1st Annual Alltech Craft Brews and Food Fest

Well, this event definitely did NOT happen in the kitchen, but it explains why so little did occur in the kitchen this weekend!

Held at the Lexington Convention Center on Saturday, May 17th, this event was a huge success and just a boatload of fun!!! I'm already looking forward to next year's event! With more than 40 breweries from around the country served up 3 oz. tasting samplers of some of the best brews, and only 15 beer tickets included in the admission fee, there were a LOT of great beers I didn't get a chance to sample. I did get to try some great brews and even discovered a fantastic brewery that I'd never heard of before! Woot!

 Not having anywhere to set my glass during the brewfest, I took a couple snaps of it before writing up this little post.

3 oz. of pure fancy, and mustachioed at that!

 I attended with my friend Ben Hays, who was a a lot of fun at this event. He loves his beer, but hadn't ventured into some of the less common styles available. It was a blast watching him try beers he'd never imagined, especially when he discovered a style he truly enjoyed! Few things as much fun as introducing folks to the depth and breadth of tastes that truly great beers can encompass!

 As mentioned last week, we were well prepared with our Beer Schwings! In addition to being incredibly useful, they were a great conversation starter, and garnered us both a few free beer tickets from the suitably impressed! If you plan on attending a brewfest, I cannot recommend these more highly. Even if you aren't an Untapp'd fanatic like myself, with an urgent need to check in every beer with your cell, you still will tire of holding onto that darn glass after several hours, and you might even want to enjoy a sandwich or some other tasty treat that doesn't fit well into your tasting glass!


One of my favorite beers from the event was the Imperial Biscotti Break from Evil Twin Brewing. Fmj-tasty!

Evil Twin, and several other breweries added "tasting notes" to their tap listings. This being only the second brewfest I've attended, I have no idea if this is common practice or not, but it certainly seems sensible: folks unfamiliar with the offerings can have several of their questions answered before they get to the front of the line, or even before they decide to get in line! It seems to speed up the serving process and I'm sure the folks manning the taps are grateful! (Especially the local hires who may not be terribly well informed about the offerings, leading to awkward silence on both sides of the tap!)


The most unusual and  surprising brew I tried was Goin HAM from Against the Grain Brewery and Smokehouse. A nice little rauchbier, it tasted just like a nice hunk of country ham soaked in beer...all it needed was a biscuit to go with!!!

And on the recommendation of AtG bartender Celeste, I tried Flanery Brew (Flanary Brew sp?), an oatmeal/smoked stout from Hammerheart Brewing. I'd never heard of these folk, but they are brewing some exceptional beers! Absolutely outstanding!!! Without a doubt, one of the best brews I tried at the fest, and I'll certainly seek out more from them in the future!

There were also some great tunes provided by local artists, especially Coralee and the Townies!

This being the first time for this event, there were a few minor things I felt could be tweaked for next year:

1) A more streamlined registration process for folks who purchased their tickets online. Why buy your tix early if you're waiting in the same lines with the rest of the crowd?

2) They definitely needed more room. Some of the brews were extremely popular, resulting in some very long lines that made getting to other brewers' offerings difficult for folks not in those lines.

3) Lastly, I think they really should have intermingled the food vendors throughout the venue instead of clustering them in their own separate area. Most folks came for the beer, and having the food vendors spread throughout the area would have brought them a lot more attention. And thereby broadened the experience for attendees!

All bitching aside, I think the Alltech Craft Brew and Food Fest was a fantastic endpoint to National Craft Beer Week!  Hats off to Alltech and everyone involved in hosting this wonderful opportunity to experience some truly great beers, and make some great new friends! I'm certain next year will be even more enjoyable!

In the meantime, keep drinking the good stuff!

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/05/17/3247492/hungarian-brewery-wins-alltech.html#storylink=cpy