Monday, February 25, 2008

Celebrator Beer News 20th Anniversary Party - Pictures & A Wrap-Up

CBN 20th Anniversary Party
I guess I can say that I finally accomplished something this past weekend. Here are the pictures I took at the Celebrator Beer News 20th Anniversary Party in Oakland, CA two weekends ago. It was on 2/17/08 at the Marriott & Convention Center. I could have spent more time with notes, but I'll instead let the pictures do the talking. Needless to say, it was a great time and my first major beer festival on the other coast. But, since you know that I can't leave without sharing at least a few notes, here goes in bullet format, no particular order.
  • PubQuest makes some really nice maps
  • Special pouring of Russian River Supplication, Pliny the Younger, and Black Valentine
  • Hourly pourings of New Belgium La Folie
  • Hard to find (on the East Coast) gems of The Abyss, Smoked Porter, & Kona
  • Reunion Red Rye released and is very, very nice
  • Magnolia Saison de Lily
  • Allagash made a splash with the west coasters with the Grand Cru, White, and Tripel
  • Devil's Canyon makes a sneaky and good Habanero Ale, mixed nicely with The Abyss
  • Does Zydeco ever get old?
  • Firehouse with an cask-conditioned IPA, very nice
  • Mike White of White Labs, like the blind leading the blind back to the BART station in Oakland, yikes
  • Pork sandwiches, rice & beans, caesar salad, pasta, and nachos to fill the belly
  • Never thought I'd hear me say a festival was well attended, but the space was too big!
  • The Brewing Network is even more fun in person
  • Jay Brooks has one of the sharpest beer website t-shirts out there (and some right smart beer commentary as well)
  • Learned a little something about Utah's environmentally conscious brewery, Uinta
  • Hopman never made an appearance
  • Lagunitas SuperFreak (a blend of several styles)

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