Taming of the Brew Recap

Here is my late recap of The Taming of the Brew- a fundraiser for the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. This is the eighth year for the TotB, of which I have gone to four of them. Crowd wise, this was the best feet yet, although that may be due to the raise in ticket price- I heard dumped of tickets left over, which hadn't happened in previous years.

On to the beer. Nice new entries, thanks to Breaker Brewing and Purple Healer coming to the TotB for the first time. Breaker is out of Wilkes Barre, and has caused a bit of a ruckus lately with their expansion plans- they are converting an old catholic church into their brewing facility/brewpub. I tried all of their offerings, my favorite being the IPA that they brought along. Purple Healer is a nano brewery that is just starting up in Bloomsburg. Brewer Larry DeGreen has hopes to complete his paperwork in the next month. He provided a very good dopplebock, and I chatted with him about his Czech Pislner. Yes, Fuggled, he does a triple decoction. Hopefully, his paperwork goes through soon and we can sample some of that.

The award for best beer went to Otto's Apricot Wheat, a fruity sweet, light, refreshing beer. It wasn't too over the top, but right in line with a good wheat base, complimented by the sweetness from the apricot. The Best Food award went to The Eagles Mere Inn, although I am not sure what. They had, they typically provide very good food at TotB and at the restaurant (my wife and I have stayed there, and it is awesome). The Best in Show award went to Purple Healer. Although there may be some hometown bias, the beer was delicious, so you cannot argue with that.

Other things to note are that Marley's Brewpub and Turkey Hill (whose beer, like Breaker, is not quite available to the public) were both represented well. I thoroughly enjoyed the offerings from Turkey Hill, I thought the Golden Ale was simple yet exactly what I would want, while Marley's had a Hefeweizen and (I believe) scottish ale. I tried the Hefeweizen, thought it was good, but I do not trust myself on quality in Hefes. I'll get to the brewpub and try what I was hoping they would have- the Kolsch.

The person pouring from Weyerbacher might have had the best line up. Merry Monks, Double Simcoe and Verbotten were being poured out of bottles. I could have take. That table home with me. As an added treat, he opened a bottle of Tiny (apparently from his personal stash) and shared it. I truly believe it might be one of the best Belgian Imperial Stouts out there.

Overall, it was a good time, a bit pricey, but the beer and food were worth it.

The Taming of the Brew

This past Saturday, one of the events that I look forward to every year happened. The Taming of the Brew, held annually in Bloomsburg, PA, is a beer and food festival that benefits the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. This year, there were 26 brewery(22)/distributor(4) tables in the two room festival. Between the beer tables, there were 22 local restaurants showcasing the food that they prepare (huge bonus of free food when given free beer). The festival highlights the local brewpubs. Many of the attendees may not have heard of the breweries, but The Taming of the Brew allows these people to experience their beer.


The food is not to be outdone. Many of the local restaurants bring their A-Game. From the premier sub shop in town (Steph's Subs) to great Italian (Balzano's) to a top rate restaurant bringing scallops (Eagle's Mere Inn- scallops were grilled on site), the food would be reason enough to attend.

Some breweries brought their top beers- Stone brought Sublimely Self-Rightous, Arrogant Bastard, Oaked Arrogant Bastard and their IPA; Bullfrog Brewing brought Edgar IPA (one of my favorite IPAs) as well as a great tasting Roughneck Scottish Ale; Market Cross Pub brought their Pub Porter- ON A HANDPUMP!; The Brewpub at Turkey Hill also brought a cask conditioned pale ale; Troegs had their typical lineup of Dreamweaver, Troegenator, Sunshine Pils, Java Head Stout and Hopback; and a new place to me, River House Brewpub had a very nice Dubbel. My fiancé enjoyed the Lindeman's Frambroise that was provided by one of the distributors.

The highlight of my day included the sight of Orval in the one distributor’s ice bucket. I thought that it was going be to a special release, so I asked when. He stated that they had an open bottle, so I made it my job to stop in for some every time I was nearby. It was ORVAL(!), who would ever bring that to Bloomsburg. Delicious. I turned some of my fellow friends onto it, they too enjoyed it.

