Drinking It All: East Atlanta Beer Festival

My wife and I went to the East Atlanta Beer Festival this weekend with our friend, Steve, who lives in Atlanta. I took a little notebook with me to make notes about the beers at the festival and at restaurants and bars we went to, so then I could post about them.

Such cataloging did not happen.

But I did go back over the beer list at the festival and write down the beers I remembered trying, which, I’m pretty sure, is fairly accurate (the list). The beer festival was not the free-for-all crazy drunkfest that some people may think a beer festival must be. The time it takes to wait in line for a beer and the relatively small amount of beer you’ll get at the end of each line doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll tie one on. (Although it is very possible to do so–you just have to be extremely determined and not take any breaks from being in line.) So I’m confident that I put together a list of beers that represents pretty well what I tried at the festival.

I’m not just going to give you a list of the beers because that would be pretty boring. But I will point out some highlights and describe them as best I can remember them (having a couple of IPAs in a row can easily keep you from really tasting the next few beers).

Rogue’s Yellow Snow IPA: This beer was one of the few IPAs I had (and I had a few) that actually stood out for me. It was as hoppy as you’d expect but not so much as an IPA like Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo (which I had at the fest as well).

Moon River Trippel: This beer is not listed on the EABF website, but I distinctly remember having it (and I got a Moon River t-shirt). It’s a Belgian style that resembles the style of a beer like Hoegaarden. It was light in color, fruity, and yeasty. I’m not generally a big fan of that kind of beer, but this one was good.

Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre: Another Belgian style beer. This one is brewed with raisins (which clearly figures into the name). Also, another standout beer.

Innis & Gunn: This beer is a strong ale style beer that is apparently brewed with whiskey. I couldn’t really taste the whiskey, but I could smell it. To me, this beer was more interesting than actually something I’d want to drink. Although, do not fear, I did drink it.

We also had some beers at restaurants and at Steve’s place. The best of those were:

Rogue’s Chatoe Rogue Single Malt: This beer is made with Hopyard hops and Dare malt, which I believe are Rogue’s personal crops (I could be wrong). This beer was hoppy like a pale ale but also malty in a way that was a good balance. I like Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale, and most everything else I’ve had of theirs, but this beer might be the best so far. Steve had a 22 oz. that we split before dinner Friday night. If you see this beer (I imagine it’s in a limited run) make sure you pick it up.

Reissdorf Kolsch: I had one of these at lunch (The Brick Store in Decatur) before the festival. This beer was an easy, light beer, and it reminded me of my own Kolsch (which I’m pretty proud of).

So all-in-all, we had some good beer this weekend. We’re headed to the Birmingham, AL beer festival in a couple of weeks, so I’ll make sure to post about it afterwards. I might take some notes there, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.

Related Posts:

• Drinking It All: #22 Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
• Drinking It All: #11 Sweetwater IPA
• Damn the Torpedos and such…

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