2014 Great American Beer Festival Facebook Social Graph

The Great American Beer Festival of 2014 is underway, and my first post is a social one. It isn't specifically about the festival experience or beer as those will come later. This data was pulled on Oct. 3, 2014.

I present to you the Great American Beer Festival Facebook Page Like Network. This data is a network of pages that GABF likes, and their liked pages liked. Some of the connections are pretty obvious, but others are a little less so. Enjoy the graph and enjoy the festival, safely!

Colt and Gray: New Find in Denver

A great friend, Taylor Shaw, invited us to an amazing place, Colt and Gray.  Colt and Gray can only be described as an cellar of gluttony and fulfilling hedonic desires.  The environment is a little grey - dark, mysterious, yet elegant.  After a week of drinking beer at the Great American Beer Festival, I only looked at the cocktail menu, and it was very pleasing to me.  Get the Steve Holt. 

To keep your tummy happy, there are amazing little cheesy poofs.  On the menu, they are called blue cheese dusted gougères.  They are pungent, flavorful, soft with a nice chew texture.  I love these things. 

Over the last several years, piggie has been all the rage.  I grew up eating mostly pork, and it was oddly a nostaligic even though the pork wasn't prepared in any way that I had growing up.  Before we arrived, some of our fantastic friends had ordered the half pig head.  Chef Nelson brought out the "oh so lovely" pig head. 

The pig head was served with pickled vegetables and a cauliflower / pig brain puree.  It tastes much better than it sounds.  This type of dish is a fun adventure.  Restaurants should be offering interactive foods more often.  I can only think of a few other interactive meals: Korean BBQ (gogigui), Korean pork belly grill (Samgyeopsal gui), Chinese Hot Pot, Japanese shabu shabu, or fondue. 

I'm not sure how it happened, but I took responsibility of carving this beasts of a meal.  There was some cheek meat, crunchy skin, tongue, and moist fatty skin. 

I guess you could tell that I was pretty aggressive with the carving of this beast of a dish. 

And I probably had too much fun playing with it later too!  Colt and Gray has earned a spot on my "must go to" Denver list. 

Two Denver Gems: Euclid and Rioja

You might have heard the buzz if you watch cooking show competitions.  Chef Jenna's growing her an audience of adoring fans on interwebs and in real life.  Her restaurant, Euclid, located in the Larmier area of downtown Denver is a still very young two years old.  I visited it when it had just opened, and I visited again during the Great American Beer Festival in 2013. 

I was pretty lucky on this trip to Denver to be able to visit not one, but two of Chef Jenna's dishes.  Here's a photo sampling of the dishes we had.  Needless to say, her 2013 James Beard Award is well-deserved!

This was the pig ear pad thai.  The fried pig ears were perfectly fried and crunchy on the inside with the sweet and tangy sauce on the outside.  This was a great twist of familiar flavors with a new piggy texture. 

For all the chocolate lovers, this dessert is for you.  It is a pots de crème smores - thick bottom layer of chocolate, layer of smoky marshmallow toping, and graham cracker on the side.  It is a rather large serving, easily shared.  Or better ask for a bunch of spoons and make some friends. 

For lunch the last day in Denver, we visited Rioja - a casual yet elegant restaurant.  Also, by elegant, I mean dimly lit.  However, here are some photos that I could snap.  The one above was the luscious cheese and meat plate. 

Needless to say, we didn't skimp on the desserts.  The first dessert was the black and white cheesecake dessert -

blackberry filled white chocolate cheesecake, toasted black sesame ice cream, blackberry coulis, sesame nougatine, and black sesame paint.

The second dessert here is the raspberry spuma, white chocolate brushed frozen raspberry meringue, lemon pound cake, lemon confit, spun sugar, and raspberry dust.  This is close to the most elegant and delicate desserts ever.  The meringue and white chocolate shell was incredibly delicate and just the right amount of tart and sweet.  The spun sugar on top completed the beautiful dish. 

