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So here it is...what you have been waiting anxiously for....my report on the.........

2005 Great American Beer Festival


Denver, Colorado
Sept 29th thru Oct 1st

By Mark Mahon


In case you are wondering about the 40' tall blue bear, it is located outside the recently completed Denver Convention Center, near the 14th Street entrance.


To recap...This three-day event brings record numbers of beer connoisseurs from around the world to Denver. This years event set another record with 29,500 attendees. The roster of beers at the GABF was the biggest collection of American beers ever presented in one location. 377 US Breweries at the festival, with 1672 beers on tap. 2335 beers entered into the competition from 466 Breweries. There were 206 medals awarded in 69 categories

What does this have to do with Indianabeer? For those of you who did not read my pre-GABF article...fer shame ...fer shame...the following Indiana breweries participated in and/or had beer judged in this years event.

Big Horn Brewing Co./RAM
140 South Illinois St
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Brugge Brasserie
1011 A East Westfield
Indianapolis, IN 46220

Oaken Barrel Brewing Co.
50 N. Airport Pkwy
Greenwood, IN 46143

Rock Bottom Brewery - College Park
2801 Lake Circle Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Rock Bottom Brewery - Downtown
10 W Washington St
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Turoni's Main Street Brewery
412 N Main Street
Evansville, IN 47713

Warbird Brewing Company
10515 Majic Port Lane
Fort Wayne, IN 46825

However before I get into the festival, here are a couple other events that I attended that were held in conjunction with the GABF. The first was held Thursday afternoon at the Great Divide Brewing Co. Owned and operated by Brian Dunn.

Brian had an open house at the brewery where he served up all his delicious beers, either on tap, or in bottles, as well as a very nice meat, cheese, and chocolate platter. As you can see it was a very busy place.


Another event I attended was a "Get Back to Your Roots" mead tasting at the Marriott on Friday, courtesy of Redstone Meadery. Again this was a very crowded event. There was mead from all over the world available for sampling. For those of you who have not tried mead, you need to pick yourself up a bottle and see what it is all about. This is something that we need more of in Indiana!....Note to self....get those distributers working on this!

Then there was the Saturday Sam Adams GABF Beer Brunch at the Westin Hotel Palms Restaruant with Jim Koch.

There was plenty of great food, Sam Adams beer, and something special that I think everyone should try at least once UTOPIAS.

Ok so now on to the Festival...((((( grin )))))...

As I mentioned before, Indiana was represented this year by seven very good breweries, each with their own outstanding beers. And as some of you may know, Indiana has done fairly well over the years at the GABF. Taking home quite a few medals. Here is just a quick look at a few of them.
Alcatraz, 2000 -- Alcatraz Kolsch
Broad Ripple Brew Pub, 1991-- ESB
Mad Anthony, 1999 -- Auburn Lager
Mishawaka Brewing, 1994 -- Four Horsemen Ale -- 1995, Founders Stout
Oaken Barre, 1997 -- Meridian Street Lager
Oyster Bar, 2003 -- Lighthouse Ale
Ram, 1996 -- Total Disorder Porter
Upland, 2003 -- Pale Ale

So it was no surprise that this year was no exception. Of the seven Indiana breweries that had beer entered for judging, three came away with medals. As you already know they were...

Ram/Big Horn Brewing, Bronze medal, for their Detonator Dopplebock. Brewer David Colt.
Brugge Brasserie, Silver Medal, for their Tripel de Ripple. Brewer Ted Miller.
Oaken Barrel, Silver Medal, for their Alabaster Wit. Brewer Ken Price.

My apologies to The Ram, I missed the presentation screen shot.

You might be thinking...What?...no Gold medals? Well...stop thinking like that you will only hurt yourself...;) I'm here to tell you that if you talk to anyone who has anything to do with brewing, they will tell you, winning any medal at the GABF is an honor! I mean, there were over 2300 beers entered, and only 206 won medals! Also, they are going up against some of the biggest breweries in the country. They were even up against the big three! The makers of ....gak...Bud, Miller, Coors. So next time you stop in, make sure you take the time to congratulate the brewers. They will really appreciate it.

