REVIEWS

The Penn State Hotel & Conference Center was the site of the 2nd Annual State College
Microbrewers Exposition on July 24,1999. Included in the $25 admission was a free 6 ounce
tasting glass,a German Buffet,Beer seminars and Homebrew demo, as well as your choice of
120 domestic and imported beers.Along with the usual collection of local and regional breweries and brewpubs, present were also distributors of several national brews and a good selection of imported
beers:Grolsch,Franziskaner,Spaten,Guinness,Bass,Harp,Tennent's,Paulaner,and Staropramen. The highlights of the Expo for me were Yard's Extra Special Ale, a cask-conditioned ale served at cellar
temperature from a hand pump. Also, Weyerbacher Hops Infusion with 7 types of hops and
Dogfish Head, Aprihop, an India Pale Ale flavored with apricots and finished with Willamette
and Cascade Hops,were memorable.The Belgians were well-represented at this Expo with Hoegaarden
and Leffe Brown & Blond on tap. World Class Beer Imports was there with several Belgian Style ales from Canada and several other samplers from Belgium and France.
Also, John Hansell, editor of the Malt Advocate,conducted a Belgian Beer seminar showing slides
of his trip to Belgium explaining the complexity of their brews and giving us a chance to sample
six outstanding beers showing the diversity of styles in Belgian brewing. There were also seminars
on the microbrewing revolution and forums on general tasting and wheat beers. The buffet presentation
lacked only in formality. You had choices of Bratwurst/Knockwurst/Weisswurst,Italian Sausage,
Andouille Sausage, German Potato salad,Waldorf Salad,veggies,bread,Apple Strudel and Gingerbread
Cake. If you left hungry, it was your fault.It was the best small festival I've ever been to
and would recommend it for anyone who likes a wide choice of beers and a good time. The people
who ran the Expo had more than enough help on hand to handle the crowd that appeared and the
Festival went off on time and without a hitch. They also had special pricing on rooms at the
Penn Stater for those who wished to spend the night. There were two sessions 12-4 and 6-10.
The expo has a WebSite where you can keep in touch with them for next year's Expo and find out who
won the Nittany Valley Medal Competition. The URL is users.lazerlink.net/~brewexpo.You can get on
their mailing list and they will contact you about plans for next year. A must for the beer traveler.

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