Couldn’t make it to the inaugural #BeaverEx17? Here’s some of the best beer you missed (Sorry).
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Affogato – imperial stout from Trillium / J.Wakefield brewing (13.3% ABV)
This was the best stout I’ve ever had – and I don’t say that lightly. Light, however, this was not. With black-hole-level darkness, Affogato from Trillium is a deliciously oily one. But where no light escapes, taste invades. With brown sugar, syrup and lactose in there, it was as sweet as you’d expect but somehow not sickly. Similarly, you get dark chocolate but just the right amount. Then there’s the vanilla – oh the vanilla! Then comes biscuit. And don’t get me started on the texture. Adding oats in the grist earns whoever came up with this recipe a bump of the fist. And the absolute kicker? It’s over 13% and you get only the faintest whiff of booze. Hardly any. It tastes like tiramisu but someone forgot the alcohol. It’s a desert in the glass and the only regret is that my glass at the festival was so tiny. A beer I’m genuinely grateful to have tried.
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Crimson Queen – Imperial Flemish red from Dry & Bitter Brewing Company (10.2% ABV)
When someone tells you a beer in your vicinity is the last keg of its kind in existence then you’re going to miss the chance to give it a try. This is how I came to sample Crimson Queen from Dry and Bitter Brewing. A fellow fest-goer gave me this tip, and I will be forever in his debt. I think his name was Bob. Not sure though. If I’m honest, this was near the end of a 30-beer sampling marathon so recollections are a bit hazy. Or at least they were until my glass was filled with this ruby nectar. Even my festival-fatigued tastebuds could immediately tell that this was a fine beer.
In fact, it had the classy feel of a good wine, perhaps unsurprising when you consider it’s aged for 13 months in French Pinot Noir barrels. As if that weren’t special enough, it’s then blended with Danish black cherries and aged for a further 3 months.
Was it worth a 16 month wait? The answer is a resounding yes. A well-balanced sour edge, combining funk and sweet fruit, it’s like a balsamic-glazed cherry dessert. It was fruity but sharp and felt extremely complex. Each mouthful seemed to reveal a little bit more. It’s this kind of stuff that makes you wonder how anyone can drink tasteless fizzy factory lager. It was like art in a glass.
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Imperial Genie – gose from Pōhjala/To øl
Talking of brewing as a “craft”, I already knew I was going to love this collaboration from two boundary-pushing breweries, Põhjala and To øl when I first read the event beer list. I suspected that gin barrel-aging could really compliment a gose-style beer and I was not mistaken. This milky light orange brew is sour at first, then sweet, then salty. This concoction somehow achieves an umami affect that keeps you wanting more. Gently fruity, bitter and a little herbal, the juniper notes come through in the finish to make this one really memorable. Imperial ginie? Imperial genius more like.
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4. Jesus Mud imperial stout by Omnipollo / Evil Twin / Dugges (13% ABV)
The queues at BeaverEx for big names like Cloudwater and Trillium were huge, which I expected. But the Omnipollo queue took the biscuit. I’ve realized we’re pretty lucky here in Switzerland as Omnipollo brews are pretty easy to get hold of and my local craft beer joint, the Alehouse, always has a great selection of Swedish beers, not least because resident beer guru Mats hails from there.
We braved the line in any case, which I soon realized was also extended by people’s excitement to try “soft serve” beer – Omnipollo’s Julie – a triple mango crème brûlèe gose with a frozen head. Now, I’d had Julie before, so to speak, and was nervous that ice atop my beer could be a gimmick (I did sample some and it was nice, but certainly novelty rather than necessity).
I was much more excited to try Jesus Mud. When Omnipollo teams up with compatriots Dugges and Brooklyn’s Evil Twin, you know its going to be good. Then you read the description:
“A cross between Even More Jesus and Noa Pecan Mud Cake, aged in blueberry cheesecake barrels.”
Yeah. I know.
So while my mates sipped on their ice cream beers, a little non-plussed with the concept, I savoured another of the best imperial stouts I’ve ever had. Whereas the aforementioned affogato was dark to the extreme, Jesus Mud was a little lighter – if not in colour then in taste. There was nuttiness, chocolate, cream. Sweetness tempered with the richness of the whole thing. It wasn’t a beer, it was an experience. And well worth the gigantic queue. I nearly queued up again for more.
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DDH Mylar Bags – IPA from Other Half Brewing (8.5% ABV)
Those who know me will be surprised an IPA hasn’t featured on this list so far. I am a hophunter. IPA was my gateway drug to the craft beer movement and I’m all about the International Bitter Units. But at BeaverEx17 there were so many other intriguing beers I didn’t have to head for the safe haven of India Pale Ale. That said, I did try several, and top of my tasting notes was, perhaps unsurprisingly, from Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing. (First though, honourable mention to Brouweij Kees, whose NEIPA was banging at just two days old, tasting massively of strawberries before a mega-fresh hop burn).
It’s no surprise that the DDH Mylar Bags was a triumph. The original is hopped with Amarillo, Galaxy, Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado. The DDH version then “crushes it” with Citra and Mosaic lupulin powders and more Galaxy.
The result is a hazy golden ale (pictured top) with a spicy citrus aroma and a tropical taste explosion. It’s grassy too, which I love, and any bitterness is really well balanced. It’s hardcore hoppy enough to please even the most ardent West-coast IPA aficionado but with enough smooth juice and fruit for those jumping on the NEIPA bandwagon. No mean feat. Needless to say, my 100ml sample did not last long.
So there you are, five beers from Beavertown’s 2017 extravaganza that will live long in the memory. In fact, the whole event was unforgettable. So many world-class breweries in a great beer city. For me, and many others, it set a high bar for craft beer festivals in in the UK, and perhaps in Europe, perhaps outside of Mikkeller’s annual beer celebration in Copenhagen. What was great was that it embraced the real spirit of the craft beer movement beyond the beer itself – the guys from Good Beer Hunting ran an engaging lecture series each day to discuss prevalent issues and themes in the modern craft movement (pictured below, Beavertown founder Logan Plant opens proceedings). There was even a gallery of craft beer can and bottle art, though if I’m honest this was a little underwhelming when you consider what could be done with the amazing illustration and photography adorning cans like those from Northern Monk’s Patrons Project.
And yes, there was room for improvement. Queues were long for some breweries, but they did move quickly. With each brewery only serving two of their beers at the time it was difficult to get to all before they ran out. This made it almost impossible to tick every beer on my pre-event hit list. But that was ok. It meant I tried beers from lesser-known breweries who had obviously earned their right to be there. I hardly had a bad brew. And all you can drink on a £55 ticket for some of the world’s best beer is excellent value.
On the first night, which is when I visited, the breweries did run out early, though I hear this was better on the Saturday. Food also ran out fast, though there was plenty of choice and the burrito that kept my stomach lined was superb.
All in all, an event that bills itself as an extravaganza sets big expectations and I left the Printworks venue a satisfied punter. It’s already confirmed that there will be a BeaverEx18.
I’ll see you there.