Whoa, hang onto your tech, boys and girls. This afternoon at 4pm, Beercraft will blog LIVE and in synchronous real time from the Rochester debut of Harpoon Oyster Stout at the Tap and Mallet.

Well, actually this sounds more techie than it is. There won’t be any audio or video. Really I’ll just be doing a blog entry while sipping this highly anticipated beer and scarfing free oysters, looking like a complete dork in the process.Anyway, the Tap and Mallet’s event pairs the brand new  Harpoon Oyster Stout with a bunch of delicious yummy oysters. I love oysters. And what better place to consume an aphrodisiac food then while getting tipsy in the company of a bunch of rotund, hygene-challenged beer lovers?

I know, that’s just a stereotype. Tune in at 4pm for more of them.

-Mark

Well, it’s time for one of the best beer festivals in the country, the BeerAdvocate Belgian Beer Festival in Boston, Massachusetts.

Bruce will be attending, pouring three of the beers he brewed for the Rohrbach Brewing Company. I will not be attending. Because my wife has planned a Finger Lakes wine tour for us. And she was incredibly attached to the date of Saturday, September 27. So instead of taking part in one of the great beer fests as an exhibitor, I’ll be doing something we can do any friggin’ weekend. Awesome.

My car, however, is making the trip. Bruce is using the Honda Element to carry his kegs. In the meantime, I’m driving his smelly-ass diesel VW Golf. Christ, all that thick black smoke and those fumes; It’s like driving the nation of Romania.

If you didn’t prepurchase tickets to this festival, you’re fucked, but be advised that some of the world’s great brewers will be out on the prowl in Boston’s finer beer bars (Bukowski’s over by the Boylston Street Hilton seems to be a favorite hangout), so maybe you can talk beer with the pros.

For my part, all I can do is point you to my take on last year’s festival and dream about everything I will not get to taste this time around.

I hope my wife doesn’t read this; at least not until after the wine tour.

-Mark

As you undoubtedly know, the Flower City Brewers Fest takes place this Friday at Frontier Field in Glamorous Rochester, New York. The event is put on by the Rohrbach Brewing Company, and features most of Central and Western New York’s indie brewers, as well as some from further afield. Here’s a partial list of participants:

• Custom Brewcrafters
• High Falls Brewing
• Flying Bison
• Ithaca Beer Co.
• Rooster Fish Brewing Co.
• Brooklyn Brewery
• Southern Tier Brewing Co.
• Long Trail Brewing Co.
• Magic Hat Brewing Co.

There will, of course, be many more breweries gushing forth their wares, so come thirsty.

Rohrbach will be debuting it’s first two original Bruce Lish beers in over four years. As many readers know, Bruce combines a natural talent for brewing great beer with a love for uncommon and offbeat styles. I think he’s one of the best brewers in the state, perhaps beyond (which is why I let him hang out with me), and these surprise brews are going to knock off your collective socks.

My advice, show up to the festival early. It’s really popular, and can crowd up. Rohrbach has done its best to alleviate  crowding by using both the first base and third base concourses, as opposed to last year when the whole damn thing was crammed onto the third base side. This should shorten lines and increase enjoyment for everyone.

-Mark

The East Coast does not lack for beer festivals during the summertime, but some events stand out from the rest. Ommegang Brewery’s annual Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival is one of those great beer experiences, albeit with some disturbing undertones for the observant bystander.

It starts with the setting itself. The brewery is architecturally stunning, and sits on an enormous plot of open ground. A motley collection of tents dot the fields around the massive serving and entertainment pavilions, and everyone’s having a great time. Music plays from within nylon walls, frisbees go whipping past your head, and great beer is everywhere. This is before the tasting even starts.

You can tell how esteemed BCTC is in the indie beer industry by the breweries that turn up, some from as far away as California, and, well, Belgium. Stone, Russian River, Weyerbacher, Dogfish Head, most of the most renowned names in American brewing make sure to have a presence at this festival. It’s absolutely a Belgian beer junkie’s paradise.

