Made in the Shade Beer Tasting Festival

Sharon and I went to the Made in the Shade Beer Fest this past weekend. This is put on by the same guys that did the one Matt and I went to in Tempe back in the Spring. I sprung for VIP tickets which turned out to be a very good idea. Apparently there was a 40-60 minute delay to get into the festival without the VIP pass and by the time we would have entered it would have been a minimum of a 15 minute wait at nearly any booth for a tasting. By entering early, we got tastes without waiting hardly at all at some of the most popular vendors. Sharon loved the Dogfish Head Festina Pêche which is a great summer seasonal along with the Redstone Raspberry Nectar Mead. It looks like I will have to start the 12 month long process to brew some mead. I enjoyed the Lagunitas Maximus and the Sonoran Inebriator Stout for beers I hadn't tried before. My big score was at the end of the festival, but I will post that tomorrow along with a picture.

American Wheat Update #2

I actually tried one of these about 10 days ago and it wasn't carbed yet, so I don't count that as my real tasting. So on July 3rd we had a pool party and I chilled a sixer of the American Wheat for the party. I cracked one opened and poured it into a pint class and it was perfectly carbed. The color is a bit darker than it should be, but that is due to the small pot that I was using. I say was because I have purchased, but still haven't picked up, a turkey fryer that I will use for all future brewing. The taste was great. Still a couple of floater things from the carb tabs that I used. I need to get a kegerator and quit that crap. Tasted wonderful. I love the finish of a wheat beer.