International Great Beer Expo, NJ

My friend Ryan and I recently took a trip out to New Jersey for the International Beer Expo.  My lovely bride had gifted us with tickets back in December for the event, and while I was supposed to be in Jersey for another reason that day, the Beer Expo was a much lower impact way to spend my day.

“Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world.” -Kaiser Welhelm

To give you a little background my love of beer began a long time ago before it was legal for me to drink it.  It started a this great little Mexican joint that’s no longer around in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.  Yes, that’s really a place, I promise.  My friend Damon and I would always go by this spot after sports climbing all day at the James Island climbing wall.  Chips, salsa, a combination #5, and Corona with lime was the beginning of a great relationship and the perfect way to stave off the day’s hunger.

My beer preferences have come a very long way since those days in the ‘90’s, and to be honest, I won’t touch a Corona with a 10’ pole these days, but I can’t deny it’s role in my introduction to the ways of fermentation.  I have to say that my involvement in combat sports, general heath consciousness, and parents who dealt with the consequences of heavy drinking, have led me to be a rather conservative drinker.  Now for me this is a good thing because it has allowed me the pleasure of experiencing more expensive and complex brews since I drink much lower quantities.  And that’s the first thing you should know about drinking craft beer, it’s often so complex that two is enough.

“He was a wise man who invented beer.” -Plato

We eagerly entered the Meadowlands Convention Center along with a mass of others on a horribly cold and rainy\icy Saturday afternoon.  There were about 80 different breweries present at the Expo. As Ryan and I were to learn later, we wisely chose to hit the left side of the convention center first, mainly to avoid the masses rushing the first tables they could find.  Later we would come to realize that most of the “good” breweries were farther back from the room’s entrance.  Mind you, this is coming from a couple of beer geeks, and I for one would almost qualify myself as a beer snob, unfortunately.

The masses have gathered to taste the nectar of the gods...

Enough babble, let’s get to the beers we tasted and pictures, because they’re worth a thousand words supposedly and if that’s the case I should just make a movie rather than write my book, but I digress…

We were able to partake in the following beers:

• Merry Monk’s Ale: Belgian Style Tripel (Golden Ale), 9.3% ABV
• Blithering Idiot: Barleywine, 11.1% ABV

• Long Trail Ale: German Altbier, 4.6% ABV
• Double Bag: Strong Ale, 7.2% ABV

• Yakima Glory: Double India Pale Ale, 8.7% ABV
• Hob Devil: American Pale Ale, 6.7% ABV

• CascaZilla: Red Ale, 7% ABV
• Flower Power: India Pale Ale, 7.5% ABV

• Anchor Porter: Porter, 5.6% ABV
• Anchor Liberty Ale: American Pale Ale, 6% ABV

• Banana Bread: Banana Bread Beer, 5.2% ABV
• London: Extra Special Bitter, 4.5% ABV

• Raspberry: Hard Cider, 5.5% ABV
• Apple: Hard Cider, 5% ABV

• Black: Belgian Style Stout, 7.5% ABV

• Double White: Belgian Style White, 7% ABV
• Hop Hazard: India Pale Ale 5.5% ABV

• Abbey Brown: Belgian Brown Ale, 7% ABV
• Two Blind Monks: Belgian Dubbel, 7% ABV

• Hypnotic IPA: India Pale Ale, 6% ABV
• American Ale: Amber Ale, 5% ABV

• Pale Ale: American Pale Ale, 5.4% ABV
• Prohibition Lager: American Pale Lager, 5% ABV

• Pilsner: Pilsner, 4.8% ABV

• Railbender: Scottish Ale, 6.8% ABV
• Crude Oil: Oatmeal Stout, 6.9% ABV

• Burly Brown: American Brown Ale: 5.43%ABV
• 2012 Black: Black Ale, 5.4% ABV

• Sugar Hill: Golden Ale, 5.4%

• Noël: Belgian Strong Dark Ale, 9% ABV
• Dubbel: Abbey Dubbel, 6.8% ABV

• Pear: Hard Cider, 4.5% ABV
• Original: Hard Cider, 6% ABV

• Maudite: Belgian Style Strong Amber-Red Ale: 8% ABV
• La Fin du Monde: String Tripple, 9% ABV

“We old folks have to find our cushions and pillows in our tankards. Strong beer is the milk of the old.”
-Martin Luther

You’ll notice there are quite a number of IPA’s and Abbey Ales on our list.  We are both a pair of professed Hop Heads, so the heavy hops in the IPA’s are attractive to us.  And I am a sucker for a good Trappist style ale.  These two types of beers also tend to be some of the most complex and varied in flavors.

In general most of the beers were pretty good, but surprisingly there was very little I walked out of the expo impressed by.  My over all winning brewery had to be Boaks with a close second by Erie Brewery.  Our absolute least favorites (like spit it out in a trashcan kind of bad) were Cricket Hill and Harlem brewery.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.“
-Benjamin Franklin

Beer tasting, whether in house, at a local pub\brewery, or at an expo like this is a great way to spend a few hours with friends and expand your palette for the nectar of the gods.  Just remember, take your time, do your research, eat, drink water, and have fun!

What are a few of your favorite beers?