywine by Tenaya Creek paired with the Budino Italian dish by Pizza Locale. The dessert had butterscotch pudding, milk chocolate ganache, caramel, and whipped cream. I did not really taste the beer separate from the dessert but what I liked about this combination was I thought they were better together. The Budino was very delicious but mainly just had creamy and chocolaty flavors. Then the barleywine added another level to the pairing. It did not overpower the pudding at all but made it a great dessert together.

GABF

Rum Barrel-Aged Death By Coconut by Oskar Blues with the Boilermaker Ice Cream Sundae from Park Kitchen was another delicious dessert pairing. Death By Coconut from Oskar Blue’s is already a favorite of mine. Then they aged it in rum barrels, which added some subtle rum notes. I would have to try these beers side by side to really compare how the aging changed the beer but it was still tasty and paired with the ice cream sundae.

GABF

Favorite GABF Craft Beer + Food Pairings
  • Total Domination IPA paired + Smoked Brisket Pastrami with sauerkraut aioli and rye crumble
    Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene, OR) + Tim Rattray from The Granary (San Antonio, TX)
  • Incorrigible Reserve + Potted Salmon with black berries, horseradish, and sourdough
    New Holland Brewing (Holland, MI) + Nicholas Balfe from Salon Brixton (London, England)
  • Old Jackalope Barleywine by Tenaya Creek paired with the Budino
    Tenaya Creek (Las Vegas, NV) + Jordan Wallace & Chris Donato from Pizza Locale (Boulder/Denver, CO)
  • Rum Barrel-Aged Death By Coconut + Boilermaker Ice Cream Sundae
    Oskar Blues (Lyons, CO) + Scott Dolich & David Sapp from Park Kitchen (Portland, OR)

GABF

VIBE

It’s a beer festival! People are happily trying their favorite beers, standing in long lines for some of the more popular ones, or skipping around trying new breweries. People show up in their lederhosens or random costumes to celebrate in style.

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One of my favorites, other than the group dressed as Thing Drunk 1, 2, 3, etc. was the storm trooper in his lederhosens!

GABF

The Great American Beer Festival 2016 did not fall short of an awesome time! Though this festival is huge, it is the only time you will be able to try all of these beers in one place. As a beer lover it is such an exciting time!

Cheers!

More To Love:

GABF

GABF 2015

Campfire Stout

Campfire Stout

beer and food pairing

Beer and Food Pairing: BruFrou 2015

Comments

  1. I enjoyed reading your blog, and my husband and I were very happy to meet and visit with you in the “cheese line”. Thank you for your list of favorites, it will be fun for me to try to find these. Cheers from Kansas City Mo.

    • Lilly Sue says:

      Hi Sandy, I have no idea how I am just seeing this comment but it got buried somehow! It was great visiting with you in the cheese line as well – it was worth the wait! 🙂 Cheers!