Beantown Brews: A Boston Beer Blog

Hit up the American Craft Beer Festival at the Seaport World Trade Center last night with my brew buddy Hogan and my soon to be sister-in-law and beer enthusiast, Kristin. What a blast!

After waiting for the silver line for 15 minutes, my cohorts and I decided to hoof it from South Station over to the Seaport. Along the way we bumped in to High & Mighty’s Mini Cooper, which is ironically neither high nor mighty.

After a brisk 10 min walk, we started coming up the Trade Center, and you could already see the line spiraling around. Hogan and I had our tickets already, so we queued up. Kristin didn’t have her ticket, but some how managed to use her girl powers to get help, get her ticket and get in a good 15 minutes before either of us.

A note about the line staff – ridiculously unhelpful. No one had any idea where to go, or who to send you to. But we made it in none-the-less and, tasting cups in hand, proceeded to hit the booths.

I made it my personal quest to find the best hefeweizen in the house. I’d have to say that my favorite was Blue Hills Brewery’s Wamputuk Wheat- a great traditional German hefe. I was also a big fan of Cambridge Brewing and Gardner Ale House’s hefeweizens.

I tried to keep my drinking to local establishments, but I had to hit The Duck-Rabbit while I had the chance. They make a delicious dopplebock that I liked but Hogan didn’t care for.

At 7p.m. Hogan and I left Kristin with a friend that she had met up and headed on in to the panel discussion moderated by Anat Baron, the overly sarcastic, non-alcohol consuming director of Beer Wars. The panel discussion was on co-option and the definition of craft beer – a huge hot topic lately. Some very good points were made regarding brewery and distribution size. The panel members, all great brewers, held that you cannot solely use the size of a brewery as a fair indicator of the quality of beer that it produces. Case in point – Sam Adams – the elephant in the room. If you haven’t heard already, Sam Adams is getting the boot from the Brewers Association simply because of the fact that they produce 2 million plus barrels of beer a year.

A great point was made that brewers are businessmen. Beer is their business. Small brewers are incorporated. Small brewers market their product. Some want to stay small – some want to grow large. All brewers operate to make money. They couldn’t make a living if they didn’t and that would spell the end of the beer you enjoy. The point was not to judge a brewer simply because he is making a profit, small or large.

The definition of what it means to be a craft brewer remains nebulous. I think some good point were raised in this discussion, but no definitive answer emerged. As Matthew Steinberg of Mayflower Brewing pointed out, people just need to stop comparing brewers and practices. Good beer is just good beer – you’ll know when you taste it. He even admitted to drinking coorsweisers on occasion, which he says have their place in the market too. A great point.

After the panel we got back to drinking. Even at 2-ounces at a time, you can seriously get your money’s worth of beer at the festival.

At one point I looked up and saw the Alstrom Brothers just a few feet from me. I was able to shake Todd’s hand and thank him for doing all that he does. It was the highlight of my night

Thank God for the Beer Advocates!

I had a great time at my first beer festival and I hope this will just be the first of many.