A BEER EPIPHANY

  I make no secret of the fact that, despite being a brewer’s wife, I have very limited knowledge of craft beer in general and even less of a palate of what constitutes a good beer from a bad beer.    I  admit I used the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, Colorado this past weekend as an excuse for me to escape my job, kids, messy house, and all responsibilities in general and just to spend a little alone time with my husband.   I had come up with 1001 different reasons why I thought it would be good for Kevin and me to go.  Turns out I didn't need any of them, cheap plane tickets and a weekend of drinking beer was enough of a reason for him to agree to the trip.  

The trip for me almost did not happen do to sick kids, but thankfully my mother, a retired nurse, was loving and foolish enough to take care of them and encouraged me to go.   Stepping on to the plane in Savannah I was feeling a little guilty leaving them behind, however by the time our plane landed in Denver I was over the guilt and ready to enjoy the long weekend of freedom.

To say that the GABF is a craft beer lovers paradise is an understatement.  Tickets for the three day event sold out in a record time of 20 minutes online.    The GABF website reported there was 3,100+ beers in the festival hall, 49,000 attendees (includes ticketed attendees, brewers, judges, volunteers and journalists) and 624 U.S. breweries serving in the festival hall (46 more breweries than 2012).     Given the number of breweries and all the beer being served, I felt like someone that had taken a  6 week foreign language class and was then dropped off in the country to fend for themselves.    I understood some of the language that was being spoken, but not enough to take part in the discussions when Kevin would speak to other brewers/beer lovers..     After an hour  into the first day of the festival, and having tried a few beers and not really liking any of them,  I began to think of excuse to plot my escape when suddenly I had a beer epiphany.

My epiphany came from the words of a beer sign describing  a brewery’s Raspberry Lambic Style Pale.  The words on the sign seemed illuminate and be written just for me “...sure to please even the most picky of palate.”  That’s me, I am a picky palate!!!  That first 1 oz sample was an unexpected surprise.   It was a fruity, sweet, slightly sour, and utterly wonderful.   Could it be true?  Could I have actually found a beer that I liked?  I of course had to try it for a second and third time just to be sure.   I then began to wonder and question my entire craft brew reality.  Was it possible that just maybe there was more beer styles other than fruity  ones out there I would like?   Have I been beer discriminating based on their names or looks?   I then went on a personal mission of craft beer enlightenment.  

The strange foreign land I had found myself in transformed into an exciting wonderland of beer style exploration.   I discovered that   I don’t like milk stouts and any beer that contained the word smoked in its description.   You would have thought that when the brewer of an especially “smoky” brew made the comment “you’re a brave girl” as he handed me the sample I requested, would have been a clue that it was a very ummmm…unusual brew to put it nicely.    That was my second and last “smoky” brew I would try.   It tasted something like a bad smoked BLT sandwich.    I also ventured into the world of sour beers.  The sour style of beer was either a hit or miss with my fledgling palate.   The majority of the sours I tried seemed to be a little too sour for me, but a beer ideal for those adults who loved sour candy as a kid.  The beers I  liked the most and often going back to seemed to be the wheat beers.  My  ideal brew was one called Agave Wheat.   It had the sweetness of fruity beer, but the smoothness I liked in wheat beers. 

 By the end of the GABF I found myself speaking a little of the natives’ craft brew language and even smelling the beers before I sipped.   I am not sure if what I was sniffing for is what true craft brew folks smell for or not, but I was able to determine with a sniff if I was gonna like the beer or not and that was good enough for me.  

I have a new appreciation for Kevin and his ability to create great brews; it’s both a science and art.  There just maybe hope that one day that this craft brewer’s wife will be able to speak and understand the beer language.   For now I am just excited that I can venture into a store and pick out a craft beer without having to result in calling Kevin and asking which one I should get.   I now have my own craft beer styles I like.