We (I was pouring for the Rohrbach Brewing Company) set up at our designated spot, next to the Russian River booth. This was good because it gave us relatively free access to what many festivalgoers were expecting to be the best beers of the event. Ten minutes before the pouring began, the line in front of Russian River stretched beyond the bounds of the sampling tent and out into the naked sun. The line in front of our both, and that of Nantucket’s Offshore Ale Company next to us, consisted of Chris, a ski patrol/lifeguard hippie dude who’d volunteered to help pour.

This highlighted a strange dynamic I hadn’t really encountered at other beer festivals; Perhaps it was because of the big name breweries, or perhaps it was because most of the beer was so strong that people had to pick and choose, but many more obscure brewers were nearly ignored. While people would wait ten minutes for a sample of Russian River’s beers, we spent a fair amount of time pouring nothing, staring out at empty air, or sharing Rohrbach Belgian Blonde with the neighboring brewers. Is this the “Beer Advocate Effect?” Are beer lovers really ceasing to show curiosity for what small American brewers are making in order to go for the best-publicized, best-advertised craft breweries? If that’s the case, it’s an ironic mirroring of the way macro beer consumers make buying decisions on mainstream beer.

Another slightly unsettling trend was the obvious rise of American brewing’s new fad: sour beer. It seems some people got a taste of Rhodenbach, or one of the other Flemish ales soured with the Brettanomyces yeast, and now they’re doing to sour ale what they did to IPA for the past few years- going completely over the top with mouth-puckering acidity while completely ignoring the flavor characteristics that make beers like Rhodenbach taste so damn good.

After tasting the fourth consecutive beer that would taste better on a salad than in a glass, I began to grow a bit despondent about the ‘enlightened’ craft beer enthusiastic public. ‘They’re going to slurp this down by the hectolitre,’ I thought to myself. ‘They’re going to buy it, post about it on beer forums, and act like this caustic vinegar is the Ambrosia Sent From the Gods.’ Overhopped imperial IPAs will be forgotten as beer ‘connoisseurs’ brag to each other about how any ‘international sourness units’ can be had in their latest zymurlogical infatuation.

But those rumblings aside, the festival was filled with awesome beer and a mellow, fun vibe that extended well into the night, then into the morning. After hanging with the guys from Custom Brewcrafters and the gang from Smuttynose brewing, I staggered off to my tent, lulled to sleep by the pulsing rhythm of the band in the distance, and the half-gallon of Rohrbach Belgian Blonde in my tummy- the only defense against rude awakenings by bongo players and people randomly screaming as they succumbed to the nectars of the day.

-Mark

Bruce and I will be attending Ommegang’s Belgium Cmes to Cooperstown festival this Saturday as exhibitors. He brewed Rohrbach Belgian ale specifically for this event, and we’ll be pouring with the big boys. I’ll send disoriented updates form the scene via Twitter.

-Mark

Although tickets to Brewery Ommegang’s Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival are sold out, There are still some seats left on The Old Toad’s bus tour. Meet at the Toad, take a comfortable motor coach down to C-town, drink a bunch of Tripel, then snooze peacefully while a nice bus driver hauls your butt back to Rochester.

If you want to get in at the last minute, call Jules at The Old Toad, (585) 232-2626 and reserve your spot.

It’s amazing what some people will do for fun. Some run marathons, some get shot with stingy little paintballs, some even suspend themselves from sharp hooks pushed through the bleeding flesh of their own backs.Bruce and I dispense beer at beer festivals.

This weekend found us in the teeming metropolis of Hunter, New York, for Tap NY, the state’s premier beer festival, and due to its proximity to the Tri-State area, one of the most attended. Dozens of breweries from all over New York, New Jersey and Canada offered up their finest for the sampling pleasure of the masses.

