On Beer

January 18, 2010 | Frankie Majowich |

The Vail Big Beers Belgians & Barleywines fest is held every year in Vail, CO. Now in its tenth year, the festival is still well attended.

Big beers does not imply large in quantity rather high in alcohol percentage. The majority of the beers poured at the festival were 7 percent or higher alcohol by volume (ABV). Due to the warming nature of the higher ABV in these beers, it makes sense to hold the festival in the Vail winter.

Barley Wines are not wine at all rather a full-bodied beer with a strong malt flavor and between 8% and 12% ABV.

Upon entering the festival you are provided with your own personal sampling glass and a book of the beers being poured. (Beer samples are limited to 2 oz.)

The festival provided tables full of water and bread. This was nice to clean your palate after the samples. However, with all the beer being high in alcohol, this also keeps one sober to some extent.

The highest beer I sampled was a Meth Addict from Avery Brewing weighing in at 16% ABV. It was their Mephistopheles Stout blended with coffee. It was like drinking a strong dark roast coffee, which balanced the high ABV nicely. I could defiantly start my day off with this beer.

Another beer that stood out was Dry Dock Brewing’s Vixien’s Cherry Ale. The beer started life as a Belgian Strong Golden Ale at 9% ABV. Then they added 80 lbs of sour cherries. This beer had a huge cherry smell right off the bat. Then the taste lived up to the smell with a great sour cherry flavor.

One of the great things about beer festivals are the retired beers that show up. One such beer is He’Brew Jewbelation 9. It was brewed once 5 years ago to celebrate the Shmaltz Brewing Company’s ninth anniversary. However, Shmaltz seems to still have some tucked away for events and tastings. It was brewed with nine malts, nine hops, and has a 9% ABV. The beer has a sweet malt smell with a taste of caramel and coffee. The only down side is I didn’t get to taste the beer five years ago to compare how the beer has aged.

There were also presentations prior to the festival. I was able to attend a presentation by Peter Bouckaert from New Belgium Brewing on La Folie – Wood Aged Sour Beer. Bouckaert’s talk was not limited to just New Belgium La Folie but rather sour beers in general. He walked us through the brew process for La Folie, Flemish Red, Oud bruin, and Lambics. After the talk, I couldn’t wait to attend the Inaugural Boulder Sour Fest Feb 27 at Avery Brewing.