Anyone else going to The Great Taste this weekend?

[hops99]

With apologies to the GABF, is anyone else headed up to Madison for the best beer festival of the year, the Great Taste of the Midwest? My wife and I are making the trek (for the first time in 4 years), and we feel like kids a couple of days before Christmas.

100 craft breweries from around the midwest, on the banks of Lake Monona. It should be GREAT!

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by hops99
With apologies to the GABF, is anyone else headed up to Madison for the best beer festival of the year, the Great Taste of the Midwest? My wife and I are making the trek (for the first time in 4 years), and we feel like kids a couple of days before Christmas.

100 craft breweries from around the midwest, on the banks of Lake Monona. It should be GREAT!

Are you just being mean and boastful?? I wish I could go :(

[brewmonkey]

If you are going make sure you stop by "The Blind Tiger" from Topeka KS as well as "Free State Brewing" from Lawrence KS. If you hit the Blind Tiger tell John that Ed said he wants a T-shirt!

[hops99]

Will do, but I'd like a t-shirt too!

[steveh]

Look for my cuz Paige - naturally curly, light brown hair (this week, at least), dazzling smile, infectious laugh, raunchy jokes!

S.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by hops99
Will do, but I'd like a t-shirt too!

Actually I just got off the phone with him and I am good to go. But do stop in and say Hi, he will certainly have soom good beers. He is a multiple GABF/WBC winner from as far back as 1998.

[PaigeMe]

Yep - I'll be there alright! Although I think Steve's description of me makes me sound like a supermodel - ha ha! I can always count on him for a nice ego boost!
My friends and I usually set up camp in the large grassy area behind the "back" tent. Just look for the curly-haired chick and come say hi! I'd love to meet any of you guys!
We can hardly wait....I'm sure this year will be just as good, if not better, than the past 3 we've been to! WOO HOO!
Thanks, Brewmonkey, for the recommendations...we'll be sure to check those out!
Paige

[brewmonkey]

I have said it before and I will say it again. I have been to many festivals across the US and without a doubt hands down the GTMW is the best fesitval in terms of both brewers presence and hosting. The Madison Homebrewers put on an awesome festival that is highly coordinated without being anal. I only wish I were going this year.

[fretlessman71]

Hey - since there's going to be so many of you realbeer.com types at this show, who's bringing the digital camera? We want pictures! :)

[PaigeMe]

I'd bring a digital camera if I had one!!!
Maybe we should pick a time and place to meet just to say HI!
Paige

[fretlessman71]

What's this "we" crapola? I'M stuck here in Ft. Collins!

Well, "stuck" is a poor choice of words.... :)

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
What's this "we" crapola? I'M stuck here in Ft. Collins!

Yeah, now I wish I was going - don't want to go to the stupid company picnic any more.

However, Paiger, I will have to drive right past Tenuta's on my way to the picnic, if you catch my drift!

S.

[hops99]

Yeah, now I wish I was going

I remember at the last Great Taste that I went to (waaaay back in 2000), Capital tapped Autumnal Fire late in the afternoon. Mmmmmm.

Not to be a tease or anything.....

[QCbeerguy]

I just can't wait until Saturday. I've been told the best approach is pick a style or a few breweries, but don't try drinking them all! :D

[PaigeMe]

So...did everyone have a blast at the Fest? Talk about perfect weather. Wow. A few sprinkles toward the end, but who noticed at that point?
I have to say I was a little disappointed in Three Floyds. They had a special release of Rabid Rabbit scheduled for 3:30pm, so I went back to their booth at about 3:25. Turns out, they CHANGED the time to 3pm, and they were OUT of it by the time I got there. Is that BS or what?!?!?!? :mad:
Also, I thought the Fest organizers said something about changing their ticket policy? I didn't notice any changes! Hmmmm?
Otherwise, it was a great time, as always. Think I'll call to reserve next year's hotel room tomorrow!
P.

[hops99]

Well, I just got back home last night. Too many beers, not enough time....

Here's my review of the festival:
First, my only complaint - they need to figure out how to get 6,000 people into the festival much better than they demonstrated on Saturday. Man, what a cluster---- it was! My wife and I arrived around 12:45 (it started at 1), and sure, we expected to wait a bit before we got in (the line was huge), but we didn't actually make it into the festival until 1:45! And, there were still hundreds of people behind us who didn't make it in until after 2. One of the problems was the simple fact that they only have ONE gate with two lines getting in for 6,000 people. Uh, how about opening up a couple more gates, and then attendees wouldn't miss the FIRST HOUR of the festival. I know that requires a few more volunteers (hell, I'll volunteer next year, if need be), but there's no excuse why it can't be done.

Now, onto all of the great things about the festival. As Paige said, the weather was perfect, and the views of Madison and Lake Monona were great. The layout was a little cramped, but with 107 breweries, who cares. First, I thought it a bit conspiratorial that Bell's and Three Floyds were right next to each other, if not incredibly convenient. I too, missed out on the Rabid Rabbit, but the Gumballhead on tap was delicious, and I got to try the Alpha Naught when they tapped it later in the afternoon. Huge beer. Also, Robert the Bruce was tasty as always. The Bell's "beer circus" jumped the shark about 20 minutes after I first saw it, but it was still amusing anyway.

