So, at the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival last weekend, I had the chance to sample over 60 brews. I nearly didn’t make it, but I persevered… and I wanted to share my thoughts of the winners (and the losers) from the festival.

And the winner is……

Serum XXIPA, DuClaw Brewing Company. This Double IPA was so smooth I hardly knew I was drinking an IPA… let alone one with twice the hops! The hops were floral and flavorful, not bittter - and at 9% alcohol, this amber ale packs a sweet little punch too. I will be on the hunt in Brooklyn for this beer!

The runners up:

Three Philosophers, Ommegang. A classic malty ale, this dark beer brewed in the Belgian style has hints of chocolate and cherries, and is perfect with dessert. It was hard to just have one little taste - but we did save it for the end the day.

Below Decks Barleywine, Heavy Seas/Clipper City Brewing Company. In traditional barleywine fashion, this was very lightly carbonated, and had a high percentage of alcohol (~10%). What made this beer so delicious was what we paired it with: maple cured bacon wrapped dates, with an almond in the middle… to DIE for. So have this beer with some sweet and salty snacks!

Haywire, Pyramid Brewing Company. A wheat beer for those who don’t like wheat beers. Again, like the XXIPA before it, this beer challenged the category it was placed in. While still technically a wheat beer, this one decided to go against the grain (ha ha) and NOT add citrus flavoring. Light, refreshing, and only 5.2% alcohol. I might have to fly out to Seattle more often.

Then there were the, er, not-so-winners.

Orange Blossom Cream Ale, Buffalo Bill’s Brewery. If Blue Moon and Orange Cream Soda had a bastard child, this would be it…. recessive genes and all. While it strove to be a refreshing summer ale for the ladies… it fell short of the mark, tasting more like Orange Crush than beer. Nice idea, but needs work.

Natural Bohemian, aka Natty Boh. Oh, why oh why does this beer exist? Oh yes, I remember, because people play things like Bear Pong, and don’t want to spend real money drinking real beer. This watery beer, akin to Rolling Rock, Nadi Light, or The Beast, was made for frat boys… and even has the monopoly man winking at you on the label.

Other exhibitors:

• Flying Dog. They did not bring out their proverbial “big dogs” for this festival. They kept it safe with the Raging Bitch IPA, and classic pale ale. While it was fun to see a tent covered in Hunter S. Thompson drawings… we know these beers are good. Wish we would see them mix it up a little!
• Dogfish Head. Another one of my favorite breweries playing it safe. They decided to serve up the 60 Min IPA, their most popular/famous beer, and the Aprihop seasonal beer. Maybe it’s just because I’m not girly enough to enjoy the fruity beers - but the Aprihop just didn’t hit the spot.

Those were the beers worth mentioning. There were a host of other distilleries in attendance, but this is a BEER blog, not a bourbon blog! Cheers.