Ahhh, Thursday. The most civilized of the GABF sessions. The evening started off with a bit of a somber note as our entry was slowed down just a tad by the addition of metal detectors for the first time. This was, I'd imagine, in direct response to the Vegas shooting. While I have never seen the logic of adding security AFTER an isolated incident of idiocy, I don't see the metal detectors as any kind of burden. I'm surprised this wasn't a part of the fest in the past.
This year, festgoers had added bonuses like an expanded Meet the Brewers section with 136 participating breweries, as well as a larger brewpub section with 42 pub represented. This might have been a draw for some people, but most were lining up at stalwarts like Dogfish Head and Cigar City. Toppling Goliath also had long lines all night, thanks to Mornin' Delight BA Coffee Stout and King Sue DIPA. Every year, I pick a brewery to kick off the tasting and Toppling Goliath was my choice this year. I found both Mornin' Delight and King Sue to be underwhelming. Could be the growing pains associated with the gain in popularity. Things got better with Bell's Blackbeard's Bear Hug Stout: rum-barrel aged with cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut. Great stuff. Also, a surprise addition of bottles of BA Expedition Stout. Sorry Albuquerque, we most likely won't get any b.ottles.
Other standout beers were Genius IPA from Highland Park in Los Angeles. Finally some good beer to be had out of LA. Only problem is you can't get to any of the breweries there because of traffic. And you couldn't get anywhere near thee Sam Adams booth when they were serving Utopias. Line down the street. Stupid.
The Brew Kettle was solid as always with El Lupulo Libre DIPA as well as Tunguska BA Imperial Stout. Liquid Mechanics had a rum-barrel aged Coconut Porter that stood out. Lone Pine Tessellation IPA represented Portland, Maine well. Fremont had a long line due to Rusty Nail and BA Dark Star on tap. Dark Star never disappoints.
The booth of the year (century, probably) belonged to Melvin Brewing. Their booth was a bus. An actual bus. They had a DJ spinning old school rap, people dancing, etc. You could almost get a sample poured when they were in between dance moves. Let's stay focused on why we're here please, people. I'm sure they gained a lot of new fans with that booth, as some festgoers are just there to party.
I think my beer of the night goes to Great Notion's Juice Box DIPA. That, or Ripe IPA. Both were really good. The word of mouth had gotten out about them, as the lines were impressive. Not Dogfish Head long, but not every booth has Sam greeting people.
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