toomanybooks

FT DO at Three Floyds, Munster, IN on Sep. 3:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-sept-3-a.html

tcook052

Olympia.

toomanybooks

I ended up not going (it was not cheap), but here's a review from someone who did:

"It was a well executed event put on in a very lovely venue - the rooftop of Fountainhead, which I got to appreciate for the first time on Monday. The dinner was tasty and Sumerian themed, and paired with solid Great Lakes beers and a multi faceted presentation on beer and brewing in Sumeria from both the perspective of the U of C archeologists and the Great Lakes brewers. The actual clay vessels used to brew and ferment the ancient brew clone were also on hand, and the brewer's from Great Lakes who did the physical work to brew on this system were on hand to explain how it all worked, as was Great Lakes founder Pat Conway.

The major highlight was of course trying the ancient brew clone: Enkibru (named after the "wild" character in the Gilgamesh epic, who drinks seven beers and becomes quite joyful). It was fairly strongly spiced with fruit and herbs believed to be available to the Sumerians, including juniper berry and cardamon and a few others, if memory serves. To me the resulting aroma reminded me strongly of oregano, in a pizza sauce sort of way. The aroma for me was largely spice, with fairly subtle lactic sourness notes underneath. The flavor was the the obverse, with strong lactic sour flavors as the main component, with subtle spice flavor underneath. Enkibru with date syrup added about an hour prior to serving was also on offer, and to my palate this didn't make a huge difference in the overall flavor and aroma profiles, although my wife found it much more pleasant than the straight Enkibru. Finally, we were given a sample of Gilgamash, brewed with the same ingredients as the Enkibru, but on modern equipment with pitched yeast (a wit strain). This was a very interesting comparison, and I really appreciated them providing it. The same spice notes were present, but much more muted, perhaps due to the more vigorous fermentation. The flavor was of course much cleaner, with the interplay of malt and yeast and spice quite a bit more evident without the lactic sourness dominating the party. Overall I liked the Gilgamash the best of the three, although of course the Enkibrus were way more fun to try.

I tip my hat to the Great Lakes crew big time. In order to do this they drove 5 hours in a van with a clay pot full of fermenting wort filling the cabin with funky aromas and CO2. Then, to top the whole excellent experience off, they brought a bunch of foot and a half or so long hollow reeds for everyone to use as straws to drink directly out of the fermentation vessel, as apparently the Sumerians did. While it was fun to sample of Enkibru out of modern glassware, sipping (or guzzling) the Enkibru straight from the communal earthen fermentation vessel at the same time as friends and fellow beer and archeology lovers was simply wonderful. I wound up drinking quite a bit more than my two ounce initial sample of Enkibru in this way, which unsurprisingly had a significant impact on my digestion for the next twelve hours or so.

In summary, really well done all around. U of C, Great Lakes, and Fountainhead all stepped up to the plate, and they knocked it out of the park."

moondog

Hello, all. I'm starting this thread because my company recently got into the beer business (fyi, I love beer a lot so I thought this would be a cool project, but I can't wait to offload it onto someone else because dealing with distributors is really annoying, and wastes a lot of time).

Anyway, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on beers that you really love. Of the stuff that we sell, Mean Time is simply amazing... their IPA, their Pilsner, their Yakima Red.

But, I used to live in Portland, which had VERY nice beer on offer, plus a handful of beer festivals every year. Based on my memory, the elite craft beers in the US would blow Mean Time out of the water on a head to head basis. The problem is that the good ones sell out in their regions, so it's impossible to bring them to other markets.

Jiatong

IMO , Draft Guinness at the correct temp may be the best.

moondog

I'll drop you a line as soon as we have the Mean Time IPA in Beijing; you will never go back to Guinness after you taste it (it's a really, really nice beer).

Showbizguru

There's a thread in the DiningByzz forum entitled " What's in your beer fridge right now " which may be better suited for your inquiries.

Besides, beer is such a subjective issue there really isn't a definitive answer.

Although Thornbridge Jaipur and Timothy Taylor's Landlord take some beating

moondog

Ah, yes. I now remember that thread. I don't mind a thread merger, but beer has changed a lot during the course of past 3 years, so a new discussion might be appropriate.

Furthermore, were it not for the fact that I have 15 cases of awesome beer in my spare bedroom, my "fridge" would be filled with crap. And, unless you're into German beers, Guinness, or Boddingtons, crap is the only thing on offer in Nanning.

I'm most interested in the stuff you sampled at beer festivals that simply wowed your socks off.

kipper

I'd probably suggest moving this thread to the beer fridge thread, or if it's geographically specific, starting a thread there.

Spyder

We brew our own.

Two recent brews, knock offs of Surly and Bells IPAs have been incredible.

Bottle conditioning is key.

sjbf1313

I'm a big IPA fan and more specifically a California IPA fan. Russian River Pliny is my fav but Lagunitas Hop Stoopid is right up there. I would love to get my hands on your beer

bigshooter

I second Pliny the Elder. Probably one of the best IPAs in the world.

moondog

I really miss good American craft beers. Nobody here can understand how tasty they are because we're limited to breweries like Rogue and Brooklyn, which are okay, but hardly elite. Anderson Valley Brewing Company is one of my all time favorites. And there are so many great ones in Oregon that I'm drawing a blank on names.

The reason my company is only selling English beer right now is because our BD person is from England, and I don't have time to call up American companies myself, but I will push him in that direction, even though I must admit that English beer is pretty solid.

Doc Savage

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

moondog

Too mainstream for me; if I can get it at at 711, it isn't special.