Hey there,
I woke up this morning thinking about the Maine Brewers Festival. I am sure I was dreaming about it too. Since the dudes have been going to this particular fest year after year (this Saturday will be our 9th trek up to Portland, ME), I thought I would share my tips on how to best enjoy beer fests from a homebrewer’s point of view. Full warning: these tips are not for the casual fest attendee. Be ready to embrace your inner beer geek.
1. Get There Early
Maybe you like to be fashionably late to other events, but beer fests should be attended early. As soon as the doors open, you should be able to get your info pamphlet of what brewing companies are there and what beers they have to offer. The venue should be wide open to explore since most people do come later. Take this time to check out what is happening at each booth, because sometimes there are discrepancies between the pamphlet and who and what is actually in attendance at the beer fest. Lastly, take this time before the taps open to map our your strategy.
2. Map Out A Strategy
After gathering information, you should have some thoughts about what beers you want to try. Sometimes you’ll see a less popular style on tap that you have never tried before. Other times, there is a new seasonal that your favorite brewery has just released. Occasionally, there is an attractive beer pourer behind one of the booths. Whatever the thoughts may be, it’s best to prioritize them and to put a plan together mentally or written out on how you want to taste these beers. One strategy that may be great for a homebrewer is to try every brewer’s version of a style. For example, I wanted to get a good understanding of porters one year so I tried every version of porter that was available. Believe me, I learned a lot…probably too much…about porters.
3. Take Notes
I told you it was going to get geeky. Taking notes is probably the best thing you can do as a homebrewer attending a beer fest. You can record you thoughts on what you are tasting and use them to improve a recipe or try something different in your own brews at home. A little notebook will do, but if you don’t feel like writing anything down especially towards the end of the fest…a voice recorder will do. You could even call your own voicemail if you didn’t have a voice recorder. Leaving tipsy messages for yourself is always fun.
4. Compare Notes
Not that I have done real scientific investigation into the sense of taste in humans, but I have the feeling that not everybody tastes the same way. Ask other people what they think of the same brews you tasted. Another point of view may help your examination of the beer and clarify some of the thoughts you may have. With more information from multiple sources, you should be able to make better decisions about tweaking your homebrewing recipe.
5. Ask Questions
If want to know more about the beer you are drinking, you have to ask questions. Hopefully the person at the booth has some knowledge of the beer he or she is pouring. Many times, the brewer themselves is behind the booth somewhere. Ask questions. Get more information. They may be coy at first, but if you explain that you are asking for your own homebrewing purposes, most brewers will be more than happy to share information.
6. Have Fun
Maybe this is an obvious one, but having fun should be a primary function of a beer fest. We sometimes attend beer fests where people are getting into fights. Those people are probably not homebrewers; they probably don’t respect beer as the Alstrom Bros. would tell you to do. If you go into the mindset that everyone is there to enjoy, then there really isn’t any reason to be having fun with everyone…that includes the stranger that just stepped on your toe.
Do you have any tips? Please leave them as a comment below.
