What do you do when faced with multiple beers from multiple breweries? That's right, drink 'em all! That's precisely what we (attempted) to do at Draft Magazine's The Big Pour last weekend.
The beer festival took place at The Waterfront in Scottsdale and attracted a crowd of folks ranging from Tempe riff-raff to Ed Hardy-clad Scottsdale denizens with such attractions as George Wendt of Cheers fame and Everclear playing a live set on Saturday night. But what united us all was a thirst for trying new brews. Like most beer fests, we took some good sips with some bad. Below are the samples (and impressions) that we remember.
Brew: Baltika "The Famous Beer of Russia's" Baltika Cooler Impression: As lagers go, the Cooler is terrible. The flavor profile is reminiscent of gummy bears.
Brew:Dry Fly Distilling Inc.'s Gin. Impression:We'd never had a hop-infused gin until Friday night. We won't make that mistake again. This stuff was delicious and very warming on a cold (finally) November night in Scottsdale.
Brew:Augustijn imported from Belgium by Crescent Crown Distributing Impression: Bavarian goodness even in a tiny glass. This one had us coming back for more.
Brew:Sierra Nevada Porter Impression:Yeah, not the most unique beer we tried at The Big Pour, but still a delicious porter. No seconds on this one, but no regrets either.
Brew:Ballast Point Brewing Company's Calico Amber Ale Impression:This beer one a gold medal at The Great American Beer Festival in 2001. It's easy to see why. The flavor is robust and refreshing.
Brew:The Lost Abbey's Devotion Ale Impression: Lost Abbey is amazing and so is this beer. Get it now.
Brew:Coronado Brewing's Orange Avenue OPA Impression: Admittedly, we're not much for wheat beer, but Orange Avenue has a surprisingly refreshing sourness that we quite enjoyed.
Brew:Dogfish Head Brewing's 90 Minute IPA Impression:If you haven't had this, stop wasting time.
