It was my first Camp Beer, but definitely not my last. Thanks to Cathy (photo below) for doing a great job of organizing and hosting the event. Kevin (photo below) did a fantastic job of walking us through the beers and explaining the different styles (even when everyone started to get loud towards the end after drinking many beers).
We started off with a series of sour and fruit beers before moving on to pales, IPAs and then finally wrapped things up with several strong stouts. I started taking notes when the sampling began, but eventually gave up and just enjoyed the event. The
BarleyVine has a great summary of all the beers that we sampled if you want to read a more in-depth review of them. However, here's a few comments about some of the more notable beers:
The beers from
Southern Tier were definitely some of the best beers of the event. Their
Pumking was excellent and probably one of the very few pumpkin beers that I've actually enjoyed. It immediately made me think of Thanksgiving and autumn. The
crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout was basically liquid cake. Perhaps a little on the sweet side, but an aroma to die for.
The Genmai Ale from Japanese brewery Ise Kadoya was a completely unknown beer for me and will remain that way. It was probably the least liked beer of the event, with most agreeing that it had the aroma of wet cardboard and a few going so far as to say it smelled like a urinal. Not something you typically want in a beer. It certainly sounded interesting though as its brewed with roasted brown rice.
The World Wide Stout, which is one the strongest fermented beers in the world, was exactly that... very strong. Perhaps after aging a few more years it will help to mellow out, but the alcohol was too overpowering.
The
Sexual Chocolate was a little disappointing. I've heard a lot things about this beer, but it wasn't nearly chocolaty enough for having such a name. It also had an acidic and almost sour finish to it that kinda ruined the flavour for me.
Darkness from Surly Brewing was the last beer we tasted and one of my favourites of the event. Strong, yet very smooth with an aroma and flavour of malted milk balls (Whoppers).
The Ginger Man has released their list of Pint Glass Nights for the month of April:
Camp Beer
