Autumn Brew Review 2012

Saturday, September 15, 2012 was the 13th Annual Autumn Brew Review, sponsored by the Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild .  While it was their 13th brew review, it was the first time I was able to make it.  It was held at the Historic Grain Belt Brewery in Northeast Minneapolis.  The fest was outdoors on the grounds.  There were about 100 breweries represented and probably about 3,000 people in attendance.  This event sells out fast.

It was a gorgeous day.  There were so many relatively new breweries represented, and so many special and seasonal brews by established breweries, that it was beyond impossible to try even a portion of those beers I would have liked to try.  While the selection was great, I did not find any beers this time that really blew me away.  However, some of the lines were so long, in particular that for Surly, that it didn't seem worth the limited time to stand in them, even for something special.  Obviously, many others found that it was worth it, or the lines wouldn't have been so long.

I wanted to try the Cherry Batch 2012 from Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth, but it was gone before the fest was even half over.  I did like their Spanish Fly, a hoppy beer made with a touch of the Montmorency Cherries used in the Cherry batch, along with some hot spices.  I will also give a shout-out to the Excelsior Brewing company of Excelsior, Minnesota.  Their Big Island Blonde Ale was one of the best blonde ales/lagers at the fest.  Many breweries fail to get these styles of beers right.

The selection of food trucks was good, but there was not nearly enough water available to drink and more rinse stations were needed.  Were you there?  How did you like it?

Waiting to enter the fest...

In the fest...

Lefthand Brewing's car with keg taps...

Enjoying the fest...

As a side note, I visited the fairly new Stinson Wine, Beer and Spirits in Northeast Minneapolis.  It is a good place to shop for beer, with a good selection, including a nice-sized mixed six pack area.

As another side note, I was able to get some Takis.  Yummy, and the funnest song of the year: