Brewing Revolution

On Feb. 9th and 10th, I attended the Boston "Extreme Beer" Fest. I had not heard the term extreme beer until I bought the tix, but modern Brewers such as Jim Koch have been brewing extreme beers for years. Something is brewing in the industry, and it's good.

A quick note on the event organized by Beer Advocate Founders, Jason and Todd Alstrom. The Cylorama was an awesome location and food was provided by Sunset Grill & Tap, my old local in Allston, plus Waffles from Vermont. I hear that there were 2500+ attendees over the weekend.

What is EXTREME BEER? Double-fied, packed with hops, infused with exotic ingredients, amped by super yeast, or any beer that is innovative and strays from the norm. The Beer Advocate defines it best, "punk rock for the craft brew scene."

On Friday night, there was an exclusive lineup of 100% wood-aged beers for Night of the Barrels. I also attended the speaker panel where one of the Brewers stated, "We make things we like, because we like to drink it. "

I tried:
Samuel Adams Utopias, the world's strongest beer! 25%. Fermented and conditioned in a blend of Scotch, bourbon, Port and cognac casks for up to 10 months.
Dogfish Head Burton Baton and Palo Santo Maron, The Palo Santo was aged on wood of the "Holy Tree" from Paraguay added after fermentation. The Baton is aged and then blended 50/50 with 90 Minute Imperial IPA.
StoneCoast Brewing Jamaican Stout and 840 Imperial India Pale Ale, The Stout was brewed with six malts and three hops. Lots of buzz throughout the evening about this Stout.

On Saturday, I hit the Harpoon Brewery, and I was only one of two on the "tour." I then headed home to The Boston Brewery in JP. Scott, my best friend from Boston Beer, led the tour. It was PACKED, certainly more than 30 or so attendees when I was a tour guide. It was awesome to meet all the new employees and drink fresh Sam Adams from the 'ol stomping grounds.

On Saturday night, I got to see Jim Koch and talk with Sixpoint (BROOKLYN Coat Check!). I had many o' tastes of The Sixpoint Global Warmer and the new lager, Poppa's Pilz.

I am not a fruity beer kind of gal but I loved the Allagash Inoculator, a batch of Tripel/Summer made with 18 lbs. of cherries and aged for two years in oak. I also LOVED the Chai Porter from Smuttynose Brewing.The rest of the night was spent at Sam Adams and Dogfish Head.

Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams:
Baltic Porter, Imperial Pilsner, 3 Weiss Men (only served at festivals), Double Bock. One of the four is awesome mixed with Founders Brewing Co. Blushing Monk.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery:
Pangea (Ale brewed with ingredient from every continent including ginger from Australia, muscavado sugar from Africa and basmati rice from Asia), Chateau Jiahu (pitched with Sake yeast), World Wide Stout

Next up... Philly Craft Beer Festival in March!