For the first day, the masses didn’t seem overly interested in the finest. Maybe the most alcoholically strong, but subtle flavor and aroma characteristics did not seem to be a top priority for many. One poor kid (I’m guessing he was about 21 by the way he couldn’t stand up) managed to get himself literally covered in a complex, hoppy yet smokey carmel-tinged Ithaca Ten, which dripped sadly off the brim of his baseball cap onto the back of his right shoulder as a big brown stain spread across his Abercrombie logo. Even with the younger crowd though, drink-addled outbursts seemed to be kept to a minimum. I saw no violence, no vomit. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Give me your huddled masses waiting to be drunk

No, seriously, it’s a tribute to the festival organizers and the Hunter Mountain staff that things went so smoothly. This is a long-standing and well-run festival, and every effort is made to accommodate the brewers. Festival Co-Founder Nat Collins stood on his head to make sure that every exhibitor had a problem-free festival. The guy did laps the whole time; it looked exhausting.

 Festival co-founder Nat Collins

We basically poured nonstop for four hours, running out of the Rohrbach Bluebeary ale on the first day, and growing concerned that we didn’t bring enough beer to last the entirety of the two-day event. You can only fit four kegs in the back of a Honda Element.

The night was spent dodging creepy twin toddlers in the hallway at an anachronistic borscht-belt era resort called the Villa Vosilla, and drinking the neighboring O’Neil’s Pub, which had the common decency to feature one of our favorite beers, Roosterfish Nut Brown Ale, on draft. This went over particularly well considering we were drinking with Jordan Sunseri, one of the Roosterfish brewers.

The outside breweries prep for Sunday

As is the norm at these festivals, the Sunday crowd was thinner in number, older, and generally more interested in the beer.

The day kicked of with the chick from the Ale Street News booth apologizing profusely for how she acted while partying the previous night, which must have been terrible because we never laid eyes on her. But being magnanimous, I offered my forgiveness with a stern admonishment not to let it happen again.

We cruised through the Sunday crowd with relative ease, with plenty of sampling opportunities for the two of us. My favorites: Sixpoint Gorilla Warfare, Southampton Secret Ale, and Chelsea Cream Stout. We also met a bunch of cool brewing guys from Sixpoint, Keegan and others. This is the part I like best about working beer festivals: making new friends, talking beer and coming away a bit envious that I don’t work among the big tanks myself.

Lake Placid Maibock: a malty standout 

After the last gasp of foam spurted from our final keg, we packed up and hauled ass through the backest of central New York State roads, to the Thruway and over to Rochester’s Tap and Mallet, where we shared a couple pints with Rochester radio dj Dem Jones. A great end to a great festival.

Jeff from Ithaca Brewing with his prize, apparently some subs. 

Congratulations to all the breweries that won prizes. And a special shout-out to Jeff and the guys from the Ithaca Brewing Company who won Best New York State Craft Brewery. We’ll see you at Hunter Mountain next year.

-Mark

The beer festival season in the Northeast has begun.

Beer festivals are the best conventions in the world. Where else can you get such a diverse range of good beers under one roof, and unlimited samples of anything you’d like? Plus, you can buy all sorts of brewery-related crap. It’s enough to make a beer lover giddy.

But there’s a fine line between enjoying an evening’s sampling and being a drunken or inconsiderate idiot. Out of concern for our Beercraft readership, we’d like to offer a quick guide to staying on the correct side of the fence, in good spirits, and out of the paddy wagon.

1. Arrive early to avoid the rush.

Unlike fancy-dress parties, there is no fashionably late when it comes to a brewfest. Especially if you’re really into craft beer. Often, a festival will be divided into two sessions: an afternoon and an evening pour. Plan on attending the first session. The crowds will be lighter, giving you more opportunity to talk to the people who make the beer. your neighbors will also be significantly less drunk, rowdy, and obnoxious than the folks in second-session crowd, many of whom see the festival as more of a giant happy hour/frat party than anything else.

The other benefit to a first-session arrival is an assurance of beer. Brewers and brewers’ reps can only bring so much; four half-barrels is a common amount. When that dries up, they’re gone and you’re out of luck. So if you’re dying for a taste of that Stone Ruination IPA or Three Floyds, be the earlier bird.

