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If you need a break this summer and want to hit the road - why not center the next family vacation around a beer fest? June through October is the busiest time of the year for beer fests around the world and the perfect time (and place) to whet your whistle and flex your beer muscles. Here are just some of the options available to you (for more festival listings, check out beerfestivals.org or the calender at beeradvocate.com):

Mondial de la Bière (May 28 to June 1)
The best part of this Montreal beer fest — besides the unique, hard-to-find Canadian beers, ciders & meads, that is — is that it takes place over five days with free admission, so you’ll have plenty of time to try the more than 350 beers (and all the cheese).

Oregon Brewers Festival (July 24 to 27)
The O.B.F. is held in the other Portland, which is home to 30-something breweries and brewpubs, more than in any other U.S. city. This three day festival takes place on the fields along the Willamette River.

Belgium Comes to Cooperstown (August 1 to 3)
B.C.T.C. is a small event, with only 800 tickets available. But the experience is one-of-a-kind: more than 150 Belgian and Belgian-style beers, including those of the host, Brewery Ommegang. Add a bit of music, camping and drinking under the stars and you’ve got what is often called the “Woodstock of brewing”.

Great Taste of the Midwest (August 9)
One of the most sought-after tickets in town, this one day beer fest — The “Great Taste” — is held in Madison, Wisconsin, with 600 beers from 100 brewers — and only 5,000 tickets. The homebrewers who sponsor the festival will release 3,000 tickets locally on May 4; there will be a mail-order lottery for the other 2,000.

World Beer Festival (October 4)
At World Beer, All About Beer Magazine gathers together craft brewers from around the country and importers from around the world. And for one day only (the first Saturday in October) they all arrive at the historic ballpark in Durham, North Carolina, where Bull Durham was filmed and sample the best in specialty aged beers, cask-conditioned beers, and rare and expensive beers the world has to offer.

Great American Beer Festival (October 9 to 11)
Last but not least, The G.A.B.F., which takes place in Denver, boasts more breweries and beers than any other fest in the world. Last year, 408 breweries, from Anheuser-Busch to the smallest brewpubs, poured 1,884 different beers for 46,000 attendees during the course of three days.

Of course for all you Mainahs, there are plenty of local celebrations - from the Maine Grains & Grapes Festival in June, to the Maine Brewers’ Fest in November. So get you drinkin’ caps on; I’ll see you on the road!

Anything else that should be added to the list? Mention it in the comments!

Source: “Best of the Fest: A six-pack of the beer festivals most worth traveling to” [msnbc]

Technorati Tags: beer, beer festivals, great american beer festival

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What looks to be the first Maine brew fest of the summer, the Androscoggin Chamber of Commerce and Gritty McDuff’s present the first ever Maine Grains & Grapes festival at The Colisee in Lewiston on Saturday, June 21 at 2:00pm & 7:00pm.

This two-session event will feature breweries and wineries from around the State of Maine, including Shipyard, Gritty’s, Stone Coast, Tanguay & Son and plenty more to be announced soon!

Tickets are $20.00 in advance, $25.00 day-of-show (plus applicable fees online and by phone). Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, April 16 at 9:00am and can be purchased at The Colisee box office, charged by phone at 1-877-GO-TIX-GO, or online at www.thecolisee.com

I will see you guys there!

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I’ve been waiting to make this announcement until the website was (mostly) finished but today that happened, so here it goes: Last week, over good friends, good food and great beer — as all good ideas are born — the formation of the Maine Beer Writers’ Guild was hashed out.

The Guild’s goals are simple: “to promote better beer writing and celebrate Maine’s craft brew culture”. Membership is open to any writer of beer-related content (electronic or print) who resides in Maine.

Our next (and I guess first “official”) meeting is going to be Wednesday April 2nd and Gritty McDuff’s on Fore Street in Portland. Meetings will then occur monthly at different watering holes around the city.

Where do things go from here? Who knows, but it’s fun to be part of something! If you live in Maine and write about beer (in any form) and would like to join the Maine Beer Writers’ Guild, please use the contact form on the website. For more info or to see the blogs of the other members, visit www.mainebeerwriters.org

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With Saint Patrick’s Day right around the corner (Monday to be exact), I got to wondering today what exactly St. Patrick’s Day was (other than an excuse for day-long beer drinking, that is) all about. Here is what I was able to find - a brief history and some fun St. Patty’s Day Trivia, courtesy of the History Channel.

Who was Patrick and what is St. Patrick’s Day?

