Clay and I decided
to go up to Fredericksburg and check out their beer fest. I didn't have any
expectations just vague notions of the fizzy sort. Upon arriving in or around
the city, we picked up Clay's brother-in-law. He's an affable beer lover who
was happy to be picked up and delivered to the beer. After an oddly efficient
carding/wrist band process there was a small mix up over tickets with the
admission staff. Some small bit of consternation later we were in the beer
fest.
This fest was all
outside and the weather was perfect. The sun was shining, breeze was gentle,
and the temperature was moderate. There are few things about outdoor events
that are noticeable straight away: accommodating or fest-wrecking
weather, attraction layout, and adequate restroom facilities. The first two
were good. The last one was an issue. There weren't enough
port-a-johns. I recall the line being about 20 deep most of the day. Not a big
deal to me, but important to note in general.
The beer representation was impressive. There
were native and national breweries mostly offering their year-round staples.
Beers that I actually recall without the aid of my camera: Lickinghole Creek's
Goochland Quad and Blue Mountain's A Hopwork Orange. Both of these beers were
delicious and worked well in the atmosphere of the festival. The full list you can check out the Fredericksburg
Beerfest website.
During our
meandering, boozy jaunt around the fairgrounds we met a few characters. We met
a guy and gal who both loved beer and seemed to be having a good
time. We ran into them a few times and their condition had progressed each
time. The last time we crossed paths the young lady was ready to leave and
seemed to be experiencing an individualized earthquake. They were nice, and I
forgot to take a picture of them. I really enjoyed talking to them, and I was
especially impressed at the gal's appreciation of fine craft beer. Not to say
women don't appreciate beer, it's just beer advertising, marketing, and
attitudes are as such that women don't always feel welcome in the scene. I'm
glad to frequently see this is changing.
The booths whirred
by as we consumed tiny cup after tiny cup of mostly delicious, golden suds. I
ate cheese fries and fried pickles from Legend Grille, and Clay sustained
himself on tornado chips and an Italian sausage sandwich that took a lifetime
to be ready.
Other beer
stand-outs were Isley's Choosy Mother Peanut Butter Porter (worn in well for
me, as it's local), Adventure Brewing Co.'s Backpack Wheat, and Rusty Beaver's
Roy's Big Bad Brown Ale. Rusty Beaver is a new one for me. I've definitely had
their beer before, I've just not liked it until now. The brown ale was
chocolately and malty. There were no apologies to crisp or hop flavors here. I
really enjoyed this brew.
After hours of strolling and drinking we noticed people were starting to close up their tents and patrons were leaving. We started drinking water and rousing ourselves from our beercation. We ended up going to Wawa to get some grub for the drive back home. We both got the Buffalo Chicken sub. After drinking all day, that sub tastes like ambrosia made real. The festival left me satisfied and happier, and made my weekend something to talk about at work. I think that's what you want from a beer festival.
