Great River - Bix Street Fest Copper Ale

It feels like it has been quite some time since I reviewed a local beer and there's no better way to break that unsavory streak that with a brewery who crafted a beer especially for a local city's annual event.  Great River makes some darn tasty beers and this year they again made their "Bix Street Fest," a copper ale.  For those unfamiliar with turn of the century jazz musicians (essentially ALL of us), Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an Iowa boy born in 1903 and grew up in the Quad Cities area.  He taugh himself to play cornet by ear, had his first gig at 18 in a band under his name, and was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920's.  Unfortunately, he died in his Queens, NY apartment at the age of 28 and most of his music was not well known until after his death.

To remember this fine musician, every year the Quad Cities throws a street festival rife with live jazz music and hosts a 7 mile race known as "The Bix.".  Why seven miles?  I have no idea.  But regardless of its length, it's a fairly grueling race because the downtown area of the city is built on hills thanks to its proximity to the Mississippi River Valley.  It attracts runners from around the world and, no surprise here, is usually won by Kenyans.  After the race, there is much celebrating and Great River prints this on their cans for the finishers,

"You've trained hard and the run is over, now it's time to relax and enjoy a Street fest Copper Ale, brewed especially for the Bix weekend.  Handcrated in a limited volume, you'll find Street Fest Copper Ale to be smooth, refreshing, and light enough to keep you on your feet.  Everyone wins with a Copper!" 

Meanwhile in college, Bix was a great excuse to come back to college over the summer, hang out with all your friends, party, smoke cigars, cook out, and sleep on whatever couch you could find.  Both events bring back fond memories and to date it's the only "street fest" that makes me a bit nostalgic and reminds me of friends from my past.  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12

While this beer is not a powerhouse style, it brings some nice things to the table.  It starts out malt driven, is somewhat grainy, and shows a moderate amount of roast.  Just behind that is a light citrus snap that keeps things fresh and clean smelling.  It all feels rather simple until the beer warms a tad and a sweetness starts to develop.  Eventually it shows itself to be toffee, but continues to evolve until there is also an unmistakable vanilla note.

Appearance 2/3

The color is as promised - copper - but not without some sunset oranges to add to its appeal.  In a lighter style like this, I wouldn't expect the colors to range so much, but this is definitely above average.  I'm going to assume that this beer has a fuller mouthfeel than the style typically demands.  The head is average at best.  It gives about a finger in height, is a faded beige in color, creamy in texture, and leaves no lacing.  I'm just happy there's still some around the edge of my glass.

Flavor 17/20

As expected, this is a malt-centered beer, but thankfully there is more to it than that.  It begins with a distinct dose of the copper malts and a faint hint of that great toffee from the aroma, but the main flavors of the beer rush in quickly to silence it.  The backbone is more of the copper malts, however it has also added a slight spice, and that timid citrus which seems quite content to sit on the sides and tickle the edge of your tongue.  The sweetness is definitely detectable, unfortunately the specific vanilla and toffee notes are lost and replaced with a general sweetness.  The finish is a nice change of pace and tries to fool you into thinking you're drinking a lager.  It has a lager's bitter and crispness yet maintains the great grain flavors of the copper ale instead of finishing clean.  The aftertaste is more of the grain and roast flavors that linger on the crest of the tongue.

Mouthfeel 4/5

This beer pulls a couple of interesting tricks in the mouth..  First of all, the brewers know that this is going to be drank en masse by the Bix runners after the race, so they can't make anything too heavy.  That said, this beer has a medium body, is insanely & ridiculously smooth, and only employs minimal amounts of carbonation.  What carbonation exists is tiny and likely drowned in the silky body.  However, this is far from a monster beer.  At 4.8% ABV and 25 IBUs, this beer's numbers allow it to be something that macrobeer drinkers won't feel uncomfortable drinking.  

Their super sweet, much-improved poster for this year! Oh,
and I don't own this image at all.  Please don't sue me.

Overall Impression 7/10

This is a good beer, but far from the best that Great River makes.  It's refreshing, crisp, crazy smooth, shows some great malts, and smells like a million bucks.  To its detriment, the smell doesn't translate quite as well as I'd like into the flavor, the carbonation vanishes quickly, and it's rather simple as a whole.

