First Posted: 4/8/2014
The warmer weather is slowly making its way back to our area, and with that we begin the beer festival celebrations. This year, we kick off the beer festival season with the inaugural Beer Geek Festival, happening April 12 from 3 to 7 p.m. inside the Slocum Hollow Lodge on Montage Mountain.
While there is no shortage of beer festivals occurring this year, in the end it all comes down to the beer. Is it simply a fest that will be full of beer that is available year-round on store shelves, or is it going to be full of rare beer that is not available anywhere else?
If you are looking for new and exciting beers that you can’t get elsewhere, then the Beer Geek Festival is for you. Despite it being the first year this fest is taking place, it has already amassed quite the brewery and beer lineup.
Breweries such as Deschutes Brewery, which is not even available in our area yet, will be attending and bringing some of its most sought-after beers with Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, and Fresh Squeezed IPA.
While breweries such as Tröegs Brewing Company will be bringing some of its more well-known beers, such as Nugget Nectar and Cultivator, the brewery has also brewed a unique one-off beer just for the festival.
Stone Brewing Co. will also be in attendance and is bringing along a very rare beer, Reason Be Damned, a Belgian Abbey Ale style brew aged in a red wine barrel. Stone is also bringing along its highly desirable Enjoy By 4/20/14 IPA, an extremely fresh and hoppy double IPA.
If none of this has made you drool yet, then keep reading, because Boulder Beer is also brewing a beer exclusively for the Beer Geek Fest. Founders Brewing will also be in attendance with its world class Porter and All Day IPA, along with something special.
Of course you cannot have a true craft beer festival without Dogfish Head in attendance, and the brewery is bringing along some standard as well as some rarer brews, such as American Beauty, Noble Rot, and 120 Minute IPA.
Another appearance at the fest is going to be made by BrewDog. The fantastic Scottish brewery is coming back to the area and is kicking this off with an appearance at the Beer Geek Fest with its amazing Punk IPA, 5 AM Saint, Libertine Black Ale, and Hardcore IPA.
Brewery Ommegang will also be in attendance and will be pouring some beer from its Game of Thrones series along with Gnomegang, Duvel Rustica, and Adoration.
The list of world-class breweries is seemingly endless: Chimay, Unibroue, Breaker Brewing Company, 3 Guys & a Beer’d, Orval, Susquehanna Brewing Company, Harpoon, and on and on.
For those who are truly fans of beer, this is the must-attend festival of the 2014 season.
