Look Who’s Back, Back Again…

So, as you may have noticed, I’ve been off the grid a bit. Between changing jobs, life, being in weddings and… oh, planning my own wedding (ugh!) I’ve slacked. If you care, I’m sorry! And, for what it’s worth, I promise to make a better effort to keep this blog intact.

Let’s start with the most exciting news….EVER! We got tickets to the Great American Beer Festival!

Over the years we have discussed going a lot. It’s always been on our bucket list, but it never worked out. This year though, we were all over it — which started with Paul joining the American Homebrewers Association. Let me tell you that $38 subscription charge is the ONLY reason we are now able to go to the GABF this year. It allowed us early access to buy tickets. So we bought tickets on Tuesday. Tickets were open to the public yesterday and they sold out in ONE hour. Yes, you read that right. 44,000 tickets…. ONE hour.

Crazy, right?!

I guess it was a lot of scalpers, who are now selling tickets for WAY more than the ticket price. In my opinion, that’s bullshit. That’s like taking candy away from a baby, but whatever, what’s done is done… I guess.

Anyways, I digress. If you have never heard of the Great American Beer Festival, please look it up! It’s essentially Disneyworld for beer lovers. With 400+ breweries and around 1,900 beers, it ought to be the greatest festival around. And, by around, I mean in the U.S — and I can not wait!

Hotel, flights and tickets are already locked and loaded.

If you’ve ever been to the GABF, do you have any tips or tricks for travelling there, preparing myself, or navigating the venue?

 

P.S. – Did you miss me? 😉

 

The Buzz: Harpoon’s 22nd Annual Octoberfest

In the Boston-area and looking for something to do this weekend? Check out the 22nd Annual Harpoon Octoberfest put on by Harpoon Brewery. Here are the hours for the weekend:

• Friday, September 30, 5:30 pm to 11:00 pm (Doors close at 9:30 pm)
• Saturday, October 1, 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm (Doors close at 7:30 pm)

Admission is $20 and includes a souvenir plastic pint glass and a drink ticket.

Here is a little bit about what you can expect:

• A festival of beer, music, and Fall in New England at the Harpoon Brewery
• A wide selection of fresh Harpoon beer including IPA and UFO Hefeweizen
• Plenty of German food sold by a local guest restaurant
• The best Chicken Dancing this side of the Alps and the famous keg bowling game
• Three stages of music including New England’s premiere German Oompa bands
• Come celebrate the original New England-style Octoberfest

(All from the Harpoon Brewery website) 

I’m going to the Friday night session. (The last Saturday session I went to, I got there too late and ended up waiting in line for over an hour and a half before I decided to just ditch out and head into town instead.)

Harpoon puts on several of these festivals a year and they are always a good time!

Are you going to the Harpoon festival this weekend?

Ommegang Tripel Perfection – Part of the Duvel Family

If you know myself or my fiance at all, we love craft beer. So naturally, when it comes to gifts from each other or other people, they are normally beer-related (or wine when it comes to me.)

One of these recent gifts included Ommegang Tripel Perfection, a golden tripel ale brewed with spices.

The bottle says you’ll smell hints of banana, however I thought Tripel Perfection had hints of apricots or oranges. There was also a very light spicy aroma when you stuck your nose in and took a deep breathe.

Color-wise, Ommegang Tripel Perfection has a light copper tone to it.

On a heaviness scale of 1-10, it was about a 5 or 6. This brew had a crisp, yet  slightly fruity taste, that again tasted like apricots or oranges. Also accompanied the taste was a nice creaminess and good aftertaste that hung around for a while.

Ommegang Tripel Perfection is 8.9% ABV and is part of the Duvel family.

Definitely a nice Belgian-style ale.

Are you into Belgians?