Total 40/50

Solid "B" material, which frankly might be the most a copper or amber ever gets from me.  It just seems too hard to make one into a flavor rich version of the style.  Not that this beer didn't have flavor, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it rich.  Nor SHOULD I call it rich!  It's supposed to be a lighter, more refreshing offering from a brewery known for putting vanilla beans into brown ale firkins on a whim.  Indeed, it is lighter than most of their offerings and likely crafted to both please the throngs of festival goers as well as show them that beer can be more than just the flavorless macrobrews that are all too easy to purchase.  I'd say that Great River succeeds on both counts.  Unfortunately, when you make a beer to help introduce the masses to craft beer, it's seldom a powerhouse of the style.  I'd be happy to drink this on any hot summer day, but don't sign me up for that 7-mile race just yet.

One of the best-known photos of Bix.

Sources:

http://www.bixsociety.org/

http://bixography.com/

Ihttp://www.bixsociety.org/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bix_Beiderbecke

Brrr Fest 2012

This past Saturday was the inaugural Brrr Fest in Coralville, IA, future home of Backpocket Brewing, and I had absolute blast.  The fact that this festival was indoors in no way dampened its spirit nor the spirits of those attending.  There was great craft beer to be had from all over the Midwest and plenty of new breweries that had been unknown to me until this day.  I love discovering new beers!  Let's get started, shall we?  Wait!  First we should make our pretzel necklaces.

Excited ladies!

Making pretzel necklaces en route!

Very pleased to see such a strong female presence at Brrr Fest!

The Fest was held in a local hotel that will be a neighbor to the new Backpocket Brewing building.  Well, we weren't gonna miss out on a chance to see a new brewery under construction, right?  Maybe we should have. After standing around in the cold for a while, we were let inside the building and saw...

Well, first we waited a while...

Outside shot of the under construction Backpocket Brewery

OK, so we didn't see a ton, but we did get to check out the building in its roughest form as well as check out the floor plans for the place.  It's a large open design that will treat patrons to a direct viewing of the brewing and bottling processes.  Now onto the fest.

The Grounds

After being led for what seemed like mile after mile of a this hotel/conference center, we were finally close to the festival entrance (thank goodness all this line waiting was INside of the building).  Upon walking in we were treated to the following view

Looking straight ahead.

Looking 45 degrees left.

Looking 90 degrees left.

It's a clean, sterile looking environment that, admittedly, lacks the back yard bar-b-que charm of an outdoor gathering.  But it's January and I want to go to a beer festival, so right now this is the best thing out there.  In fact, the lack of festivals in the winter is appalling!  I'm insanely glad Brrr Fest chose to go this route.

As you can see the doors put you directly in front of copious amounts of beer stands and I wasted no time other than that of me dancing from foot to foot and clapping my hands like a 5-year old on Christmas morning.

The Facilities

The three pictures above describe everything pretty accurately.  Big, temperate, and with plenty of elbow room.  I thought that Brrr Fest did a great job with the limit they placed on ticket sales.  It was plenty full, but no so much that you had to fight a crowd.  Lines were always moving well and you could get a sample of a "special release" easily enough if you prepared accordingly.

There was a band playing and it set the mood rather nicely.  Some classic rock stuff from what I heard, but that's the best part... "FROM WHAT I HEARD."  This was not played at the typical outdoor festival levels or those of a live band in your local bar.  The volume was actually sensible and I could easily talk to my fellow festival goers.  I can't say how much I appreciate that.

Seating was in the corner to the right of the band and was primarily there for concession stand patrons, but it was never roped off or designated as such.  The amount of seating was ample and did not take up space that could have been used for beer.

Plus even more seating to the right!

The number of rinsing stations was average.  There were simply pitchers of water and buckets placed upon barrels provided by Cedar Ridge Distillery (YUM!).  They pitchers weren't being filled immediately (which left buckets full of watery beer everywhere), but eventually the staff caught on and did a pretty good job of coming around with a cart full of pitchers and making sure every station had adequate water.  As you can see in the pitcture below, there were also more than enough garbage cans provided.

As if that weren't enough, the barrels were for SALE for only $50!  If you were a home brewer intent on making a barrel-aged version of whatever... even if you're a small brewpub and felt like experimenting a little with one of your proven crowd favorites this provides an amazing opportunity!  At least I thought so, but I don't have a ton of experience buying empty barrels soaked in goodness.  Let's just say that my wife was hoping I wouldn't find out about the fact that they were for sale.

Brrr Fest will also be receiving extra-glitter-unicorn-brownie-craft-beer points for the following "little details"

1.  Providing tasting glasses made with GLASS and not plastic.

2.  Providing coat racks for all the people that would not be needing their coats during an indoors festival.

3.  Ample parking in both garages and paid lots.

However, they will be deducted points for their programs being essentially black & white print on a booklet of folded 8x11 paper.  Good information in there, but not a ton of effort made and no room for tasting notes!