If the beer festival you’re attending is a one session event, the same rules apply. If the thing starts at 5, be there at 4:30 and avoid the inevitable mad crush of thirsty humanity.

2. Little glasses add up.

You ever hear of the century club? That’s the old college drinking game where you drink a shot per minute for 100 minutes. On the surface, this doesn’t sound so hard, but when you do the math you realize the insane amount of alcohol and small amount of time involved.

Beer sample glasses are usually 2 ounces. If you’ve dillegently followed rule #1, you’re at the festival before the lines have formed, giving you quick access to hundreds of beers. Don’t succumb to temptation and slam down beer after beer. In your rush to try them all, your rate of consumption will increase, defeating the purpose of “tasting” in the first place. Then, after a while, your pants will likely come off, or you’ll knock, some brewer’s pouring station over. Or you’ll insult some biker dude, or something. However your demise comes, it will be quick and sure.

You can’t try all the beers at most one-day brewer’s festivals, so be smart about it. Go to the event website ahead of time and get a list of who’s participating, then go to a beer rating site such as Beer Advocate or Ratebeer and figure out which ones you really want to try (but leave some room for random tastings and experimentation). With this approach, you’ll get the most out of the event without murdering your liver, and you won’t walk away feeling you didn’t get your money’s worth.

3. Water is your friend

A good beer festival will make water available, hopefully for free but usually for sale. Don’t be a cheapskate. Buy a couple bottles of water. Taking frequent water breaks will extend your tasting time and cleanse your palate for the next beer. Oh, and for chrissake, eat something before the festival.

4. Taste in the right order

This can be a tough guideline to follow, since the brewery booths aren’t arranged in this way, nor are their individual taps. But if you drink a tonsil-stranglingly bitter double IPA, you won’t be able to taste anything in that wheat beer the next tap over. The bitterness will steamroll all over it. Again, this is where your friend H2O comes into play. rinse big beers off your palate with a couple swigs of water before progressing to gentler styles.

When tasting a range from one brewery, go from light to heavy. Start with their wheat beers, pilsners, and lagers. Move up to brown and pale ales, and hit the IPAs, stouts, and anything with the words “Imperial” or “Double” last. If in doubt, ask the brewer or brewer’s rep (not the likely clueless volunteer pourer) what order he or she suggests.

5. Don’t be afraid to take notes

If you’re into the beer fest, chances are you’ll be into a bar or beer store at a later time. By keeping brief tasting notes on the beers you really dug, you’ll increase your ensure a great beer experience when you hit the town. After a long afternoon’s tasting, it’s not always easy to remember that first beer you tried when you walked in. Swallow your pride, be a dork, and jot shit down.

Some beer festivals actually provide notepads for this purpose, but just bring an assignment pad, or something. Or surreptitiously enter the info in to the “notes” function of your cell phone. You could be texting a supermodel, for all the casual observer can tell.

There you go. Five simple tips to maximize your enjoyment of any brewer’s fest, and not be an asshole in the process. Beer is a great thing, and you’ll find the people who make it are friendly and passionate about what they do. The fruits of their labor deserve proper appreciation.

-Mark

Bruce and I will be heading up I-90 to Syracuse this Saturday to man the Rohrbach Brewing Company stand at the Central New York Brewers’ Fest.

This is the first craft beer festival of the year, and I’m excited as hell to get back into the swing of things. It’s really fun to share and talk about good beer with festival attendees, not to mention with the brewers and representatives from craft breweries throughout the Northeast.

The thing takes place at the New York State Fairgrounds. Admission is $25 in advance, $30 at the door. They give you a little cup and you just go around trying as much beer as is physically or mentally possible. Hope to see you there.

-Mark

…and into the ski lodge. Bruce and I will once again be working the Rohrbach Brewing Company booth this Saturday at the Holiday Valley Beer and Wine Festival, at Elicottville, NY’s Holiday Valley Ski Resort.

We had a blast last April, when we did Holiday Valley’s Rites of Spring festival. This one should be bigger and badder. We will try to conduct ourselves with class and decorum, but we will probably fail.

-Mark