Atlanta and the Infamous Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting part 2
Now for the report on the Atlanta Cask Ale tasting, I had been waiting for the pictures from my accomplice in this little trip but if you know who I am talking about you know we will probably never see the pictures again..
The Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting has got to be one of the best tastings/festivals in the southeastern United States. Owen Ogletree and his staff of volunteers truly care about all things ale and lager and it really shows in their dedication to events such as this. You can check out the happenings around Athens and Atlanta he is involved with by checking out his website classiccitybrew.com there is always something going somewhere between Atlanta and Athens on and beyond that the North Georgia area has become an oasis in the southeast for quality beer both in what is distributed there and the breweries that are thriving in the region. This year was the 5th year of the Cask Tasting and was held at the Atlanta Brewing Company's facility which to my knowledge in following this event for it history was the first year at a new location, for the past years it had been held at Sweetwater but I think the venue change was great and allowed me to get a look at another very great Altanta brewery.
Assembled in their traditional stillage racks 21 casks from breweries mostly around the Atlanta area with a few others (such as ours from the Dunedin Brewery and our good friends at Cigar City Brewing) there was supposed to be one more but I guess someone else had some issues with blowing the bung out of the cask which was a bummer. We arrived to a line of very thirsty enthusiasts eagerly awaiting enrty to the beer wonderland that was to come and were given our cups and let loose. We (Dunedin and Cigar City boys) immediately headed to where our beers were being poured to check them out and see how they had turned out and we were not disappointed! Our beer dubbed The Bomb, not because we are conceded or anything but because of the mishap with the first one we filled resulting in redecorating Joey's office over at Cigar City (read earlier posts) was an onyx, inky, rich mother of a beer. We had dry hopped it in the cask with a load of very high alpha hops which came through nicely although I would back it off a little for the next time as the smoothness of the oatmeal in the grain bill was lost in the grassy, citrusy aroma and flavor being dominated by the hop.. Although if you dig on the hop-bombs (excuse that term) then we hit the target dead on. The beer from Cigar City was even better than ours, definitely more robust and complex with the notes of 2 different types of chilies, chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla. The chilies came through heavily although not overbearing with the inhearent sweetness from the abundance of the malty base. The balance of cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate was right on par with the everything else going on and I am happy to report that the judges felt the same way and awarded this Hanahpus Imperial Stout as it was named 1st place of all beers in the event. The beers were all jusdged by BJCP judges and while it was not a "sanctioned" event it certianly will gain the guys some attention at least throughout the southeast.
Other notables were the Duck Rabbit Bourbon Barrel Milk Stout which by description was "Milk stout aged for 2 months in 2nd use 23-year old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrels". This beer was wonderfully balanced in everyway with the oak and bourbon notes coming through but not overpowering the already very tasty beer. Also of note was the "This Beer" from Max Lager's in Downtown Altanta the description tells it all "This beer contains water, malt, hops and yeast. That’s it - no exotic fruits or spices, no coffee or other breakfast foods, no rice, corn or other side dishes. It wasn’t aged on foreign or domestic wood tainted with the flavor of rival spirits. It is beer. If you’ve really gotta be technical.....it’s an ale, it’s fairly red, it started at 17 degrees Plato, and finished at 2.1 degrees (if you’re a beer geek, you do the ABV math). Bittered with plenty of Northern Brewer hops and finished with Centennial, if there’s not enough hops for you then you name is probably Chris Terenzi. If it’s too much they you probably should have given your ticket to someone else." and while most of the other beers of the fest were very experimental this was a nice change from all of the extremes in flavors and actually won second place which I was glad for. It is nice to see all of the crazy idea everyone comes up with but still very refreshing that a beer like this can still hold it's own among this crowd. There were so many more, and every one of them that I tried was wonderful in it's own right although I can not list them all I thank all the breweries that participated for allowing us to sample their experiements in this very historic and traditional way of conditioning and serving ales.
I can not wait for this event to come up next year, and hope we can again be a part of it as I am already thinking of what we will do for next year. If you live in the southeast I would definitely consider trying to get tickets to this event if you can. They are very limited usually to about 250 and first come first served via email with Owen when he releases them. These ever so coveted tickets are free, but the event benefits the Atlanta Humane Society so donations are very appreciated. If you live in the Southeast in general Altanta is definitely worth a stop for a few days to check out the beer scene with a short hop up to Athens you will not be disappointed in what you find.
