Ok, the first thing that sticks out is the incredible amount of rain that poured on us from the time we arrived until (of course) right before we left. That didn't seem to influence the attendance, though. There were still over 1000 people there to try Ohio and international beers. We arrived for the Brewers Circle session around noon and had until 2pm to try the beers that were only available during this time. That was about 20 beers. Thankfully, there were four of us to share the load. We didn't get to all of them, but our ratings are below for the ones we got to try:
Brewers Circle Selections
Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.
Belgian Robust Porter= 4.5
Great Lakes Brewing (Oh, why didn't they bring Black Out Stout or Christmas Ale?)
Moondog Ale LSB= 2
Buckeye Brewing
Bling Bling (lots of hops and fruit)= 3.5
Brewkettle/Ringneck
Wits End Double Wit (way too fruity to be a beer)= 1.5
Ohio Brewing Co.
Alt Ernative Amber Ale= 2
Barrelicious (didn't end up bringing it)= 0
Hoppin' Frog
Mean Manalishi Double IPA (168 IBUs, but well balanced)= 4
Barrel Aged BORIS the crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout (the long name is worth it. They ran it through coffee beans and for a tea drinker, it was amazing)= 5
Black Box Brewing
Cloud Nine (anything but)= 1
Indigo Imp
Gatekeeper (great presentation in bottles by dipping them in wax)= 3
Ms. Janes' Brewery @ Roadhouse
Blackbeard Vanilla Bean Stout= 4
Willoughby Brewing
Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter (points for creativity, disappointing on delivery)= 3
Fatheads
Quadfather Belgian Abbey (I was drawn in by the name, and was more than pleased with what I got)= 4
Anderson Valley Brewing
Oatmeal Stout (great aroma, weak and watered down)= 2
IPA (as uncreative as its name suggests)= 1
La Rulles
Belgian Trippel= 3
Breckenridge Brewing
Double Porter (definitely one of the worst of the day, at least it looked like a porter)= .5
Others of Note:
Fort Collins Brewing
Draggons Milk Chocolate Stout= 5
Brewkettle/Ringneck
Old 21 Imperial IPA= 3
Cornerstone Brewing
Blind Faith Ginger Belgian Triple= 4
Willoughby Brewing Co.
Doubting Thomas IPA (like an Irish Red Ale)= 4.5
There was also a meadery...
Brothers Drake Fine Mead
Orange= 4.5
Mixed Berry= 2
Raspberry= 2
Our number one favorite was Hoppin' Frog Brewery. They had everything, great beer, great beer names, great presentation, and great service. I'm looking forward to visiting the brewery soon on Waterloo Rd. and trying some of their other offerings.
So what was the worst brewery there? I couldn't say for sure since we didn't visit every single table. However, of the ones we tried the worst by far, and it pains me to say this, was ROOBREW. They only brought one choice, Litigation Lager. It tasted like they mixed Bud Light with honey. We gave it a .5 for effort. They really need to spend more time making a flavorful brew than T-Shirts. Good luck on the law suit with the University of Akron over your logo. Maybe its a sign...Between this and the other microbrewery downtown, Ohio Brewing Company, I think Akron can do better.
A final highlight of the of the experience, besides the food from the Winking Lizard and the music, was the Lucky Penny Farm cheese table. The wonderful ladies here offered cheeses paired with beers and were happy to educate you on the process. They brought cheeses from other creameries, but will be bringing their own next year. They start their first batch of cheese on August 21st.
Some final thoughts...
This is one of the high points of the year in Akron, and I encourage everyone to give it a shot at least once. For the most part it is great experience. However, it would be great if they had a tent just for standing under in the rain and more port-o-potties. It is Stan Hywet, after all, and there is just something wrong about 50 guys urinating in the yard.
*ratings are out of 5, based on creativity, presentation, flavor, aroma, and sticking to its description.
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