Real Ale Fest 2003 Chicago

[deanna]

http://www.realalefestival.com/

Get your tickets and come visit. It's a firkin good time!

[steveh]

I'll be at the second session, 11:00 to 4:00 on Saturday... then maybe the MapRoom for a little while afterward!

S.

[deanna]

Originally posted by steveh
I'll be at the second session, 11:00 to 4:00 on Saturday... then maybe the MapRoom for a little while afterward!

S.

Heading there tonight myself. Going to Goose first for pub grub. After as well? Think I'm close to another growler on my MBA.

Man, I love the Map Room taps, but can't tolerate the smoke. Personally, I can't taste my beer. Wish they'd spring for better ventilation. Enjoy!

[steveh]

Deanna,
Did you enjoy the fest? 212 beers? Wow. One of the best I had was actually from Rock Bottom - they've really come a long way. It was a strong ale aged in Bourbon casks - very tasty.

The Hopback brews from England were great too, as well as the two SLO Brewing beers I tried.

The Map Room wasn't terribly smokey last night, many pre and post RAF-ers there discussing the day - enjoyed St. Bernardus Tripple on draft, and Arcadia Pale Ale from Battle Creek, MI on the beer engine.

S.

[steveh]

Originally posted by steveh
Deanna,
Did you enjoy the fest? 212 beers? Wow. One of the best I had was actually from Rock Bottom - they've really come a long way. It was a strong ale aged in Bourbon casks - very tasty.

A clarification, according to the RAF guide, that beer was an Imperial Stout. I'm almost sure that the tote board behind the bar didn't read Imperial Stout - I was trying to stay away from too many stronger beers and that description would have made me hesitate - even though I knew it was pretty strong after the first sip!

From the guide:
"Bourbon Barrel Aged Terminal Imperial Stout, 9% ABV, Nov., '02 - An Imperial Stout aged in a Jim Beam bourbon barrel."

Pretty sure all the tote board read was, "Bourbon Barrel Terminal Ale." :P

S.

[matt]

I was there at every session and somehow managed to miss trying two beers that I was really curious about. If anybody got a chance to sample the double-white from IForgetWhere, a bottle-conditioned category winner I think; or the Sam's Secret Ale from Boston Brewing Company, I'd really like to hear some opinions/descriptions.

Thanks!

[steveh]

Matt,
All three sessions? I can't imagine the sort of hangover *you* had! Did you get to see any more of the city than an old steel mill?

I did get to try the Sam Secret Ale - I was looking over that tote board and saw it staring back, asked the "publican" if he knew anything about it and he told me he'd heard it was some sort of an Alt beer (not exactly a real ale) - and that it was supposed to be pretty strong.

Well, I gave it a go just because it was "secret," and it was not that big a deal. It was clean, and slightly malty - not much hop character in aroma or flavor. Brownish, but not quite as red as an Alt might be. Definitely not as high-octane as the server assumed. 6.4 ABV accd. to the guide, but it didn't have an obvious alcohol bite.

The Double White Ale was from Southampton Brewery, according to the RAF Guide. It's described as a "Double Strength" Belgian White Ale - but sorry, I didn't get to try that one.

S.

[matt]

Thanks for the info on Sam's beer, I feel a little better about having missed it now.

Actually the only night I overindulged a bit was thursday night, and that wasn't until I got to Delilah's for Sam Calgione's (Dogfish Head) Woodie Guthrie act. I tend to dump a lot of beer when I go to these things, so I may only drink half of my 4 oz sample unless I really like the beer. There's nothing worse than trying to navigate your way through a massive throng of people than attempting to do it drunk. Plus I had to leave room for some pints of Naught Goose (cask brown) at the Goose Island brewpub.

[steveh]

I know what you mean about tasting only about half the sample. I have always found many of the beers to be so similar that I try to seek out some that sound a little different, ask the servers and ask the crowd for opinion. The SLO Brewing entry that won for best bottle condition, SLO IPA, was a lucky stab for my second sample - quite good.

If nothing else, the crowd on Saturday afternoon would have kept you on your feet if you'd enjoyed too much! It was shoulder-to-shoulder most of the time!

I didn't make any of the extracurricular activities, some of us had to work that week! ;) Was this your first trip to Chicago? Did you enjoy yourself? I met some folk from Fort Worth, Texas who were having a great time. We steered them toward the restaurant "Piece" for some pizza and brew-pub brew.

Cheers,
S.

[matt]

I think the biggest problem with beer similarity at the festival was the fact that there are so many dry-hopped pale ales, bitters and IPA's that your toungue starts to get coated with hop-resin. I tried to go through the mild, and brown categories and then I moved on to the experimentals. But even in the experimentals there was an overabbundance of oak-aged beers. To quote Christopher Lowell, "Just because its wood, doesn't mean its good."

I think my favorite of the festival was the Chocosaurus from Rocky River, I got a chance to talk to the brewer for some insights on a hombrew version, and that guy really knew his stuff. Every ingredient in that beer was chosen with great care to construct the perfect chocolate beer. I was impressed. I also liked just about every brown and mild I tasted, but that doesn't really mean anything, I always like every brown and mild I taste as long as they're not fizzy.

I also heard the SLO IPA was good, but managed to miss that too.

Indeed it was my first trip to Chicago, I was there from thursday afternoon to Sunday evening. I got the chance to check out the observation decks of those two really big things... and I really enjoyed the planetarium and the field museum. That was about all the touristy activity I got to do. But I have a nice checklist of things to hit on my next trip, Piece brewpub being one of them.