A pagan, St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

The modern secular holiday is based on the original Christian saint’s feast day also thought to be the date of the saint’s death. In 1737, Irish immigrants to the United States began observing the holiday publicly in Boston and held the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City in 1766.

Fun St. Patty’s Day Facts:

- There are 34.7 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (4.2 million). Irish is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only those of German ancestry. (The ancestry estimates exclude people living in group quarters).

- About 41.6 billion pounds of U.S. beef and 2.4 billion pounds of cabbage were sold in 2005. Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish. The corned beef celebrants dine on may very well have originated in Texas, which produced 7.3 billion pounds worth of beef, while the cabbage most likely came from California, which produced 466 million pounds worth, or New York (456 million pounds).

- Americans annually consume 21.6 gallons of beer per capita. On St. Patrick’s Day, you may be able to order green-dyed beer at one of the nation’s 47,984 drinking places, some of which may be Irish pubs.

- There were 387 breweries registered in 2004. The nation’s breweries are the source for the domestic beer that is often an integral part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

- Lime-green chrysanthemums are often requested for St. Patrick’s Day parades and celebrations. Sales of wholesale potted florist chrysanthemum sales reached $69 million.

- A total of 4.8 million immigrants from Ireland have been admitted to the U.S. for lawful permanent residence since fiscal year 1820, the earliest year for which official immigration records exist. By fiscal year 1870, about half of these immigrants were admitted for lawful permanent residence. Only Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Mexico have had more immigrants admitted for permanent residence to the United States than Ireland.

Remember to enjoy the holiday safely - What Will you be drinking on St. Patrick’s Day?

Source: The History of St. Patrick’s Day [The History Channel]

Technorati Tags: Saint Patrick’s Day, beer, Saint Patrick

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Cinque Terre will usher in the first signs of spring on Sunday, March 16^th when it holds its First Annual “Eco Appetito – Good Eating for a Good Earth” event at its Portland restaurant, located at 36 Wharf Street. Scheduled for 1:00 - 4:00 pm, the festive Eco Appetito event will showcase abundant samples of local Maine food and beverages from dozens of producers. Most notably, guests will enjoy hand-crafted beer selections from Portland’s Allagash Brewing Company, the debut of Maine Oat & Maple Beer brewed by Peak Organic Brewing Company.

The open house event, expected to draw a capacity crowd, will benefit the “Food for Thought” program, offered at Ferry Beach Ecology School (FBES) in Saco, Maine. The innovative program at the school’s coastal campus teaches the value of eating naturally grown and organic food, and how to live and eat sustainably.

DETAILS:

What: Eco Appetito – Good Eating for a Good Earth

Where: Cinque Terre, 36 Wharf Street, Portland

When: Sunday, March 16th 1:00 - 4:00 pm

How (much): $50 per person. All proceeds will benefit the Ferry Beach Ecology School and its “Food for Thought” program. To purchase tickets or locate additional event information, visit www.fbes.org or call Maggie Daigle at (207) 671-0643.

To learn more about the Ferry Beach Ecology School and its acclaimed programs and offerings, visit www.fbes.org.

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If you’re a local in search of something to do tomorrow night (Wednesday Feb 20), try the first night in what appears to (hopefully) be a series of events - the Beer Showcase Series at Frontier Cafe Cinema & Gallery in Brunswick. According to the Frontier, at the Beer Showcase Series you’ll be able to,

Explore The World of Beer, in collaboration with Mariner Beverages of Portland… Enlighten yourself about a selection of beers from Europe and America while enjoying a selection of robust, tapas-style food. $25/person Limited seating. Reservations required.

The Frontier Cafe Cinema & Gallery is located at 14 Maine Street in Brunswick and the event begins at 6:30. Again, reservations are required and seating is limited, so go ahead and give ‘er a ring (725-5222).

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Click to enlarge

I know those of you living in the Portland Metro Area have been deprived of great beer-and-food-opportunities lately (ahem…) so I figured I’d pass along the news of another one:

On February 23rd from 6:00-8:00pm join Bob Cannon (the bald, woolly brewmaster from the Sam Adams commercials) and Lee Gardiner, Bull Feeney’s chef,

“on a culinary journey exploring how different styles of (Sam Adams) beer enhance exceptional cuisine.”