The line at Topping Goliath Brewery.  One of the most popular
booths at the festival!  They rapidly turned into a celebrity.

Best shirts at the show!  I'm mad I can't remember the brewery
that wore them.  If you know tell me and I'll update this!

The lines outside the booth for Peace Tree Brewing.  Please note
the "speed walker" helmet on one of the pourers. :)

More Iowa brewers.

Pouring for Toppling Goliath

Toppling Goliath brought a bunch of different beers!  Kudos!

Some of you may wonder what inspired this picture.  Please see the next photo

Who can refuse that offer?

Olde Main put out their tasty seasonal brews!

Dear Rock Bottom, You should let these two do all of your PR work.
They were awesome.
Love, Sud Savant

Nice display for Sutliff Cider.

These ladies were most hospitable (although camera shy) even at the very end of the day. :)

Best logo of the day.

The Beers

1.  Granite City - "Batch 1000" Double IPA.  I figured it was only appropriate to start the day with my former employer that showed me beer could be more than an adjunct lager or German.  The aroma was of honey, pine, and citrus, while the flavor was malty, not sweet, and with a good round bitter.

2.  Keg Creek Brewing - Breakdown Brown Ale:  Very robust + a nutty roast.  They even add some extra bitter for a brown!  Nice touch!

3.   Keg Creek Brewing - Blackpowder:  Smells of cocoa.  Flavor is bitter cacao and very robust.  Mouthfeel is light considering the dark flavors.  Another good job out of Glenwood, IA.

4.  Lost Duck Brewing - Porter:  A sweet aroma full of dark fruit leads to a flavor laden with raisins, nuts, and  citrus behind them.  Tasty!

5.  Olde Main - Reindeer Fuel:  One of their 3 winter seasonals, this beer smelled like milk and a little chocolate.  I can only assume that the reindeer they speak of eat almost exclusively oatmeal.  The flavor was of course round and smooth as a baby's bottom with chocolate malts and a light coffee note.  The carbonation was a bit high.  Unlike anything I've ever smelled!  Fantastic!

6.  Olde Main - Elkman Milk Stout:  The aroma was very true to a milk caramel and caramelized sugar.  Very cool!  The flavor matched this aroma almost perfectly, but added a little bitter for balance.  I'd buy this!

I also had their "4 Men & a Buffalo" toward the end of the fest, but the only legible part of my notes reads "roast".  Doh!

7.  Peace Tree Brewing - Rye Porter:  The nose is smokey and oatmeal creamy.  Flavors are strongly of Rye whiskey, oak, and a lighter smoke.  Belgian yeasts are barely detectable, but offer a general sweetness.  Wow.

8.   Peace Tree Brewing - Hop Rangler IPA:  Clean citrus aroma and a flavor that is anything but.  It's a spicy, bitter, and earthy IPA.  A nice change from the citrus/pine varieties.

9.  Peace Tree Brewing - Blonde Fatale:  This is a neat Belgian/wheat hybrid.  I can't wait to have this during the summer.

Covered in Peace Tree labels.

10. Peace Tree Brewing - Templeton Rye Oak Aged Imperial Stout:  This was one of the many barrel-aged beers at this festival.  I seems that every 4th beer was aged in a barrel.  However, this beer was aged in the barrels formerly used to house the famous Templeton Rye.  The aroma is, accordingly, RYE.  Wow.  It's almost like cherries are in the background and they're accompanied by a warmth.  The flavor, thankfully, is not as strong a rye note.  In fact my notes read (in this order): chocolate, rye, smoke, and a light char.

11.  Ommegang - Seduction:  Poured by a local taphouse.  This was welcome since I had not yet been able to pull the trigger on buying a bottle.  Served with a nice soapy head, this beer was definitely a Belgian, but with generous amounts of chocolate and alcohol warmth.  I'm now closer to pulling the trigger.

12.  Rock Bottom Brewing - Chai Latte Stout:  The aroma is an INCREDIBLE chai aroma, rich with cinnamon.  It has a strong carbonation and a definite brown tea flavor to escort the more traditional stout tones.  Very neat!

13.  Rock Bottom Brewing - Jarler Juleøl:  Pale ale with juniper berries and rye.  A Belgian yeast sweetens things and rounds things out nicely.

14. Rock Bottom Brewing - Lagrange:  My first reaction to this Black Double IPA?  "Oh yeah..."  Wow!  There's burnt malt, tons o' hops, and caramelized sugar in a beer that's sticky as hell.  Good work.

