East Atlanta Beerfest, EABF, Notoberfest.

I wasn't really feeling into going since I was going alone but did get on the MARTA and arrived, finally, after about 45 minutes of travel by MARTA and about 75 minutes of travel on I85 down through an accident up on I85 south.  So about 2:45 I was finally having my first "sample".

They gave you a very small (6 oz) plastic cup and then you get your "festival glass" when you leave the park.  The Brownwood Park has an ordnance that doesn't allow glass.

There were plenty of cute ladies and many sun dresses, short skirts and bare bellies.  Not all of them on women I might add.  It was a lot of fun as always and I did get a few beers I haven't had before from Moon River in Savanah.  I also got to chat at great length with the brewmaster of O'Dempsy Brewing about his process, new beers, his problems with Red Brick as a contract brewer and how much he LOVES Thomas Creek.

Since I got there a bit late, I did close the place down @ 6pm and then stopped in at the Grant Central East Pizza for a slice and then took the bus back to the MARTA station, another 2 hours later I was actually home.  I really need to get a better understanding of bus schedules and inbound vs outbound buses.

The pizza was alright but the thing I enjoyed the most was the cute waitress wearing a tank top and sporting to unshaven pits, not a problem for me at all but it's not something you see everyday here in the USA.

Suwanee Craft Beerfest 2012

This festival held in the Town Center Park in Suwanee GA was about 300% better this year. The selection of Beers was fantastic, my fav. Souther Tier had about 6 beers I truly love. Mostly, 2X Milk Stout, Creme Bruele, and Chokalot. There weren't many that I haven't had before though. Ass Kisser Brewery was there which was new, Wild Heaven had the Echalon and Red Hare another local brewery was there as well.

I saw a BUNCH of folks I've met through being a Taco Mac Brewniversity member, more than likely over 20-30 people. I even missed a few. The weather couldn't have been better either, cool in the early part (fingers were crossed that it wouldn't rain) and then it got a lot warmer by the 5pm closing time. The music was good and there even was a home brew contest that a few of my friends had entered and several got medals for their beers, Jeff a 1st, Rob a second. Also, several friends didn't fair as well but they had a great time anyway.
 

Decatur Beerfest 2011

15th of October,

German Bierfest, not for me

I didn't get to the Beerfest last weekend. Maybe I should have.

Suwanee Beerfest

It was extremely HOT and the fest was not all that organized IMHO. The VIP stuff was marginal at best, they had said FREE water but I never saw any. The beers were really good though, lots of micro brews, Dogfish Head, Rogue, Bells, Lefthand, New Belgium, Highland it goes on and on. The tents may have been put up better with more air circulation but basically a great time. Saw a bunch of folks from all the Taco Macs.

I've been away but not gone..

Last week had a big pint night on Thursday, two glasses from Summits and another from T-Mac. Summits has glasses from Magic Hat but I don't think I'm going.

I've been trying to go through some of the beers I have in the cellar that are not long time keepers. Haven't been doing well at it though.

Beerfest on the 30th of April, the Prado Beerfest to be exact, should be great fun.

Sweetwater Brew Your Cask Off

It was getting close to 6pm so I printed my ticket to the "Brew Your Cask Off" and headed on down to the Sweetwater Brewery. It was just beginning to rain again, not much but enough to give you pause. They were ready for that, it whole area was under cover but the area wasn't as big as it needed to be. I'm not sure how many people were there, must have been over 2000 I'd say maybe closer to 3 or 4K. It was beginning to actually warm up outside and it was wall to wall people in the tent with all 89 Casks lined up on one side. There was an area in the SW parking lot were there was food and tables for "sponsors" The Beer Connoisseur folks were there along with a few others.

I don't really think that the event was worth the $35 that I spent for the ticket. I wish I had been able to drink a few more beers than I got to. It was just so crowded and I really didn't research enough of the beers to know what to drink. I found out on Sunday that Jason from the MallOfGA T-Mac had a brew, a Porter that I wish I had gotten a taste of. I'm going to have to get a digital recorder to "tape" my thoughts on beers during these types of events.

Chatted with the gal at the Spring Beerfest (at the Masquerade) about photography, she was a bit of a photographer herself and I gave her one of my cards.

The people on the right brewed what I thought was the best beer I tasted at the event. It was a Pumpkin Porter, very chocolaty with a bit of pumpkin spice to give it a unique taste. They also gave me a $5 off coupon for their establishment.

Two Beer Tastings in the winter

Two Beer Tastings are in the next several weeks. The Atlanta Winter Beerfest at the Masquerade on Jan 29th and then the Winter Beer Carnival on Feb 9th.