I would also like to note that there were Ale Street News and Mid-Atlantic Brewing News newspapers lying around. Great placement. I hope that people were able to take and read them.  Also, Wade Hutchison gave a talk on beer styles.  I was not able to get down to listen to him, but I heard that it was extremely informative (I did see him last year, and it taught me a thing or two).

Orval in the Glass

Orval tag that caught my eye (others in the bucket, Lindeman's Franboise and Ayinger's) 

Ale Street News and Mid-Atlantic Brewing News

The Market Cross BrewPub Handpump on the table (great Porter!)

Some pics of the festival, attendees. 

It wouldn't be complete without the GregFace.

Upcoming Event- Taming of the Brew

On Wednesday, February 3, I left work early. Why? To make sure I was able to secure tickets to a local beer festival in my hometown of Bloomsburg, PA. The event is a highlight for me every year, as it allows my friends and I to have a great beer night and not worry about things like getting home, getting lost or running out of cash. (I had friends try to get tickets and they were sold out 10 minutes after opening.)

The Taming of the Brew is a fundraiser for our local theatre group. They rent out two large rooms and limit the ticket sales. This combination makes sure that you have a great time, without being crowded (the number one think I hate at a lot of festivals). There is rarely a wait over 2 minutes waiting for the beer, and the people pouring are always social and helpful. From their website:

The evening will be filled with fun. Taste and learn about new beer
styles. Sample wonderful foods from an array of area restaurants and
caterers. Try tasting beer and food together to find complementary flavor
pairings. Vote for your favorite beer at the auction table (Who
knows? It could win the People's Choice Award!) Bid on a wide array
of items generously contributed by local businesses and craftspeople at our
silent auction.

The festival takes place in two large rooms. Around the outside of the rooms are booths, that go in order of food, beer, food, beer, making it so you are always close to each. At the back of the one room is normally a jazz band playing music.

The fest draws many smaller breweries/brewpubs from around the state (i.e. Berwick Brewing, Bullfrog Brewery, Old Forge Brewing, Sly Fox), as well as some of the larger breweries (i.e. Ommegang, DogfishHead, Magic Hat, Troegs)- there are also a couple of distributers that bring a selection (one brings Stone).

One great thing about the festival (many festivals) is the ability of the breweries to bring something different, or release a special beer. (At the Michigan Brewer's Guild Festival this past July, I was able to try 10+ beers that will probably never be made, like the Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam with Hibiscus- check out here and here.) At last year's TotB, Sly Fox released their (I believe) Odyssey Imperial IPA, and I was able to try Ommegang's Cave-Aged Three Philosophers and Cave-Aged Abbey Ale.

Overall, I like to try the smaller brewpubs that I am not able to get to very often, and then go to the regulars to see what they brought. I look forward to this event, and hopefully am able to report back with any new finds.

Chief Wiggum enjoyed some Ommegang Three Philosophers

This weekend

I will be missing the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ up on the Timonium Fairgrounds. But I am happier going to the Taming of the Brew, in Bloomsburg, PA. The TotB is sneaky fun. As a fundraiser for the local theatre group, the TofB brings a collection of around 30 brews (most breweries and one Miller distributor) and most area restaurants in for a night of good beer and good food. As you walk in they hand you a 10oz glass, and give you a shove. Not really, but I feel like they should.





If you would like to go and don't have a ticket, well you are out of luck. The tickets went on sale a couple of days after Christmas and they sold out in under 30 minutes. Why? (this is the best part) They limit the amount of people in the Fest. Maybe it is because of the Fire Marshall declared occupancy of the building, or maybe it is to cause demand. I don't know, but I was able to secure tickets this year, and am happy to go. The lines at all of the brewers never get very long, maybe waiting for one or two people in front of you, and the food stands are always ready for you as well.





Some of the beer I look forward to. Troegs will have their beer there, which is nice, but you can get most of it anywhere. Ditto for Victory. Sly Fox was there last year, and I don't get up to Lancaster to go drinking enough, so that was a treat. Ommegang (Maarstad) comes down, so I could swill that all night long. The PA Homebrewers are there with some of their brew, as well as smaller brewpubs. It is nice to try out people's craft. I can't wait to get there to see what was brought.





I will get some snap shots at the TofB to share. And hopefully those of you who go to BB and BBQ, let me know how that goes.