More to come about Atlanta in the future..
Cheers!
The Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting has got to be one of the best tastings/festivals in the southeastern United States. Owen Ogletree and his staff of volunteers truly care about all things ale and lager and it really shows in their dedication to events such as this. You can check out the happenings around Athens and Atlanta he is involved with by checking out his website classiccitybrew.com there is always something going somewhere between Atlanta and Athens on and beyond that the North Georgia area has become an oasis in the southeast for quality beer both in what is distributed there and the breweries that are thriving in the region. This year was the 5th year of the Cask Tasting and was held at the Atlanta Brewing Company's facility which to my knowledge in following this event for it history was the first year at a new location, for the past years it had been held at Sweetwater but I think the venue change was great and allowed me to get a look at another very great Altanta brewery.
Assembled in their traditional stillage racks 21 casks from breweries mostly around the Atlanta area with a few others (such as ours from the Dunedin Brewery and our good friends at Cigar City Brewing) there was supposed to be one more but I guess someone else had some issues with blowing the bung out of the cask which was a bummer. We arrived to a line of very thirsty enthusiasts eagerly awaiting enrty to the beer wonderland that was to come and were given our cups and let loose. We (Dunedin and Cigar City boys) immediately headed to where our beers were being poured to check them out and see how they had turned out and we were not disappointed! Our beer dubbed The Bomb, not because we are conceded or anything but because of the mishap with the first one we filled resulting in redecorating Joey's office over at Cigar City (read earlier posts) was an onyx, inky, rich mother of a beer. We had dry hopped it in the cask with a load of very high alpha hops which came through nicely although I would back it off a little for the next time as the smoothness of the oatmeal in the grain bill was lost in the grassy, citrusy aroma and flavor being dominated by the hop.. Although if you dig on the hop-bombs (excuse that term) then we hit the target dead on. The beer from Cigar City was even better than ours, definitely more robust and complex with the notes of 2 different types of chilies, chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla. The chilies came through heavily although not overbearing with the inhearent sweetness from the abundance of the malty base. The balance of cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate was right on par with the everything else going on and I am happy to report that the judges felt the same way and awarded this Hanahpus Imperial Stout as it was named 1st place of all beers in the event. The beers were all jusdged by BJCP judges and while it was not a "sanctioned" event it certianly will gain the guys some attention at least throughout the southeast.
Other notables were the Duck Rabbit Bourbon Barrel Milk Stout which by description was "Milk stout aged for 2 months in 2nd use 23-year old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrels". This beer was wonderfully balanced in everyway with the oak and bourbon notes coming through but not overpowering the already very tasty beer. Also of note was the "This Beer" from Max Lager's in Downtown Altanta the description tells it all "This beer contains water, malt, hops and yeast. That’s it - no exotic fruits or spices, no coffee or other breakfast foods, no rice, corn or other side dishes. It wasn’t aged on foreign or domestic wood tainted with the flavor of rival spirits. It is beer. If you’ve really gotta be technical.....it’s an ale, it’s fairly red, it started at 17 degrees Plato, and finished at 2.1 degrees (if you’re a beer geek, you do the ABV math). Bittered with plenty of Northern Brewer hops and finished with Centennial, if there’s not enough hops for you then you name is probably Chris Terenzi. If it’s too much they you probably should have given your ticket to someone else." and while most of the other beers of the fest were very experimental this was a nice change from all of the extremes in flavors and actually won second place which I was glad for. It is nice to see all of the crazy idea everyone comes up with but still very refreshing that a beer like this can still hold it's own among this crowd. There were so many more, and every one of them that I tried was wonderful in it's own right although I can not list them all I thank all the breweries that participated for allowing us to sample their experiements in this very historic and traditional way of conditioning and serving ales.
I can not wait for this event to come up next year, and hope we can again be a part of it as I am already thinking of what we will do for next year. If you live in the southeast I would definitely consider trying to get tickets to this event if you can. They are very limited usually to about 250 and first come first served via email with Owen when he releases them. These ever so coveted tickets are free, but the event benefits the Atlanta Humane Society so donations are very appreciated. If you live in the Southeast in general Altanta is definitely worth a stop for a few days to check out the beer scene with a short hop up to Athens you will not be disappointed in what you find.
More to come about Atlanta in the future..
Cheers!
posted by theworldofbeer.com at
09:36
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