One of my favorite annual events was last weekend, 12th Annual Strong Ale Fest hosted by Avery Brewing in Boulder. Every year I'm amazed by the amount of beer being poured at this festival and this year was no exception with over 130 beers from around the country. It's a two day event starting on Friday night. We usually go on Friday where to atmosphere is different than going to the event the following Saturday at noon.
I didn't want to go home staggering through the parking lot so I took it easy. The Strong Ale Fest ticket comes with a commemorative glass and 16 tickets which one one hand doesn't seem much but on the other these beers are all 8% and above. It can be deceiving when the pours are only a few ounces but it adds up.
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| Inside the taproom. |
I always want to try beers from breweries outside of Colorado so I started with Goose Island Beer Bourbon County Stout which is 14.2% ABV, but was so smooth. Another favorite strong ale was from Ballast Point, Victory at Sea, an Imperial Porter with coffee and vanilla. It is another strong ale, 10% ABV that was so smooth and very flavorful. So you can see where this can go if all you drank where 10% or above but there were some beers that were 8%, like Elevation Brewing's Senorita Horchata Imperial Porter which is 8.5% ABV. As you can see I like a good stout or porter, but I did try other ales. Territorial Bourbon Barrel-aged Rye Wine from Coop Ale Works was really good not my usual MO.
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| Susan, inside the taproom. |
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| Friends sending Jesse off to his new adventure. |
It was a very interesting night where bumping into friends and acquaintances who would talk about their favorite beer at the fest.
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| Rachael Burrell, Events Coordinator for Avery. |
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| More friends having fun in the barrel-aging cellar room. |
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The crowds are just coming through in the back tent.
This is Max under the Avery sign. |
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| The kegs of beer in the back tent. |
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Sarah, Larry, and Mitch, all having a good time.
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