I love the North American Organic Brewers Festival 2014! I went last year and a few other times in the past. This year was no different. Tiffany, Jeffrey, Garrett (froommates) and I, along with a few others hit the festival Friday evening in the midst of World Cup and Timbers fever.
The crew at NAOBF 2014!
Here is what we tried:
- Ambacht Ginger Farmhouse Ale from Ambacht Brewing. This beer smelled amazing and I love anything with ginger in it. “Ginger: not half-way sorta ginger, but real honest to goodness ginger root infused into real beer.”
- Ambacht Bourbon Barrel Aged G++ from Ambacht Brewing. The bourbon barrels were originally from Hair of the Dog Brewing who used them for Cherry Adam from the Wood, Ambacht then stored it’s Strong Golden Ale in the barrels for nine months, leading to this “magical” beer.
- Honey Basil from Bison Brewing. This virtually hop-less beer has hints of basil and honey. Did you know that medieval Europeans commonly brewed with honey and gathered herbs, roots and flowers?
- Space Fruit from Coalition Brewing. This West Coast IPA with a twist – the addition of five different citrus fruits to create a unique flavor.
- Citra IPA from Eel River Brewing. This single hop beer featuring Citra hops and the addition of tropical fruit creates strong flavor and aroma.
- Organic India Pale Ale from Fish Brewing Company. I love Fish Brewing, however, this beer doesn’t taste like an IPA, could be a strong IPA.
- Spruced Budd Ale from Fort George Brewery. This beer has over 500 pounds of spruce tips for a 30 barrel batch.
- Sweet Potato Rye from Gilgamesh Brewing. This beer was one of those beers where you either loved it or hated it. For me, I liked it. It tasted dirty in a nice earthy way and definitely grew on me. The beer have over 800 pounds of organic sweet potatoes and 400 pounds of organic rye.
- Wheat Tart from Golden Valley Brewery. This beer definitely lived up to its name – sour!
- Thai-Fi from Hi-Fi Brewing. You could definitely taste the Thai basil, which I loved!
- Peach Hefeweizen from Laht Neppur Brewing Co. This was another one suggested to our group to try, it was good, peachy and a definite summer drink.
- Lakefront White from Lakefront Brewery. This Belgian classic was spiced with coriander and orange peel.
- Fuel Cafe Coffee Stout from Lakefront Brewery. This was another favorite in the group featuring Milwaukee’s renowned organic Fuel Cafe coffee.
- Seizoen Bretta from Logsdon Farmhouse Ales. This saison features carbonation from pear juice and Brettanomyces yeast.
- Seizoen from Losgdon Farmhouse Ales. Classic saison from a great brewery in Hood River, OR.
- Gaiabolical from Loowit Brewing Co. This beer was more of an IPA than a pale ale and featured 100% certified Salmon Safe hops.
- Lammsbrau Pilsner from Neumarkter Lammsbrau. The German beer for the German Tiffany. (Also from the world’s leading organic beverage producer.) “Tastes German and smells like magic.”
Tiffany and i at the NAOBF 2014.
- Overlook Organic Heirloom from Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider. This cider was created just for NAOBF and features Golden Russet and Newtown Pippin apples.
- Panda Bear Ale from ThirstyBear Brewing Co. This was my personal favorite from the NAOBF. You could definitely taste the whole vanilla beans and TCHO cocoa nibs. The smell was amazing!
- Greenwash Semi-Organic Session IPA from Three Creeks Brewing Co. This was a decent IPA.
- Crystal Kush from Two Kilts Brewing Co. This beer lives up to it’s name. I’ll just leave it at that…
- Marble Tulip Juicy Gruit from Upright Brewing. I just love that this beer was made from wild lettuce (and galangal, calendula and white willow bark) instead of hops.
- Gruit To It from Widmer Bros Brewing Co. This beer tasted like focaccia bread, due to the rosemary and lavender. I’ve never had a beer like this before.
What’s your favorite organic beer?
For complete transparency, I was given a media pass to attend the event. However, I go to the NAOBF every year so don’t let the media pass bother you.
Hanging out at NAOBF 2014.
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