October 25th, 2009 admin Posted in Cleveland, beer 2 Comments »
Cleveland Beer Week: BREWzilla
Cleveland Beer Week 2009 ended last night with BREWzilla. I had been looking forward to this event for quite some time and it was finally here. I was unable to attend any of the other events during the week, so this was to be my night out for Beer Week. I ordered the tickets for Matt and me early in the week. We purchased the regular tickets, not the Brewer’s Circle tickets that got you in an hour earlier with more drink/food tickets. I am glad I did not spend the extra money on them because there was no real benefit. The beer tickets supplied were plenty, some exhibitors did not even take your tickets and the food did not look like the greatest so I did not partake in the food.
I was able to sample some things that I have never had before and had to stop myself from trying things that I have had before. Some of the beers that I sampled are as follows. Magic Hat: Roxy Rolles, Sierra Nevada: Chico Estate Ale, Ommegang: Abbey Ale, Indigo Imp: Winter Solstice, Thirsty Dog: Siberian Night, Fat Heads: Shock the Monkey, Southern Tier: Hop Sun, Brooklyn: Local 2, Hoppin Frog: Hopmaster’s Abbey Belgian Double IPA, Ithaca: Cascazilla, Stone: Old Guardian Barley Wine Ale, Stone: Smoked Porter, New Holland: Dragon’s Milk, Erie: Railbender Ale, Allagash: Tripel. The best beers that I tried on the day were Avery: Hog Heaven, The Brew Kettle: Old 21 IPA and Victory: Yakima Twilight (available Nov. 1).
Matt and I had a great time, wandering around trying all of the beers. It was nice to run into Kelly and Jose, Brad and Kristy, and Mel and hlivkopj (that is one strange username). I was also happy to get to meet Greg Koch, co-founder of Stone Brewing Co. I heard that the event did sellout, over 800 people.
The venue was excellent. The Arcade in Downtown Cleveland provided a great atmosphere and backdrop to the event. The tasting stations ran two floors and there was plenty of room to maneuver around to get from station to station. There was a silent auction with some very nice items available. One of the most impressive items was the Stone Epic Series from 2003-2009 which was won by Mel and hlivkopj. I know that the winning bid was not cheap.
I would say the the first year of Cleveland Beer Week was a great success and I look forward to many more years to come.
**Thanks, Jessica, for being our Designated Driver for the night!
October 25th, 2009 at 11:40 am
It was nice meeting you as well! Yeah, Paul’s got one of those weird Slovak surnames much like mine.
I think we’re the only couple who will have a prenup clause about a beer collection. LOL
Cheers!
October 25th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Mel, Nice to meet you and Paul. Had a great time. I remembered that his name was Paul, but I didn’t know if he didn’t wanted listed as I did not see it on his Twitter profile. That Stone Epic ’03-09′ is going to be a great addition to the beer collection. Congrats.