Other highlights: Autumnal Fire and Oktoberfest at the Capital booth (and it kinda felt like Fall outside, too), all the goodies at New Glarus, Lakefront Wit, Bitter Woman IPA at Tyranena, and my wife's favorite: Peche from Water Street in Milwaukee (a Belgian-style ale brewed with fresh crushed peaches) - it tasted to me like a chilled Riesling or Icewine. Very interesting. Oh, and I was also surprised to sample the Chocolate Bock from Sam Adams. I recall reading a lot of reviews about it over the Winter, and I actually thought that it was a delicious beer. They use Scharffen Berger unsweetened chocolate (which is top-notch quality), and it hit just the right note with me after sampling umpteen IPAs and Barleywines.

Another thing I love about this festival is the proliferation of breweriana for sale. I was able to add another 8 logo pint glasses to my collection, and picked up a couple of cool t-shirts (not to mention my Point hat). Plus, the food offerings were pretty good as well.

Last but not least, with 6,000 beer samplers roaming the grounds, it's reassuring to me that 99% of the attendees respect the beer and aren't just out to get blasted. I only saw one guy the whole day that looked like he had too much, and even then, it was harmless (and pretty funny as he tipped over face first one the ground).

All in all, a GREAT festival, certainly one of the two or three best in the U.S., and Madison is a real beer mecca, which makes for a great 3-day weekend. Think about it: within about 40 minutes of Madison, you've got Great Dane, Angelic, JT Whitneys, Capital, New Glarus, Grumpy Troll, Tyranena, Delafield, Water Street (lake county), Gray's, and more.

[BluesHarp]

Originally posted by hops99
... and I got to try the Alpha Naught when they tapped it later in the afternoon. Huge beer.

Do you mean AlphaKlaus, or Dreadnaught? ...or did they bring out something new??


... Think about it: within about 40 minutes of Madison, you've got Great Dane, Angelic, JT Whitneys, Capital, New Glarus, Grumpy Troll, Tyranena, Delafield, Water Street (lake county), Gray's, and more.

...Lake Louie in Arena

[QCbeerguy]

I really enjoyed myself. You are right about Three Floyd's dropping the ball. I went there about 4PM and they said they were out of beer, but then One of their people produced a bottle of GumballHead for me. I really liked the offerings Of Delafield Brewhaus as well as Angelic and Great Dane.

I'm ready for next year all ready!

[hops99]

Do you mean AlphaKlaus, or Dreadnaught? ...or did they bring out something new??

No, the "Alphanaught" was something new. The unofficial explanation that I got was that it was a combination of the Alpha King and Dreadnaught, but that was from a guy drinking it next to me, not a brewery employee.

[Minnman]

This is a couple of months late but, once again, the GT hit the mark. What a glorious event. Since I've been to three of the last four I've finally accepted that, yes, I WILL be at this event again and there's no need to attempt the impossuible - getting through a meaningful percentage of the great beers on tap. Instead, this year, I just sampled as I went and, for some reasion, decided to focus (though not exclusively) on beers from outside of Wisconsin. Obviously, Bell's and Three Floyds were clear choices. But I also especially enjoyed Schlafly's (St. Louis) and Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery's offerings. Nice to see that Flosmoor Station hasn't lost it's taste for extreme brews post-Todd Ashman.

Also, I commend the organizers for getting Chalkies from Indianapolis to the fest. Anyone else try and Lees Harvest Ale from the wooden cask?

For those who stood in line for an hour, just get there by noon and you'll be through the gate in 15 minutes. This year they took tickets for those of us in line so that we were able to cruise through the lines at a trot starting at 1:00, but I'm sure that this was only for those of us somewhat close to the front of the line.

Again, kudos to the MHTG for putting on this amazing festival.

[chazwicke]

This festival sounds like a great one. I tried to get tickets via mail order but was too late. Maybe some other year.:(

[Minnman]

The fest organizers reportedly are considering modifying the ticket acquisition process for next year. Just how they might do it, I have no idea.

The do accept out of town mail in orders a few days before the May 1 sell date. Send your check a few days early using priority mail and it should be okay.

[Richard English]

Quote "...Last but not least, with 6,000 beer samplers roaming the grounds, it's reassuring to me that 99% of the attendees respect the beer and aren't just out to get blasted...."

In my experience of many years boozing, if you want to see drunkenness the last place to go is a beer festival! Beer enthusiasts go to enjoy beer, not get get drunk.

Compare that with many other kinds of festivals and events - if you want to see bad behaviour induced by drink, go to a football (soccer) match in England and you'll see all you want!

[fretlessman71]

I wish that was the case at the GABF... I've heard from a few sources (and now b3s has confirmed it) that Friday night in particular is nothing but a bunch of college kids trying to get falling up standing down drunk and slipping around in their own puke. Stupid Americans ANYWAY.... :rolleyes:

[Richard English]

So sad. Were they by any chance selling Budweiser chemical fizz alongside the real stuff? That usually gets the gorge rising!