fullygoldy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fullygoldy) wrote2007-08-12 08:37 pm
fullygoldy) wrote2007-08-12 08:37 pm
Beer Fest Recap
Ahhh! Beer! Wonderful, wonderful Beer!
We got to the park 30 min before our shift, so we had plenty of time to stake out a good spot under a tree and eat some breakfast before getting to work. Unfortunately, the gals at Panera didn't manage to get our bagels sliced but we survived. Got greeted by Czar Mark with hugs and handshakes. Saw some old friends on the shift before us - they were nearly done with theirs and looking a bit wilted. It was hot and muggy and we all started sweating right away. B was on clipboard duty again, and the rest of us toted stuff for the brewers - including lots of kegs. I was tickled to haul a load for Gordon Biersch, my home town brewery (San Jose). Saw Toni again, worked side by side with her, and she was ready to step in and spell B at the clipboard if he needed her, but he ended up working straight through. We all kept checking him and making sure he was drinking lots of water. Met Angie this year - her 3rd? year working, but first on Load-in. She knew B though from last year - when she was doing brewer check-in and pointing out B's straw hat to everyone who didn't know where to go. Two hours of hot, sweaty effort later, we were on the ugly blanket, cooling down, changing shirts and trying to decide what to drink first.
The first thing I had was a dry hopped English pale ale from The Livery which was from the new "Real Ale" tent. OMG. So wonderful! It seems this year's pet technique was dry hopping - something B's been doing for years with terrific results. We decided to hit the 100 tent first, since it was furthest from the blanket. Collected 5 pint glasses throughout the afternoon, plus dozens of coasters, stickers and matchbooks. Three Floyd's had something they're billing as "the King on Crack" an even more souped up version of Alpha King. O! M! G! Really fantastic stuff. Too bad I can only remember the last half of the name: xxx Resplendence. LOL. It was indeed.
Saw Bryan the sax player, Rob the brewer, Pat the former brewpub owner, his lovely wife, Christine of web-cam fame, and one of my personal faves "Wendell"-also-Freddie of the glorious dreds and inky skin. He's got one of the best smiles I've ever encountered.
Wendell always gives me the fest tattoo, and this year he said he'd been practicing his technique just for me :) Rob-the-brewer also gave me his traditional tattoo treatment (Headless Man this year) even though I'd thought I was going to pass it up. Something new though - *I* gave a tattoo to Sue - on the back of her shoulder, but still - I employed most of Rob's technique (except for the neck nibbling and earlobe sucking).
Sadly, White Winter Meadery ran out of mead before I got there, and when I found that out, I skipped that whole side of the tent. So many of the beers I tried this year were so spectacular that I didn't want to pour them out to try something else. With the extra-large pours that seemed to be prevalent this year (our tasting glasses were nearly always filled to the 3/4 mark instead of 1/4), I tended to bypass several stations between refills. So, I tasted less beer, and I also managed to drink less than usual. Translation - I remember the line for the cab and the ride back tobzdchrisand busman1994's place.
The food was also fabulous - huge chunks of lobster in the rolls, beefstake tomato slices drizzled with truffle oil and EVOO, gazpacho with beet greens, sort-of refrigerator pickles with a bright, fresh flavor, some truffled cheese and a double creme brie and a sage english cheese and a chipotle cheddar for snacking. We also had a wasabi-mustard flavored kettle chip that was challenging and tasty all at once.
All in all, a wonderful fest again. Even with the muggy temps, it was pretty darn pleasant to be on the shore of Lake Monona with 5000 of my closest friends for the afternoon.
We got to the park 30 min before our shift, so we had plenty of time to stake out a good spot under a tree and eat some breakfast before getting to work. Unfortunately, the gals at Panera didn't manage to get our bagels sliced but we survived. Got greeted by Czar Mark with hugs and handshakes. Saw some old friends on the shift before us - they were nearly done with theirs and looking a bit wilted. It was hot and muggy and we all started sweating right away. B was on clipboard duty again, and the rest of us toted stuff for the brewers - including lots of kegs. I was tickled to haul a load for Gordon Biersch, my home town brewery (San Jose). Saw Toni again, worked side by side with her, and she was ready to step in and spell B at the clipboard if he needed her, but he ended up working straight through. We all kept checking him and making sure he was drinking lots of water. Met Angie this year - her 3rd? year working, but first on Load-in. She knew B though from last year - when she was doing brewer check-in and pointing out B's straw hat to everyone who didn't know where to go. Two hours of hot, sweaty effort later, we were on the ugly blanket, cooling down, changing shirts and trying to decide what to drink first.
The first thing I had was a dry hopped English pale ale from The Livery which was from the new "Real Ale" tent. OMG. So wonderful! It seems this year's pet technique was dry hopping - something B's been doing for years with terrific results. We decided to hit the 100 tent first, since it was furthest from the blanket. Collected 5 pint glasses throughout the afternoon, plus dozens of coasters, stickers and matchbooks. Three Floyd's had something they're billing as "the King on Crack" an even more souped up version of Alpha King. O! M! G! Really fantastic stuff. Too bad I can only remember the last half of the name: xxx Resplendence. LOL. It was indeed.
Saw Bryan the sax player, Rob the brewer, Pat the former brewpub owner, his lovely wife, Christine of web-cam fame, and one of my personal faves "Wendell"-also-Freddie of the glorious dreds and inky skin. He's got one of the best smiles I've ever encountered.
Wendell always gives me the fest tattoo, and this year he said he'd been practicing his technique just for me :) Rob-the-brewer also gave me his traditional tattoo treatment (Headless Man this year) even though I'd thought I was going to pass it up. Something new though - *I* gave a tattoo to Sue - on the back of her shoulder, but still - I employed most of Rob's technique (except for the neck nibbling and earlobe sucking).
Sadly, White Winter Meadery ran out of mead before I got there, and when I found that out, I skipped that whole side of the tent. So many of the beers I tried this year were so spectacular that I didn't want to pour them out to try something else. With the extra-large pours that seemed to be prevalent this year (our tasting glasses were nearly always filled to the 3/4 mark instead of 1/4), I tended to bypass several stations between refills. So, I tasted less beer, and I also managed to drink less than usual. Translation - I remember the line for the cab and the ride back to
bzdchrisand busman1994's place.The food was also fabulous - huge chunks of lobster in the rolls, beefstake tomato slices drizzled with truffle oil and EVOO, gazpacho with beet greens, sort-of refrigerator pickles with a bright, fresh flavor, some truffled cheese and a double creme brie and a sage english cheese and a chipotle cheddar for snacking. We also had a wasabi-mustard flavored kettle chip that was challenging and tasty all at once.
All in all, a wonderful fest again. Even with the muggy temps, it was pretty darn pleasant to be on the shore of Lake Monona with 5000 of my closest friends for the afternoon.