Untappd Festival: Level 1 - A Plethora of Beers

The Untappd Festival was host to a daunting amount of beers, but we didn't let this stop us

from trying as many as possible. Overall, a good selection of beer was present. IPAs seemed to rule the day, which is consistent with the American craft beer scene. Hazy, juicy, New England style was what we found the most of. Don't get me wrong, we can appreciate a well crafted IPA, it's just that we both would've loved the opportunity to try more saisons, farmhouses, or goses. But on to the breweries that stood out!

Wooden Robot was our first stop, as we had time to kill before the event. Their Robotico, a cerveza style beer, was so good. Not usually a style I gravitate towards, but a killer mexican-style lager. We wish we had been able to take home some for Cinco de Mayo the following day. This brewery also has a very good selection of farmhouse ales, a style of beer that I particularly love.

The Bruery's Poached Fig

The Bruery was high on my list to visit while we were at the festival because I know that it is such a renowned brewery and one that has established consistent solid guidelines in terms of American craft beer styles. The bonus was that we got to try something a little off the beaten path. Their poached figs barleywine was delicious. Deep, rich, and boozy, it's 13% ABV was a heck of a way to start our journey at the Festival.

Triskelion’s selections didn't quite live up to things I've heard about the brewery. Bridged’s Passion, their IPA offered at the festival, left something to be desired, as the beer did not have a satisfying body. Without any other knowledge, I suspect it may have been pouring flat. However, their Angelicious blonde ale was a step in the right direction. It was a blonde that poured with a slightly pink color to it and had a tartness. Good beer if you can find it.

White Elephant's Raspberry Turnover

Let's talk about White Elephant. This brewery checks off a lot of boxes, as the elephant is my wife's favorite animal, and they were one of the few breweries at the festival offering a Berliner Weisse. While Underground Haze Battles was a delicious, juicy IPA, their Raspberry Turnover was one of the best beers I had at the festival. A perfect Berliner Weisse. Not too sour, not too sweet. Good notes of yeast, and very refreshing. This is a beer that I will continue to hunt out, and would love if it came to NYC.

Ginger beer is something that I have always taken for granted. During my bartender days, it was mainly seen as a mixer, or as something you drink because you were hungover. This was also long before the days of alcoholic ginger beer. That being said, Ginger's Revenge has reinvented the beverage. Their Lime Agave alcoholic ginger beer is delicious. In another life, one where I drink soda, it would replace all soda products in my refrigerator. And it would take more time than we have for me to tell you how much my wife loves things that are flavored with hibiscus. Their hibiscus lavender ginger beer was amazing. I could continue drinking it by itself, but as someone who loves mixing drinks, I'm curious to see what else can pair well with. If you have the chance to check these guys out, definitely do it.

My wife went to Atlanta this past February and was fortunate enough to visit Orpheus Brewing. She loved it, and made a point to make sure that I got to try their beers at the festival. Full spoilers, we are theatre folk, so totally appreciated the “Don't Look Back” catchphrase (we're also Brooklynites who are totally excited to see Patrick Page as “Hades” in Hadestown!). Tangent aside, what great beer, and what great guys! What stood out to me, in a sea of people willing to talk about their beer, was how cool these guys were, explaining their beer and relating how happy they were that my wife was back and bringing me with her. This would've been lip service if their beer didn't match it. It did.

Burial Brewing hooks people on their can art. This would be a see-through tactic if their beer didn't deliver. However, even with the dark depths of the mind that Burial's mash up of animal and monster comes from, their beer offers the same exploration of dichotomous identities. While The Departure of Souls is a typical, juicy IPA, their Death and a Miser is one of the best Flanders Red Ales I've ever had. Granted, I have not had the honor of journeying to Belgium, but what a great beer. Lots of wine characters, including some lactic acid and some TANNINS!, which is exactly what a Flanders Red should be. I've recently seen these guys in NYC. My advice is to hunt them out.

Omnipollo's Oaxaca

Omnipollo was one of the few non-American breweries represented at the festival, and piqued our interest as soon as we heard they were coming. It was incredible that they made the trip from Sweden, and they had some incredible beer. They were all fresh, delicious, and good examples of the respective styles. Two to hunt out are their Agamemnon, which is a big, rich imperial stout, and their Oaxaca. The name of Oaxaca may be misleading, as it's not a Mexican style lager, but is a very delicious milkshake IPA.

A great tent that we were able to check out on the field was Bold Missy Brewing. My wife was fortunate enough to meet their founder, Carol Waggener, who was manning the tent. Great brewery with some neat history, and the beer matched. I had their Find A Way tangerine witbier. This is not a favorite style of mine, but the beer was light, delicious, and refreshing. I wish I had a chance to try their Triple Threat Three Pepper Lime Ale, but it wasn't represented at the festival. Just a reason for us to return to North Carolina and cross our fingers that this seasonal will be on tap.

Ecusta's Pink Beds

Other standouts included Pink Beds from Ecusta and Thai Breaker from Thirsty Nomad. Pink Beds is a wild ale that delivers with funky yeast flavors while staying refreshing. Thai Breaker is such a cool beer. It's a witbier flavored with basil. As a result, it's a super interesting take on what could normally be a somewhat boring style, at least according to me. This truly is a great summer beer.

There were just so many great beers and breweries that it's hard to list them all here. From old reliable breweries like Troegs, Firestone Walker, and Cigar City to Lenny Boy’s Apricot Jam Sour or NoDa's Brett Saison, there was no dearth of good beer. I do feel like we could've availed ourselves of even more beers and tastings if we hadn't had to fly back that night, but that's just how it went, and wasn't a deal breaker. Between getting to the airport and the flight home, I feel like I may have forgotten some of the beers we had. Even going back through Untappd and trying to remember some of them is daunting, given the amount and, admittedly, the alcohol involved. All in all, a great success, and we're excited to see where these festivals move on from here.

Check out review of the festival HERE