On a cold Winter evening, this would be the perfect dessert.  Lavender roasted pineapple filled croissant pastry, hot buttered rum caramel, and dulce de leche ice cream.  This dessert was topped high like a tower of glorious deliciousness.  I haven't had a cronut before, but this is probably better anyways.

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. 

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!

Make your Own Wine or Beer Sling for Festivals

I'm a self-proclaimed food festival veteran now.  After attending food events day in and day out, I've learned a few things that I'd like to share.

1. Wear comfortable shoes.
2. Bring a portable charger for your phone or other electronic equipment.
3. Sunblock.
4. Baby wipes.
5. Bring your own silverware.  Most people know by now that I carry a set of chopsticks, fork, and spoon on my persons.
6. Sunblock, yes, again.

 

My Wine Sling.  Or Beer Holder.  The name is not important. 

Another big design issue at festivals is that most human have two hands.  When you add a plate, glass, and silverware (not to mention camera), your hands get a little full.  Humans would be more efficient if we had several extra hands.

An item that can alleviate is the glass sling, appropriate for beer or wine events.  I already have a smaller beer sling for the Great American Beer Festival, but I didn't have a larger one for LIVE FIRE or the Austin Food and Wine Festival this weekend.  Here's instructions on how to make one in less than 30 seconds with items you probably have in your house.


Tools:
1. Koozie.  Any kind.  I have dozens of these left over from previous events.
2. A lanyard.  The kind with two clips are more stable, however, a single connection point is fine as well. I had tons of these from previous festivals and conferences. 
3. Sharp scissors.


































Instructions:
1. Flatten out the koozie so that it is fairly flat.
2. Use scissors to cut a slit about 3/4 to 1 inch from the top end of the koozie on one side.  If you have a laynard with two clips (two connection points), repeat this process on the other side. 
3. Pop open your koozie, and attach the lanyard by clipping or threading through the slits.
4. Insert wine or beer glass. TADA!








*If you dislike the look of your koozie (the one in this picture was ugly), turn it inside out.

*For more stability with wine glasses, pull the stem through the bottom of the koozie.  Standard koozie sizes fit most wine glasses fairly snug.  It would take quite a bit of force for your wine glass to fall out the bottom. 

2012 Great American Beer Festival Kicks up the Food

In my previous post, I talked about how food was really important to beer now.  I think the food this year was vastly improved on all fronts.  The food at the media lunch was excellent, and the word was that the food at the concession stands during the sessions was also improved.  Additionally, the food at the Farm to Table Pavilion was really good this year too.  See for yourself!

Why thank you, Viking!  I love the range.  Just kidding.  I only wish I could take it home. 

This fabulous panna cotta with a deep fried hop flower was really tasty.  Bitter and floral hops with sweet, creamy panna cotta was amazing. 

Here's a shout out to some local breweries.  Jester King's Weasel Rodeo was paired with a dark chocolate cake. 

And another Jester King Noble King paired with fatty meats and sundried tomato. 

This was a very tasty grilled Hawaiian ahi paired with Acradia Sky High Rye. 

This is a classic pairing.  Fatty, I mean flavorful sausage paired with Smuttynose IPA. 

And another classic pairing. sweet chocolate paired with Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale. 

I can't really claim that these are a tasty pair, but aren't they good looking pair?  Rumor is that Firestone Walker is coming to Texas soon!

This was an intriguing brittle.  Crispy pork skin brittle.  Ohhhhhhhhh yes...........!

The chefs didn't play around this year.  Not at all. 

Portion sizes were nothing to snicker at either!

I'm pretty much in love with this dish.  Salmon skin.  You had me at salmon skin. 
'
And a really BIG piece!

There's Sebbie from Rogue Ales.  I love that woman!

The Cheese Society made sure that everyone got their fill of cheese this year. 

The cheese tasting line was about 90 minutes deep.  We really, really love our beer and cheese!
Congrats to the production team that pulled off a fantastic beer and food experience this year!