Always a bridesmaid and never the bride is how it's starting to feel regarding Flossmoor Station and the Barrel Aged fest. We won third place in the experimental category with Sarge which I am extremely proud of not only because it's a great beer, but because of the personal and emotional connection of dedicating that beer to my brother. And then we won Gold in the Barleywine category two years in a row with Wooden Hell. It was also strong enough to garner us Runner up Best in Show which is very flattering considering that every year the beers are getting better and we are getting more and more entries. This year we had 85 beers in competition!
A first for me this year was Judging. Very interesting experience especially since I was judging the wild beer categories.
They weren't all easy decisions to make and the back and forth between judges and opinions at the table really forces you to think about what you are tasting and what the festival and specific category is all about. It isn't necessarily pick the best beer or the beer that you like the most on the table and it's important to remember that the Barrel aged fest is all about using wood to make your beer better or impart that unique characteristic to your beer. Not really an easy thing to do when you have three or four beers in front of you that are simply outstanding.
5 comments:
do you know the listing of all the winners and best of show?
It will be up on the Guild Website in a few days.
http://www.illinoisbeer.com/
It was great being there and great seeing you guys take home some awards. Once again, congratulations!
-Brian
Matt, thank you SO much for sharing some Wooden Hell and Scotch ale with us at the bar on Monday afternoon. They were both stunning beers; the Hell was especially muscular and seductive, and the Scotch was sumptuous and encouraging of fireside contemplation. Delicious, both.
Somewhere, there's a photo of selfishly clasping that pitcher of Wooden Hell to my chest, smitten and refusing to share. Worth a thousand words...
3rd - I believe congratulations are still in order
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