Brew Fest Recap

The 14th annual Mt. Snow Brew Fest has come and gone, and according to an announcement that I think I heard in an alcohol-induced stupor at the end of Sunday's session, they set a record for attendance this year, which was impressive.  The place was certainly crowded, although not so packed that you couldn't move, and the turnout of breweries in attendance was the best of my memory - 20 brewers and upwards of 70 different beers.  We made preliminary plans to sample each of the beers over the two days of sessions - or at least those that we didn't already know sucked (Anheuser Busch had several beers on display; Woodchuck Cider was there, etc), which would mean we'd have to sample 25-30 beers each day.  That seemed a bit out of reach, given the six hour length of the festival each day and the fact that we're not exactly in college anymore.  Plus, the 8-ounce pours of our pint glasses were typically filled to at least 12-ounces, and sometimes more (they were definitely giving full glass pours by the end of each day - thank you Mt. Snow employees!), so really a 15-20 beer goal would be more realistic.  I made it to 14 on day 1 before passing out.  And I do mean passing out.  But after a 3 hour coma I recovered like a trooper and felt great on Sunday... until my first beer.  I think I may have drunk 3 beers total in the first 3 hours on Sunday before taking a shower to revive my senses and coming back strong on the power of Circus Boy, finishing with 11 beers on Sunday, at least 6 of which were the aforementioned Magic Hat Hefeweizen.  I also got Magic Hat dice and beads, although I don't know what happened to either of those, and only Karen won a T-shirt from them (which she refused to give to me and I was too drunk later to remember to steal it).  But all in all, it was a fun trip.  Click through for the daily details.

Friday:  We were supposed to leave by 11.  We actually left by 1, which is 11 am on Puerto Rican time, and we did beat the traffic on the Thruway, making it up to Vermont with relative speed.  After that, here are some of the events that transpired.

5:38:  Tanya: "How much fudge did you buy?"
5:40:  Bill:  "Ow, my teeth hurt."

7:15:  Aaron:  "I'm already annoyed with Karen."
    Bill:  "We haven't even seen her yet."
    Aaron:  "That's really not the point."

8:51:  Bill:  "We'll meet you at Doogan's/Deegan's in 2 minutes."
8:53:  Bill: "Doogan's/Deegan's is apparently shut down.  We'll meet you at the Silo in 2 minutes."

9:15:  Chris: "What are you pointing at?"
    Bill:  "There's a 6 foot 4 Indian right there."

9:53:  Bill: "I'm not going to drink too much tomorrow."

11:00:  Bill:  "She's not that hot."
11:02 (after switching seats to get a better angle on the TV):  Bill: "Oh yeah, she's hot."

11:11:  Cameron: "This is great."
    Chris: "I told you, the munk juice is tasty."
    Rohan: "Really, this is delicious."
    Chris: "Thank you, it's been fermenting since May."
    Cameron: "This is some of the best beer I've ever had."
    Chris: "Thank you, I appreciate it."
    Bill: "This beer sucks ass."

12:05:  Bill: (writing) "Ok, so we will Google: (1) Andy Roddick's girlfriend, (2) Djokovic's ranking, and (3) the age of consent in Vermont.  Got it."

Saturday:

9:11:  Bill: "It's sixteen."
    Chris:  "Nice."

12:03:  Bill (at Orlio): "I'll take the Common Ale."

12:04:  Bill: "This wasn't as good as I remember."
    Aaron: "Were the same hot chicks from last year serving you?"
    Bill:  "No, it was a guy."
    Aaron: "Exactly."

1:45: Aaron: "Ok, what are your ratings so far?"
    Bill: "I give the Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA an 8 out of 10, the Allagash Double a 7 out of 10, the Harpoon UFO a 7 out of 10, and the Hawaiian pizza a 10 out of 10."

2:20:  Bill: "Did you ever get Tanya's email?"
    Bob: "No, when did she send it?"
    Bill:  "Last night at around midnight."
    Bob: "No, I didn't look.  She had an entire year to send me an email and didn't send it until last night?"
    Chris: "That sounds about right."

3:15:  Megan: "Fucking Joe."

3:24:  Aaron:  "I think the breakfast burrito may have been a bad idea."

4:00:  Bill: "I'm on my tenth beer, right on pace for 15 today."
4:20:  Bill: "I'm on my eleventh beer, right on pace."
4:40:  Bill: "I'm on my twelfth beer, right on pace."
5:00:  Bill:  "I'm not feeling so well."
5:20:  Bill:  "What?"

