Of water, waiting and winners at Beer & Barley Wine Festival

Down the Hatch

[ With Dawnell Smith ]

Published: January 23rd, 2008 10:10 PM
Last Modified: January 23rd, 2008 07:16 PM

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The crowd at last weekend's Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival eschewed shallow boundaries such as age, income and fashion sense. Young and old, connoisseur and lamebrain alike, we positioned hips, elbows and glassware for the next best brew -- or at least the next best available brew.

As such, most of us enjoyed many silly, giddy, earnest hours at the Egan Center before retreating to some dark corner in our bedrooms to sleep. Judging from the conversations I heard on the soccer pitch the next morning, a few poor sots forsook the one ironclad rule of all beer-drinking events: drink water.

Honestly, how does anyone get through college anymore? The only people I saw downing water or carrying water bottles were old beer professionals like me -- the home brewers, beer judges, brewers and distributors who survive beer event after beer event without so much as a whimper or wince. How do we do it, fashion sense aside?

Well, current health fads suggest that pacing, self- restraint and maturity will save your butt, but I've yet to be accused of any of those attributes and still managed to come out of nine hours of solid journalism in good form. My performance on the soccer pitch didn't suffer one iota. (An insufferable skill set diminishes expectations, but still ...)

It comes down to being old enough to heed my dear mother's advice. I always eat a good breakfast, wash behind my ears, send thank-you cards (mostly), change my underwear daily (usually) and drink water when consuming alcoholic beverages.

Drinking water has its drawbacks. Turns out, the guys at the festival suffered from the Egan Center bathroom renovation project by enduring long lines at the men's room. From what I hear, women were laughing all the way to the urinals.

A beer festival without plentiful bathrooms? No problem. Like any good Alaska company, Aurora Productions promptly secured a bank of portable toilets to ease the pain. Nevertheless, I heard one home brewer say he dumped his water and stopped drinking beer to avoid the lines. Believe me, that's something you don't hear every day.

When it comes to beer, people will put up with a lot of discomfort. Nearly 5,000 folks tore up the tap towers and dance floor this year. Some walked right in after buying tickets online and putting up with Ticketmaster's "convenience" fees; others stood in line after 6 each night, which made the new Connoisseurs' Session a choice time slot. Though a scant three hours long, the Saturday-afternoon connoisseurs meet had far shorter lines, a few special beers and a lot more mingling at the beer stations.

So what do I consider the best festival discovery this year? Well, it's not exactly a surprise, but the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery of Delaware (www.dogfish.com) makes tasty brews, like its Olde School Barley Wine fermented with dates and figs. The brewery certainly amps up the East Coast brew scene.

A recent article in Esquire magazine even described Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA as "perhaps the best IPA in America."

That's rubbish, complete bull. Dogfish Head makes fabulous beers, but the Gluttony triple Belgian-style IPA from Midnight Sun Brewery Co. (www.midnightsunbrewing. com) and the Double Trouble Imperial IPA by 21st Amendment Brewing Co. (www.21st-amendment.com) ran circles around the 90 Minute IPA.

They certainly ran circles around me.

Either way, asking for seconds and thirds made me feel like a dog chasing its tail. Happily.

Every beer dog has its day. Just make sure the water bowl is full.

And the winners are:

Pelican Pub & Brewery (www.pelican brewery.com) ran away with first place in the barley wine competition with its sweet, rich Stormwatcher's Winterfest (12.4 percent alcohol by volume, 31 IBU).

Once again, an Alaska brewery made the winner's circle. This time it was Sleeping Lady Brewing Co.'s (www.alaskabeers.com) Old Gander Barley Wine (11 alcohol by volume, 90 IBU). You can get this now at the Sleeping Lady or Humpy's. Don't miss it.

Third place went to Deschutes Brewery (www. deschutesbrewery.com) for its spiced winter beer, Super Jubel (11 percent alcohol by volume, 100 IBU). I swear this one tastes as piquant as dark chocolate.

Art and beer, hooray!

While on the subject of artful beer, how about submitting short films for the Off-Centered Film Fest sponsored by the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Texas.

Films can be no longer than five minutes and must include either the concept of an underdog or a mock ad, along with a reference to Dogfish Head in the script or a Dogfish Head product placement in the film. You have to be 21 or older to enter. The submission deadline is Feb. 15.

The third annual film festival will be April 3-4 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas.

Winners will be flown to Austin to vie for cash prizes. For contest guidelines and submission forms, go to www.dogfish.com or www.drafthouse.com.

?• Find Daily News reporter Dawnell Smith at adn.com/contactdsmith.

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