Both are about $30 and shown on the right ---->

Winter Beerfest

Winter Beer Carnival

Smyrna Beerfest 2010

As usual
I met up with my friends from Beer Connoisseur Magazine, Lisa and a buddy here. Ended up buying a hat this time, got to help my friends. Heard they are going to be at the Hoptoberfest next week on Oct 2nd. The Smyrna fest is generally always a small one, the beer selection was OK, lots of the regular stuff and I tried to mainly try new beers over just having all the beer I could. I needed to get back to my neck-in-the-woods for the Gator game about 7pm so I wasn't going to over do it.

I've only had one of the four beers here before the beerfest, The HIPA was OK but the one on the far left was a "berry" beer and the Hex was just too light for my tastes. Budweiser has now commercialized and dumbed down the craft beer market as well.

ie. nice labels but the beer is just sub-standard.

These girls were having the most fun you can have at a beerfest with your clothes on. They danced whatever dance the person who finished a bottle wanted and I'll bet they even made up a few that afternoon.

German Bierfest 8-28 Atlanta

The beerfest down in Woodruff Park last Saturday was a ball. Lots of interesting people and some not so bad beer. I have to say that I generally don't really like German beer (bier) but the dunkels made it an OK day. Very early on I was taking some photos of one of the bands playing early and ended up wearing some of my beer, I can be a klutz at times.

I met up with Dan and Kathy about 3:30 and then promptly lost them when we went off for another refill of our cups. Tried to find them by going back to where I originally saw them but still couldn't find them. Got a text about 5:30 from them asking if I had "ditched" them. Certainly not.

It rained about that time as well, just started as a drizzle and got under some trees with everyone, then all of a sudden the bottom fell out and we all ran for the "tents". Hung out for about 10-15 minutes and it cleared right up. Many people didn't really get wet at all.

one slipped through my fingers

I didn't get to the Highland Beerfest this year, it may have even been the first year or it is what was once the Creative Loafing Beerfest. I'm thinking about the German Beerfest this weekend and then next month there is the Grayson Blues and Beerfest so...

Heritage Sandy Springs Beerfest

Didn't get to stay long since Becky and the brother, Brian didn't feel up to an extended stay. It was quite warm and was beginning to sprinkle when we left so I didn't feel all that bad having to leave. It was a slower festival and therefore you could get beers rather quickly. It was s First Annual event so I expect it to be a bit larger next year. Too many lighter beers for my taste, some IPAs but almost all were either lagers, hefe and the like. The Florida Beer Company's Mac in Black was a tastey one and there were several browns and the offerings from Jailhouse Brewery were all there, great IPA and a good Stout as well.

We stopped in before the fest at the Ship and Anchor down the road and I had a great meatloaf with mash potatoes and fried onion, wow.

Beer Connoisseur Magazine & Taco Mac Beerfest

The first annual, I hope, beerfest. Went with the brother and I am really thankful he was there to make sure I got home. Otherwise I may still be there. A wonderful selection of beers from the likes of Duck Rabbit, French Broad, and Heavy Seas to mention a few with higher than normal gravities. Then there was the great selection of local brews from Sweetwater, Red Brick, Terrapin, and O'Dempsey's (brewed through Red Brick). The Jailhouse folks were not there, boo.

more plans, Pints at the Prado, June 12

The Beer Connoisseur Mag and Taco Mac are having a tasting festival on June 12, you know I'm there. I wonder if my little "friend" Becky wants to go.

See festivals at the upper right to get your tickets.

EABF, East Atlanta Beerfest

Took the MARTA to limit the chances of getting ourselves in trouble.

Got up just before 10:00am and left the house about 10:30 to get to the MARTA early enough to catch the bus from the Inman Park station to Brownwood Park. Ended up walking instead, maybe not the best idea, Brian was feeling the pain about the time we got there. Waited in line for about another 15 minutes until they finally let us in at 1pm. We went straight to the food and had lunch. They had lamb-bugers, quite good actually.

Didn't meet anyone I knew except for Glenn, the brewmaster at Jailhouse Brewing Company. Drank a few beers I wish I hadn't, a Gingerbread beer and a Banana beer. Other than that just the ordinary fair, A brewery I hadn't seen before, Bison had a couple of OK beers, an IPA that was good. Thomas Creek was there but I didn't see anyone from the brewery that I knew, no Katie.

American Craft Beer Week, is this week. I only found out on Wednesday and the only thing I have going is the East Atlanta Beerfest, EABF, on Saturday. There were a few things setup for the week that I just missed. They didn't really get the word out. Noticed that there were also events in Seattle.