Tickets are available at Bull Feeney’s (although I couldn’t find any pricing information) at 375 Fore St in the heart of Portland’s Old Port. FMI go to www.bullfeeneys.com or call 207-773-7210

Technorati Tags: Portland, Maine, Sam Adams, Beer, Beer Dinner

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Hi all; hope you like the new layout (thoughts?) Just a few things from around the state o’ Maine to report. First, it’s not too late to sign up for ‘Enhancing Beer Appreciation 101′ at Kennebec Homebrew Supply in Farmingdale. Beer Appreciation 101 is a two-part class “designed to expand knowledge of the world’s beer styles and give an introduction to rating and judging beer from a homebrewer’s perspective.” It runs from 3:00-6:00pm Jan. 27th and Feb. 3rd [note: may be rescheduled] and the cost is $20. Visit http://kennebechomebrew.com/ for more info.

Secondly, more information was discovered today on the rumor of a new Belgium Brewpub coming to Portland. The De Struise Brewing website says:

Struise Pannepot has left the coast of De Panne for a long voyage to Portland, Maine (USA). If the winds are favorable, and without any major incidents during the voyage, our sailing boat should arrive by the time the first Pannepot Cafe opens its doors somewhere in April. More updates to come. 

Click here to see for yourself (thanks again for the head’s up, Russ)!

Technorati Tags: Portland, Maine, Beer, homebrew, Pannepot Cafe

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By 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon I was pretty convinced that I had in fact died and gone to heaven. If you missed out on the 2nd Annual Beer & Cheese Tasting at Vignola in Portland yesterday, I’m really quite sorry and it really is in your best interest not to let that happen again next year. The event featured 15 different Belgian and Belgian-style beers; most from Belgium — obviously — but some from the UK, Italy, Germany and right here in Maine.

The Beers:

Of the 15 beers present, I was able to taste 9 of them - I won’t bore you with a list that long but rest assured that none of them were bad (and some I’d say are new favorites). The one that stuck out to me the most, how ever, was the Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel. This was an amazing IPA - one with complexity and flavor beyond the typical U.S. Hops Race which dominates domestic IPAs (and often tends to turn me off; but maybe that’s just me). The Chouffe, on the other hand, was extremely smooth and creamy with an even and full body. There is still the bitter, Tannic and citrus notes of the style, but they were more balanced and subtle, much to my delight. For anyone local who wants to give this one a try, I know they have bottles of this beer at Downeast Beverage on Commercial Street in the Old Port.

The Cheeses:

On the other side of the room from the beers, there were 18 different kinds of cheeses - 3 “Bleus” (pictured), 3 Soft Cheeses, 3 Goat’s Milk Cheeses, 3 Hard Cheeses, 3 Cow’s Milk Cheeses & 3 Sheep’s Milk cheeses from all over the world (again, including Maine). I eventually lost count but I’m pretty sure that I ran the gammet on the cheese counter, tasting all 18 varieties and eating really more cheese than I had previously thought humanly possible; but DAMN was it delicious.

Again, I won’t bore you with details of each individual cheese but some of the highlights included: A Fleur Verte, Provence (a soft cheese) from France, which was covered in tarragon, thyme & red peppercorns (pictured). It had a very nimble and fluffy texture and virtually melted in my mouth; a chedder made in Maine which had been aged for 5 years; a cow’s milk cheese from England which was coated in hops leaves, giving it a slightly herbaceous aroma and flavor (this one, probably needless to say, paired incredibly well with the beers); and lastly, a cheese from France called Abondance. This spring-fed cheese had an enormous presence and was intensely fruity and nutty. But best of all, only 100 wheels of it are made a year, and the hunk we got cuts of yesterday is the only piece of this cheese in the North East at the moment.

In Conclusion:

Again, as you can probably tell - if you missed this event, I’m truly sorry. And I hope — for your sake & mine — that Vignola will host it again next year. If you can’t wait that long, there are a few more beer & food events in Maine coming right up, and Vignola announced yesterday that Rob from Allagash Brewing will be on hand the evening of February 6th to spread the gospel about Belgian-style beers (more details to come).

Technorati Tags: beer & cheese, beer, cheese, Portland, Maine, Vignola

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Just a reminder that the Beer & Cheese Dinner at Vignola in Portland is this Saturday the 19th. I just found out this afternoon that I have a couple of press passes to the event, so look for a complete re-cap after the fact.

It’s not too late to get tickets yourself - they’re only $25 but must be purchases in advance. This can be done through Vignola’s website.

If you’re going, leave a comment and let me know so we can meet up. See you there!

Technorati Tags: Beer & cheese, beer, Belgian beer, beer tasting, Portland, Maine

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