Pour-a-Palooza 2011

Greetings, Citizens!
The third annual Pour-Palooza festival went off without a hitch.  The organizers of this event deserve a nod of respect and a hearty thank you from all the attendees, but especially from yours truly.  The Ferment Nation got a spot again this year, and we were proud to be a part of the festivities.  We got to talk to some cool people and tried some fantastic beers as well.  Special shout-outs go to Remo, Jake, Mike, and Ryan for making it go.  It was also good to see Vicky, Kelly, Tammy, and Ian out and about.  Molly and Marci rocked the inside and Liz was on t-shirt duty.  If I left you out, please send me a nasty email.

It was also great catching up with Mike from New Jersey Craft Beer and perennial beerfest participants Sherry and Tom.  We missed Jack and Cheryl but I'm sure they're not too far away...

Anyway, I wanted to give unbelievable props to the folks from Barley Legal Brew Club.  I liked all the beers I tried by the crew but their "Animal" IPA was outstanding!  I claim that it was the best IPA at the entire festival (and with over 60 beers, that's no joke).  Someone else jumped in and said that Bear Republic Racer 5 was the best.  Arguable, but I thought that the Animal was so well-balanced that it could hold its own with any IPA you could throw at me.  I'm not sure I would make the claim that it's the best of all time, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this smooth India Pale Ale got picked up by a microbrew pub or at the very least won some competitions.  It was that good.

Some other standouts of the day were the Ithaca Dark Humor, 21st Amendment Hop Crisis, and Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster.  Of course, Weyerbacher Double Simcoe was there, and Troegs Flying Mouflon, and Flying Fish Exit 13, and... well, check out the slideshow and see a few more for yourself:

We also received a few citizen reviews, and we'll be sharing them with you very soon.  Please email us and let us know if you were there.  Maybe you took some really cool pictures that you would like to share with the world.  Whatever.  But feel free to contact us at the Ferment Nation and we'll be happy to put your opinions out there for everyone to see.  Cheers!