3rd Annual Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest

This past Saturday, I was quite happy to be present at the 3rd installment of the ever-growing Saint Paul Summer Beer Fest. I had previously been to the first year of this event, but missed number 2 because it fell on my daughter's birthday (which is, of course, much more important). In my return this past weekend, there were some definite changes from last time I attended. Beer lovers and brewers have come together over the years to make this a very popular and special event, which definitely facilitated its growth over the last 3 years and led to these imminent improvements:

• Year 1 was held at the Midway stadium parking lot. This year was held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in the very nice International Bazaar area.
• Year 1 VIP tickets allowed entrance an hour earlier than standard tickets. This year, the VIPs still gained early entrance, but also received pretzel necklaces as they came in (essential beer fest jewelry) and had access to the special VIP tent. In the tent, there were free massages, multiple pitchers of a good variety of beer, private bathrooms, and even some beer pong gaming.
• Year 1 had some music from live artists, but this year seemed to have more variety from a larger number of bands.
• The biggest improvement of all? Even more breweries (up to 70+ this year) and a greater number of special brews offered (cask & limited release). This was a beer taster's nirvana.

Amongst my tastings of various libations from all over the country, a friend and I mixed in a few games of hammerschlagen and had some good conversations with brewers and fellow craft beer enthusiasts. Through all of this, I noticed that my own approach to this type of fest has evolved from what it once was.

In years past, I would go to something like this and try to sample every beer I could within the given timeframe. That was hard to do, and had the potential to make sampling less fun. Now, I find my method no longer has that specific focus and hectic feel. I've learned to slow down and appreciate fewer brews while enjoying the atmosphere and camaraderie of the venue. For example, I only visited 3 breweries in my first hour and a half on Saturday. Yep, just 3. I'm sure that many people had visited at least one-third of the breweries in that same amount of time. More power to them, but I personally can't do things that way anymore. And that's OK. No, not just OK; it works out great!

As it usually happens, I targeted more local breweries and found my way into some enlightening discussions. I chatted with Jason from Harriet Brewing, Michael from The Four Firkins, Joe from Olvalde Farm and Brewing, Aran from Furthermore Beer, and a very friendly Abita rep whose name escapes me (sorry about that).

Of course, you may be wondering about the beer. Here are a few of my local highlights from the day. I had not tried any of them before that day.

• Every one of the 4 beers that Harriet Brewing sampled - West Side, Wodan Weizen, Pilsner, and Saison. All were excellent.
• The "secret" beer behind the Olvalde table. I was lucky enough to get a taste of this beer experiment that yielded a tasty imperial stout made with rye and spruce tips.
• Lift Bridge had a unique cask of strawberry rhubarb Farm Girl Saison. Crazy stuff, right?
• Flat Earth showed up with a beer I had been wanting to taste for a while: Extra Medium. It's a sour wild ale that was even better than I had expected.

Of course I sampled many more, but I've rambled on long enough. Let's get down to it. Would you like to know what my pick is for the best beer at the fest? Well, even if your answer is "no," I'm going to tell you anyway.

Ready? Here it is...

Harriet Brewing Company's Saison. After sampling, all I could think was "wow." The look, flavor, and aroma were awesome! If you like saisons and get an opportunity to try it, I highly recommend doing so. Really good stuff.