CT Craft Beer Fest
Think two parts rock concert and one part beer tasting and that is the Connecticut Craft Beer Fest. What an amazing time. This was the inaugural (hopefully to be annual) event hosted by the Connecticut Brewers Guild. I can’t help but think the name sounds a bit like a league of thieves from a fantasy setting or D&D campaign, but I digress.
Upon entering, after waiting in a very lengthy line of beer nuts, you get a great little tasting glass, a wrist band, and specific instructions to “have fun!” And we certainly did. The Oakdale Theater in Wallingford was filled to capacity, and everyone was sipping suds and getting down to some live music. My wife and I made our way around the booths, slowly but surely taking sips of this and swigs of that. Most of the beer I really enjoyed, those I didn’t I deposited into some white buckets with questionable contents. It felt weird wasting quality beer, but one can only drink so much. I can’t go into too much detail about each one, but I thought I would share a list of my favorites at the end.
The only thing missing from the event this year were cookies to go with all of the fantastic beer. Seeing the many necklaces loaded with pretzels, I will definitely follow that idea and make a necklace with a variety of cookies next year.
There was something magical about the attitudes of a crowd full of fun loving beer drinkers. Though there wasn’t much in the way of personal space, the people I found myself close to were friendly and fun. I talked with more strangers about beer than I would have imagined. It doesn’t matter who you are at the beer fest; age, sex, race is all unimportant. We were all there for the same reasons: a good time, a laugh, and quality beer. I was lucky enough to get all three.
With so much great beer to try, only one mouth to drink it, and one brain to keep track of it all, I can’t give a full review of everything. In place of that, here are some of the brews that stood out:
30 Mile - 30 Mile has a sour beer that was, for me, the best beer of the event.
Legitimus - Satan’s Kingdom, a golden ale with a great balance.
Firefly Hollow - By the time I got to their booth I remember really liking both beers but, for totally unknown reasons, I don’t remember either.
Fat Orange Cat - I’m a Wild One; a raspberry sour with a great sour tart punch. Lots of fruit with a refreshing finish.
Kinsmen - Earthbound Misft; a cherylime Berliner that you will recognize from one of our pairing posts. I guess I just like sours.
These Guys - A cream ale called, with a wink and a nudge: Prom Night Cream Ale.
Alvarium - I’m a bee guy and really appreciated their awesome art work.
