World Beer Fest and other tastings

World Beer Fest — So we went to the World Beer Fest on 4/28. As usual, it was a ton of fun. Highlights this year included having more space to roam around Moore Square, more vendors, and great weather. There seemed to be a number of new breweries there (New Glarus, Bell’s, Deschutes), which was a nice change from the past few WBFs, where the selection was getting a tad stale. My favorite tasting was Loose Cannon IPA from the cask — I like that beer to begin with, but from the cask, it was really fantastic.

Val Dieu Grand Cru — this was a bit darker than I expect, but very good. It’s an Abbey Ale and for some reason I was expecting more of a blond. This had almost no head at all. It may have just been the way I poured it, but it was kinda weird nonetheless. I’d say this was a deeper brown and heavier than what I would normally expect from an Abbey Ale. 10.5% ABV.
Dogfish Head Red & White — I tend to stay away from the crazy Dogfish Head beers (Immort Ale, Midas Touch, etc) because I don’t really like the sweet stuff, so I was leery of this one. It surprised me, though — it definitely had a hint of sweetness, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. The head had a pink tinge to it and the body color was orange-pink. My wife liked it because the carbonation was kinda low and it tasted more like wine than beer. For me, it tasted more like beer than I expected, so that was definitely a good thing. A nice happy medium for us both. 10% ABV
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale — just had to mention that this is finally available in six packs here. Bought some at Weaver Street. 7.0% ABV
Bell’s Amber Ale — tasted this after a few other beers, so I can’t really remember it. I’m pretty sure it was good, but don’t have much more of an impression that that. 5.8% ABV
Cuvee Diabolique — Check the BeerAdvocate reviews for this one. I thought it was a pretty typical (good) Belgian blond. People on BeerAdvocate liked it more than me, but the reviews are informative. 8.5%