State
College Expo 2005
7/23/05
Named one of
the 10 best beer festivals in the country by USA Today, The State College
Microbrewers and Importers Exposition, lived up to that designation in
its 8th incarnation on July 23, 2005 at the Penn Stater Hotel & Conference
Center.
Organizer,
Greg Somers , works hard all year in an effort to make the next one better
than the last and he certainly succeeded this year! Record crowds praised
the beer selection and food offerings as being the best yet! A salute to
the brewers who outdo themselves every year and make this event what it
is.
Somers and
his former partner, Michael Goldfine, began this festival after attending
the Penn Fest in 1996. They thought they could improve on the idea and
attempted to change the public’s perception of the term “Beer Festival”
by hoping to instill in the attendees a more responsible approach to beer
tasting. Their motto “Drink less, Drink the best” is a rule of life for
them and one that pervades this event. Being in a college town, they hope
to keep the event from becoming a “frat party” and have been quite successful
in dispelling that image. Shuttle buses, free taxis, designated driver
tickets & lots of security help to safeguard those that may not agree
with that philosophy.
The educational
aspect of how to enjoy a good beer looms large over these fests. Every
year, they bring in beer luminaries from all over the world to impart their
wisdom to eager crowds. This year, a return visit by Garrett Oliver speaking
on “Why beer beats wine with food” was the main event. Garrett is the brewmaster
at Brooklyn Brewing and the well-known author of “The Brewmaster’s Table”
a guide on pairing food and beer. Also returning was another local celebrity
author and well-known beer connoisseur, Lew Bryson talking about “Wheat,
the politically correct adjunct”. The third seminar was presented by Joe
Lipa, National Sales Manager for importer Merchant du Vin on “The evolution
of specialty beer in the U.S.”
But, in the end,
it is about the beer and there were 150 different ones offered here! Everything
from local brewpubs and breweries to Eastern European, Belgian, English,
and German brews poured by their distributors. Well known brewery names
such as Appalachian, Anchor, Bell’s, Bethlehem Brew Works, Bullfrog, Church
Brew Works, Dogfish Head, East End, Great Lakes, Heavyweight, Johnstown,
Lancaster, Magic Hat, Ommegang, Otto’s, Penn, Selinsgrove, Sly Fox, Southern
Tier, Stoudt’s, Troegs, Unibroue, Victory, & Weyerbacher were
joined by names like Chimay, Maredsous, Paulaner, Samuel Smith, Spaten,
Okocim, Rogue, & Youngs to delight the thirsty throngs who donned their
best palates for the tastings.
Joining the
group were also several vendors of apparel, jerky and even cigars! Our
own Ale Street News was represented by Jack Babin selling their very popular
line of Beer Goddess clothing!
There is no
formal judging at the festival, but ballots are solicited from the crowd
for the People’s Choice Awards that give a gauge as to where the crowd’s
taste ran. The results of the voting this year were: Ale: Gold-North Coast
Red Seal Ale, Silver-Victory Hop Devil, Bronze-Southern Tier IPA, Lager:
Gold-Ayinger Celebrator, Silver-Church Brew Works Pious Monk Dunkel, Bronze-Spaten
Lager, Specialty: Gold-Selinsgrove Kriek, Silver-Lancaster Strawberry Wheat,
Bronze-Weyerbacher Prophecy, Best of Show: Gold-Selinsgrove Kriek, Silver-North
Coast Red Seal, Bronze-Lancaster Strawberry Wheat.
Responsible
imbibing must also include food and some of the best cuisine you’ll ever
encounter short of a gourmet beer dinner is part of the admission price.
Texas Style BBQ Beef, Pulled Pork, Tex Mex Slaw, Mediterranean Salad, Chilled
Sesame Lo Mein Salad, Smashed Potatoes w/ Sour Cream and Chipotle, Asiago
Cheese Tortellini w/ Summer Vegetables and Pesto, Caribbean Black Bean
Soup w/ Andouille, breads of all kinds, desserts and beverages make up
quite an impressive buffet!
The two sessions
run from 12-4 and 6-10, giving the vendors a nice two hour respite to recharge
their declining batteries before the crazy night session starts. The first
session attendance increased quite a bit this year with the realization
by the beer geeks that access to the brewers and distributors is much better
earlier in the day.
Always at
the end of July, check out their website, www.scbrewexpo.com,
for the latest info on next year’s event and mark off your calendar now.
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