Here is a pic of Ted and Shannon Miller of Brugge Brasserie. You see who's got the medal? I saw them as we were leaving for the airport, and she still had the medal around her neck! I asked Ted when he was going to brew his Tripel again. He told me that because of how long it takes to make, he didn't know when it would be back. Lets hope it is soon!

Here too is a pic of Jack Frey, Head Brewer of Turoni's Main Street Brewery, in Evansville. They were pouring Vinny's Light Lager, Black Light Lager, Honey Blonde Ale, Thunderbolt Red Ale, and Blue-Eyed Moose IPA. I told them, one of these days soon I'll be making a trip to Evansville to visit.

The photos above are shots of the crowd from the opening session Thursday night. There was a pretty big crowd there for a Thursday night, and it was pretty crowded by the time last call came. However it was nothing compared to Saturday night! This place was packed wall to wall, and there were booths running out of beer! Can you imagine that a beer fest running out of beer? It would make a grown man cry.....Ok so I didn't cry, but I did tear up a little!

Here is what the rest of our breweries were pouring at the festival.

Ram
  • Big Horn Maibock

Brugge Brasserie

  • Gentlemans Preferred Blonde
  • Pilsner
  • Tripel de Ripple
  • Wit
  • Old Dog The Grand Cru

Oaken Barrel

  • Alabaster Wit
  • Oaken Barrel Saison
  • Gnawbone Pale Ale
  • Superfly IPA
  • Indiana Amber

Warbird didn't have a booth at the festival. They only had beer entered for judging.

Now you may have noticed that Rock Bottom hasn't been mentioned. As far as I know both the Downtown and College Park Rock Bottoms had beer entered for judging, they even had booth space reserved for them. However when I stopped by their booth at each of the four festivals, it was empty. No beer was being offered. Not sure what happened, but when I find out I'll let you all know.

To everyone who likes good beer, you need to make the trip out to Denver, for this event. Sure we here in Indiana put on some kick-ass beer festivals, such as the Brew-Ha-Ha....Rathskeller Wine and Beer Fest....and the Microbrewers Festival in Opti Park, but they don't compare to the sheer, over the top, beer Mecca this event is. Trust me on this.....Get Yourself to the next GABF. Click Here for a complete list of this years winners.

Here is some follow up info I picked up after getting back.

I stopped in at the Ram to congratulate David on winning the bronze. He was really surprised. He told me that there was a problem with his original package being quaranteened at the shipping company. He debated on sending out another package, then at the last minute he went ahead and resent the beer. A really good thing he did! Now if we can only get him to brew some more. But right now he has his Old No. V on tap, made with 5 malts, 5 hops, 55 IBU's celebrating 5 years. And his Oktoberfest will be out by the time you all read this. They are also coming out with an Oatmeal Brown in a couple of weeks. So stay tuned!

I also stopped in and talked to Ken at the Oaken Barrel to congratulate him on his win. He too was shocked and pleased his Wit did so well. He told me his stock of Alabaster Wit is getting low, and they are very busy now, so he doesn't know when he will get to brew it. In other news their Apple Buzz should be ready any day, and they will have their Tripel in bottles distributed in the World Class 12 packs.

I was in the Brugge the other day, to check out the progress on his Bierre de Garde, and found Ted was in the process of brewing his Tripel again, he was really pushing his mash tun to the limit... but for those looking forward to it...like me....patience...It won't be ready till the first part of January. His Bierre de Garde that will be out by the time this is posted, and he is planning on a spiced beer for Christmas, based on a beer he did in Hong Kong called Thunder Monkey. Well that is all I have for you now. It is getting to the slow time of the year for beer events, but I'll keep you updated on what's on tap around town.

Till next time!

"The easiest way to spot a wanker in a pub is to look around and find who's drinking a Corona with a slice of lemon in the neck." -Warwick Franks

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." -Dave Barry

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers." -Cliff Clavin

Mark@Indianabeer.com