Beer

2013 Cask Fest

20130507-01

It has probably been a year now since I started taking my blog a little more seriously and I can trace that moment back to last year’s Cask Fest. And so it’s about that time of year when another Cask Fest rolled around, this past Saturday on May 4th in fact! This year was even bigger and better than the last. There were 30+ beers, and with only 12 tokens, my friends and I were tasting each other’s beers to get the largest tasting we could. I would have to say my favorite was the sour from Arbor Brewing Company, Sodibo. Brewery Vivant’s Big Red Coq was also delicious. Though what I spent my extra coins on ended up being Blue Point’s Hoptical Illusion. I wish Arcadia had brought another firkin of Cereal Killer; that stuff was amazingly delicious and alcoholic.

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Blue Point Tap Takeover at Ashley’s

So I’m doing the actual writing for this on my phone. This will be a nice challenge for terseness while still being informative. Just waiting for Trevor to finish his shift so we can hang out before he goes to LA to pursue his dream. The American dream if you will. Expect a followup post with that one. So some time ago Ashley’s Westland had a Blue Point tap takeover. Blue Point was not a brewery known to me until last April when I had their Hoptical Illusion beer at a small pub in Novi called Library Pub. It was good. So I took this opportunity to try out a wider variety of their selection.

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Pitmaster’s Dinner at Lockhart’s BBQ

I’m rushing to get all these “special event” food posts out before they’re past their prime and the world forgets that it even happened. Especially late will be the Blue Point Tap Takeover at Ashley’s Westland post, which happened about 2 or 3 weeks ago – C’est La Vie.

John contacted me about 2 weeks ago about a Pitmaster’s Dinner in Royal Oak at Lockhart’s BBQ that was featuring Arcadia Ales. At first I was a little hesitant to attend, but I eventually gave in to the promise of great food, great beer, and great company – I am so glad that I did. The dinner was $50.00 a person but it was well worth it, and I even have some leftovers that I will devour tonight for dinner. The dinner was 4 courses each with a pairing of beer. Arcadia’s beers tend to be extremely bold and flavorful, and the ones that were picked also were fairly high in alcohol content. Lockhart’s  has these dinners about once every 6-8 weeks and each one is given a theme. The selection of meat for the dishes for this particular occasion was shank. Even as we first arrived I knew we were going to have a great meal.

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If it’s not one weekend, it’s another.

I think I’ve had 3 straight weekends this May of just pure fun. And I have two more coming up. Next week is Memorial Day weekend with my cousins and Trevor; that’s followed by my Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort getaway with Katrina and our two Irvine cousins. I’m kind of scared to let it wind down; ’cause really if you aren’t living, what are you doing? A lot happened this last week, following in the wake of Cask Fest 2012.

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