Sunday, June 28, 2009

NoVa Brew Fest: Summer 2009


Volunteered once again for the 2009 Summer NoVa Brewfest. This festival is great and it's pretty much 100% jerk-free. Everyone is out for an afternoon of fun in the sun (or cloudy overcast-ness as it was today). My friend Brent and I worked the Troegs tent and poured Hopback Amber and Sunshine Pils all afternoon. People really dig the Hopback Amber, we poured a ton of that stuff.

I was fairly cautious with the drinking this time, because I was driving Brent and I home, so I didn't go too crazy tasting all of the great brews available. I did try a few things, and really loved the Star Hill Northern Lights IPA. I got the chance to try the Apollo Double IPA offered by Troegs as part of their scratch series. It weighs in at a monstrous 115 IBU. I asked the brewery rep what hops are used in it and he responded, "Pretty much everything that we could find." This thing was crazy hoppy, which was great for a hop head like me.

An awesome afternoon. Everyone should consider volunteering for the fall version of this festival, guaranteed great times. There is really no downside to volunteering. You get to attend the festival for free, get to know the brewery reps, and meet a lot of new people that approach your booth for a tasting. The volunteer management is always very helpful and they regularly come around and allow you to take breaks from your pouring responsibilities (i.e. walk around and sample beer).

Get your volunteer on,

HolzBrew

1 comment:

Brent A. Simer said...

I'll chime in along with HolzBrew. I had a great time volunteering at NoVa Brew Fest this past Sunday. It was a fantastic way for someone who is somewhat new to this game, like me, to sample all sorts of great brews. I also really enjoyed and appreciated the ability to test some of my recently learned "brew lingo." The brewery representatives are very helpful and tend to explain a specific attribute if one doesn't understand. All in all I would certainly recommend volunteering at any beer type festival in your area. Although, you might want to find a driver similar to HolzBrew such that you can sample an exorbitant amount of brews...just like I did!