15.  Sutliff Cider - Hard Cider:  Looks like champagne, but tastes closer to pure, pressed apple juice.  It was served with a great head that fizzed out surprisingly quick.  Almost perfect clarity.  From Lisbon, IA.

16.  Toppling Goliath Brewing - Robust Porter:  VERY true to its name.  This porter is über-robust, dark roasted, bitter, with what seems to be walnut notes.

17.  Toppling Goliath Brewing - Zeelander IPA:  This beer is made with New Zealand & Nelson hops.  The aroma is simply, "WOW!"  It's full of passionfruit and grapefruit.  The flavor is bitter and some hop flavors that I was unable to describe.  I assume it's the NZ & Nelson hops that I am unfamiliar with.  Later on comes the more familiar pine and grass notes.

18.  Toppling Goliath Brewing - Naughty 90 Oaked IPA:  The aroma is citrus and clean.  The flavor was oak + citrus, but seemed off.  They came together almost as soap-like.  Disappointing and given the other reviews of this beer, I am hoping that this was simply an off batch/growler.  It did end with a nice bitter.

19.  Toppling Goliath Brewing - Morning Delight:  So I wasn't actually poured a sample of this.  My friend Kelly was poured a sample for this.  I'm not sure how she managed this, but I don't especially care since she gave me a sip of it.  According to subsequent conversations in the Twitterverse only about 10 people were poured this during the entire festival.  Let me just say this.  Founders, watch your back.  This is almost dead on to CBS without the maple syrup flavor added.  It is thick, silky, and on par with anything on the national, nay, global craft beer market.  I would trade half my cellar for 2 growlers of this stuff.  No BS.

Kelly with her sample of Morning Delight and appropriate t-shirt selection.

Me, septum deep in her Morning Delight.  Wait, that sounds dirty.

20.  Worth Brewing Co. - Bar Belle Blonde Ale:  The nose on this is insanely infused with flowers.  Both my wife and I, in isolated tastings mind you, decided that this beer smells like paperwhites!  Such a strong, floral aromatic nose!  The flavor was honey and light Belgian yeasts.  I would have liked to have had this earlier in the festival to have given it a better review!

21.  Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales - Fuego de Antonio:  I was disappointed that I didn't make it for the 3:00 pm pouring of their Noel de Calabaza, but I'm glad I made it for this one as it was the only sour that I had during the entire festival.  The aroma on this was almost all a very pungent Brett, but did have a few musty notes to it.  This is one funky smelling Fuego!  The aroma is, of course, sour, but not without some spice (cinnamon?) and more of the horse blanket mustiness.

22.  Brau Brothers Brewing - Moo Joos:  A sweet aroma of roasted malt and chocolate.  A flavor more akin to a dull chocolate syrup and a light char.

23.  Lucky Bucket Brewing - PreProhibition Lager:  It smells like a lager with citrus!  A pleasant surprise!

The Food
Can't really speak to the food as I did not eat any, but it seemed like typical concession stand fare (pizza slices, brats, candy, soda, water, nachos, etc) for reasonable prices.

The Debauchery
These pictures will now be shown to embarrass all the people that went with me.  They were great company for a very fun afternoon!  In case anyone was wondering, we did NOT drive immediately home.  We had a nice, long dinner first.  I'll start by embarrassing myself.

The worst part is I hadn't even had a drop yet.

Everyone loves pretzel necklaces!

Some more than others.

DEBAUCHERY!

No less than 2 dozen people asked us about our pretzel necklaces that day.
It's almost like we've done this before.

OK, so one non-embarrassing photo.

The group!

The end.

Awesome.

This was a great idea and Backpocket did a great job of putting it all together (at least, I assume they put it all together).  My only regret is that I did not get to try a lot of the beers that I know and enjoy, such as  Backpocket, Great River, Bent River, Cedar Ridge Distillery, Millstream, Goose Island, Breckenridge, New Belgium, Crispin, Boulevard, Schlafly, O'Fallon (my wife is especially fond of their smoked porter), Lake Front, Potosi, Sprecher, & Point.  And that's STILL not even all the brewers that were there.  I wisely spent my time experimenting with brewers and/or brews that I had not tried before.

My only suggestions for Brrr Fest next year?
1.  Make it longer
2.  Hotel packages for out of towners?
3.  We're gonna need more than 1-2 pitchers at a rinse station.  How about a cooler?  Pony keg?

Congratulations to Toppling Goliath and Peace Tree for becoming celebrities of this event.  Longest lines, special releases, tons of beers... good work.  The event as a whole was a definite success and I look forward to getting my hands on some more of those eastern Iowa beers next year.  If I can wait that long.