2013 Great American Beer Festival Media Lunch

One of the highlights of the Great American Beer Festival is the media lunch.  It is also a great time for other writers to convene and discuss the beer scene.  This year's lunch did not disappoint. 

The lunch started off with a butternut squash and poblano chili bisque and ciabatta coca cardona cheese bit.  It was paired with the Flagstaff IPA made by Lumberyard Brewing Company.  This was probably the best butternut squash bisque I've had. 

The intermezzo was pickled pear granita served in neat little push pops. 

The tart and sweet pear was a great palate teaser. 

Next up were the two beers paired with the main course: Local Species by Blue Mountain Brewery and Face Down Brown by Telluride Brewing. 

The main course was a boneless short rib braised in Breckenridge vanilla porter, rosemary olive oil mashed potato, and applewood smoked bacon and brussels sprouts. 

The meat was wonderfully tender and flavorful.  This is one of the best lunches yet!

The last course was the milk chocolate pumpkin mousse cake with cider apples.  It was a well executed dessert, and paired with The Great Pumpkin by Elysian Brewing. 

Most of the time, I would say that size doesn't matter most of the time, but it does with this GREAT Pumpkin.  Oh yes, it was also a great beer. 

Noble Pig Peruvian Dinner Photo Post

Here's a photo post from Dec. 2012.  If you haven't been to a dinner tasting at Noble Sandwiches, you are missing out!  These photos are from the the Peruvian dinner.  Enjoy the photo food porn, and enjoy the holidays!










Yep.  THAT dude. 

2013 Great American Beer Festival Tour of Denver - Source, Crooked Stave, and Black Shirt Brewing

On our tour of Denver during GABF, we stopped at Source, home of Crooked Stave Brewery.  The space was very, very impressive with an interesting artisan tucked into every corner.  Here's some views of what was inside. 

A Crooked Stave staff member had this awesome tee. 

We did some fun tasting in between exploring Source. 

One of the most interesting design aspects of this venue are the "walls."  The metal bars look industrial chic with a touch of color in blocky text.  Instead of the name of the businesses on the wall, it simply says the what you will find in that store. 

See?  Liquor. 

Along with tacos, coffee, cheese, design, art, and the brewery.

Here's the inside of the cheese mart. 

And the CapRock Distillery who serves a lovely gin. 

I thought it was funny that the maximum occupancy was 82 for behind the tiny bar. 

Before going to Source, we visited Black Shirt Brewing.  They are a new brewpub who produces red beers! 

Aside from good beer, the classes and beer serving contraptions are really awesome.  Lift with the handle, and you can carry around eight glasses. 

And large glass was particularly neat.  I can't speak to whether or not it does anything to enhance the aroma of the beverage within, but it looks neat nonetheless. 

Samuel Adam's Cold Snap and the Longshot Contest

Samuel Adams throws an awesome brunch every year.  It is one of my favorite parties during GABF which includes the Longshot contest winner announcement, new beer announcement, and a menu of fantastic beer items. 

This year's highlight was the seasonal cold snap - a crisp beer flavored with subtle spices.  I really enjoyed this beer, and it is one of my favorite Sam Adams beers. It is set to come out in early January 2014, so it won't be long!

I have a confession to make about this brunch.  The creme brulee pumpkin French Toast (tiny piece at 4 pm in the photo below) was the highlight of the event.  It was just slightly crispy on the outside with a golden brown and delicious crust.  The inside was rich, creamy, and pumpkin-y.  That is why my jeans don't fit. 

Even with all the other delicious treats, the only one I can think about is the pumpkin creme brulee French toast. 

Here's the Longshot finalist beers. 

And the Longshot winners!

2013 Great American Beer Festival Snapshots

With the 2013 GABF behind us, here's some snapshots of what went down......... You'll want to try to make it next year.

Before we move onto some fun photos, here's 2013 GABF winners from Texas!  Congrats to all of them for a job well done.

Gold	Cedar Creek Belgian Style Dubbel	Cedar Creek Brewery	Belgian-Style Abbey Ale
Bronze	Atrial Rubicite	Jester King Brewery	Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale
Bronze	Blind Jake	Pinthouse Pizza	Brown Porter
Gold	Public Ale	Community Beer Co.	Extra Special Bitter
Silver	Brewers Cut Altbier	Real Ale Brewing Co.	German-Style Altbier
Gold	Black Thunder	Austin Beerworks	German-Style Schwarzbier
Bronze	Saint Arnold Weedwacker	Saint Arnold Brewing Co.	German-Style Wheat Ale
Gold	Bitterama	Namaste Brewing at the Whip In	Herb and Spice Beer
Bronze	Elba	Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery	Herb and Spice Beer
Silver	Saint Arnold Summer Pils	Saint Arnold Brewing Co.	Munich-Style Helles

Did you know that the fabulous Sebbie Buhler from Rogue has a brother who brews too?  Dave Buhler is from Elysian Brewing Company!

This is a pretty funny picture: Three John's.  John Knox of HopSafari / WindAddict, John Palmer author of How to Brew, and John Holl from the Craft Beer Cookbook. 

I don't know these guys personally, but a good friend bought my a bottle of their beer from Portland.  Cheers, @EvilGenius12!

I don't know this guy either, but he has a turkey leg around his neck.  YES!  A turkey leg around his neck.  He is my new hero. 

Donuts in the food pairing session.  Yes.  Please. 

And this was an awesome beer by Stone. 

Part of the typical GABF fun are the parties that happen alongside the festival.  There are tons and tons of events, and there are also some more private events - like this one by 21st Amendment. 

Or the primate in the space suit.  Ironically, GABF was happening during the government shutdown. 

Flip Burger in Atlanta

During a recent visit to Atlanta, I stopped by Flip Burger on the recommendation of Peter Tsai.  I saw foie gras shakes on the menu, and their milkshakes are made with liquid nitrogen.  That was enough to intrigue me.  The shake was interesting for sure, but it wasn't drastically different from other shakes aside from the liquid nitrogen smoke on the top.  The mild flavor and richness of foie was satisfying, but not wild.  It is something to try once. 

For my solid foods, I order the burger trio with fries.  My favorite burger was the fried chicken burger and the fries.  The other two were tasty, but I'd probably only order the chicken burger again.  With fries.  The fries are in the top 5 of best fries I've ever had.