At the Brewz Crewz you will be able to sample 65 beers from 22 different breweries. This is a great opportunity to sample beer you might not normally try. However, I would recommend trying the beers for a particular style you like first. So if you like Guinness, I would try to sample all of the stouts at the festival. This will show you how wide a particular style can be. Then I would start to sample beers you would not normally try. Worse thing that can happen you don’t like the beer and pour it out. Yes, it is ok to dump a beer you don’t like; everyone’s taste buds are different.

I would recommend getting there early so you can be one of the first in the festival. More time in the park means more samples you can try. Upon entering you’ll be provided with a tasting cup. Once inside you will see a bunch of tables set with beer pourers standing ready. Find a table holding a beer you want to try and walk right up. Tell the pourer which you want to try and he or she will pour you a 2 oz sample. When tasting take a moment to look at the color of the beer then take a smell before tasting. This will give you the best tasting experience for the beer.

Something special for Brewz Crewz are the free food samples. You won’t find that at most beer festivals. There are seven different restaurants offering food samples. This will give you an opportunity to pair the beer with different foods. This will show you how beer can complement food just as wine does.

Setting the mood for the festival will be live music by The Matthew Wengerd Trio and Billy Needs a Beard.

Tickets are a very reasonable for all that’s included: $25 in advance $35 day of the festival. Also, available are VIP tickets at $40 in advance and $50 day of. VIP tickets include a shirt access to VIP seating area and 5 beer fast pass. So make sure to get your tickets in advance to save yourself $10.

Links:

Official Website – Online Tickets

Event Map – Directions

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.

Look for that report in a future column.

photos credit: Joe Oddi and Frankie Majowich for Metro I4 News

front photo credit: eworm