5:35:  Bill:  "Yeah, I'm leaving too."

6:15:  Tanya: "No, he's passed out."
    Chris: "But his eyes are open."
    Tanya: "I know."   

8:02:  Bill: "You guys went swimming?"
    Aaron: "Oh yeah, it was great.  Chris got thrown out of the pool again.  Where were you?"
    Tanya: "He was passed out here with his eyes open and I was about to call 911."
    Chris:  "Slight coma.  He's fine now."

9:15:  Heather: "Hey what's up guys?  Where is everybody?"
    Bill:  "Sleeping."
    Heather: "Oh."

9:51:  Megan: "Fucking Joe."

10:52:   Scott:  "Do you mind if I just watch the last 5 minutes of X-Men?"
    Chris: "Go right ahead."
10:53:  Scott:  snoring

Sunday: 

9:00:  Aaron: "We're going to Garlic Fest.  Do you guys want to come?'
    Scott: "No, I've got to get going."
    Aaron: "Oh ok, where were you last night anyway?"
    Scott: "I actually fell asleep on the couch in your room."
    Aaron: "Oh really?"
    Scott: "And I think I might have climbed into Bill's bed."
    Bill: "I'm trying to block it out of my memory."

  1:25:  Megan: "So I'm sitting on the crapper, you know, relaxing, getting a little time to myself, and all of the sudden fucking Joe starts vomiting all over the door.  So I'm like, I guess I better get out of there."
    Joe: "I couldn't open the knob."
    Karen: "Eww..."
    Megan: "Oh yeah, it was completely all over the door and then the floor of the bathroom."
    Joe:  "I was a little drunk."
    Megan: "Fucking Joe."

4:45:  Aaron: "So what was your favorite beer this year?"'
    Chris: "Don't say Circus Boy."
    Bill: "Circus Boy."

6:02:  (returning to room)  Bill:  "What's that smell?"

6:25:  Megan (grabbing Joe by the hair):  "Get out of the pool right now!"

6:31:  Tanya:  "Uh oh, I think Megan just called security on Joe."

6:34:  Random friend of Karen's: "Cannonball!"

6:40:  Security guard shows up.

6:42:  Security guard leaves.

6:43:  Random friend of Karen's: "Cannonball!"

7:11:  Heather (back in the room): "Oh my god, what's that smell?"

7:30:  Aaron: "Anyone want a bacon double bacon burger?"
    Chris, Bill, Joe: "Yes please."

8:17:  Random girl in hallway: "Oh, you guys are in the bacon room?"

8:31:  Chris: "No, I'm pretty sure the sentence ended with the word 'fucking' either before, after or perhaps in place of 'Joe'."

8:45:  Random girl walking into the room: "What happened in here?"
    Bill: "What do you mean?"
    Random girl:  "What is that smell?"
    (laughter)
    Random girl: "No seriously, what is that smell?"

9:10:  Don: "No, they invited everyone to come over.   Let's go."

9:32:  Brian:  "If they can't appreciate my dancing skills, then they don't deserve to have me at their party."

9:57:  Random girl in hallway:  "I heard you guys have a keg."
    Aaron: "How did you hear about that?"
    Random girl: "Everyone knows.  You guys are in the bacon room, right?"
    
10:11:  Don: "How much bacon did you guys eat?"
    Chris:  "Four packages I think."

Monday:

    Aaron: "You don't remember getting hit on the back of the head?"

    Bill: "I highly recommend the coma.  I felt so much better afterwards."

    Bill: "That was you vomiting?  I thought it was Aaron."
    Chris: "Oh no, it was me."
    Karen: "You heard him?"
    Bill: "It was loud."

    Joe:  "Never drink water."

    Bill: "What was that smell anyway?"
    Aaron:  "Bacon, munk juice, and ass."

    Megan: "Fucking Joe."

As for the beer, the following were my favorites:

Magic Hat Circus Boy
Allagash Triple
Allagash Double
Dogfish Head 90-minute
Dogfish Head 60-minute
Berkshire Brewing Steel Rail
McNeill's Blonde
Sam Adams Oktoberfest
Harpoon UFO
Orlio Common Ale

The following were just OK:

Allagash White
Orlio Black Lager
North Shore Scrimshaw
North Shore Red Seal Ale
Long Trail Harvest Lager
Otter Creek White Sail

The following I didn't sample because I drink them frequently at home:

Magic Hat #9
Blue Moon
Harpoon IPA

The following were bad:

Magic Hat Lucky Kat

 

 

Comments

[LegFuJohnson]

Nice, nice.