Yorktoberfest 2011 Follow-up

Here's a follow-up to my "live" post from Yorktoberfest.  I said I was aiming to try all the varieties of craft beer at the festival...and I was close.  Looking back, I only missed one - Tröegs JavaHead Stout - which I already know is an enjoyable brew.

I took my pint glass from tent to tent, and the barkeeps faithfully filled it up.  Each 2 to 3 oz sample provided just enough to fill up the bottom of the glass and for me to savor the flavor.

Here's a comprehensive list of the beers they proffered and some quick tasting notes*:

1. Tröegs JavaHead Stout
2. Tröegs HopBack -- "hoppy"!
3. Tröegs Dead Reckoning Porter -- amazing! not as smooth as a typical porter; it has a bit of a bite
4. Stoudt's Scarlet Lady Ale -- surprisingly not as complex as other ales
5. Stoudt's Oktoberfest -- strong-ish and fizzy
6. Stoudt's Heifer-in-Wheat -- clever name, great taste (banana!)
7. Stoudt's Gold Lager -- classic golden liquid
8. Springhouse Brewery Seven Gates Pale Ale -- bitter aftertaste
9. Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Bock -- not as dark as I expected
10. Spaten Dunkel -- smooth, almost like you're not drinking anything; would make a good session beer except for the 5.5% ABV
11. Sixpoint Vienna Pale Ale -- the right amount of hoppiness, just the way a beer should taste!
12. Sixpoint Brownstone -- similar to a porter but has more of a mild, nutty flavor
13. Rogue Dad's Little Helper -- a black IPA (mmm!) strong on the hops!
14. Magic Hat Circus Boy -- a good summer brew, light and refreshing
15. Lancaster Brewing Company Shoo-Fly Porter -- smooth; light flavor of shoo-fly (my favorite pie!)
16. Hauser Estates Jack's Hard Cider -- "local Adams County apples put to good use", said the vendor
17. Dogfish Head Festina Pêche -- love Dogfish Head, didn't love this brew (tart, juicy)
18. Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Shock Top -- an always enjoyable summer beer

Also, I did some digging into why York's own LiquidHero and Mudhook breweries were not represented at Yorktoberfest, much to my (and I'm sure others') chagrin.  The organizers of Yorktoberfest were not immediately available for comment, but it was rumored that the "big boy" distributors may have pulled rank over the newbies and blocked them from the event (politics, ugh).  LiquidHero was undeterred.  A representative commented, "we supported this fest and we also made alot of new friends this weekend from people coming over to our brewery after this beerfest...we love the revs and we love york county...and we are here to stay".  That's the spirit, fellas!  You truly are our LiquidHero!  Prost!

* BeerAdvocate.com recommends not reviewing beers at fests for a variety of reasons: "small sample sizes...loud environments, slew of smells, and tasting of numerous beer styles back-to-back. [...] Doing so does a disservice to the brewer and could mislead others." (Source: http://beeradvocate.com/articles/637)

Yorktoberfest 2011

I'm coming to you "live" from the 1st Annual Yorktoberfest in York, Pennsylvania!  The event is being held at Sovereign Bank Stadium, home of the York Revolution baseball team.  Let me tell you - it is a blast!  There are lots of people here enjoying vendors, music, food, Pennsylvania wines, and best of all, craft beers from the region.  There are brews here from Tröegs, Lancaster Brewing Company, Magic Hat, Shock Top, Stoudt's, Sixpoint, Rogue, Dogfish Head, and Spaten.  I'm aiming to try them all!  As part of the beer pass, I received a free pint glass and access to limitless samples of great craft brew.  If you're in the area, you should stop by - the festivities are going on till 5 today.  If you can't make it today, you can stop back tomorrow between noon and 5.

I was looking for beers from York's own Mudhook and LiquidHero breweries, but to no avail.  Both of these breweries are very new to York, and I think it's very exciting that York is being infused with some beer culture.  But I'm very disappointed that they are not represented here.  Why would the very city's own breweries not be represented?  Regardless, I love that the "craft brew scene" seems to be gaining momentum in South Central PA, just as it is everywhere in the US right now.  I'm hoping that it lasts! (Relevant side note: DRAFT magazine has indicated that there are plans to open 600 brand new craft breweries in the US by 2013!)

This is the first blog post I'm publishing via my smartphone, so please forgive me if there are any issues - I just wanted to post this "live" in order to bring you the breaking beer news here in York, PA.  I'm going to attempt to attach photos. (Edit: After publishing this post, I found that all the pictures were at the top. I've since edited them using my PC so that they are now in-line with the text.)

For more info, check out www.yorktoberfest.com. Prost!

The glass is half full, my friend.