6th Annual Summer Brewfest at Indian Ranch

Summer Brewfest Returns to the Beach at Indian Ranch Saturday, August 3 Sixth Annual Festival introduces craft brewers from Massachusetts and beyond, music, food and more

(Webster, MA; July 22, 2013) - While Indian Ranch is known for offering music lovers a chance to see some of the nation's best country, classic rock and pop bands in an intimate setting on the shore of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, each summer on one day music takes a back seat to beer. On Saturday, August 3 from 2:00-6:00PM, over 100 different beers and malt beverages will be served at the Sixth Annual Summer Brewfest at Indian Ranch. Beer aficionados and novices alike will have the opportunity to sample local, regional and international micro-brews, craft beers and malt beverages while enjoying delicious food, listening to live music, and taking part in plenty of fun and games on the beach. This year's Summer Brewfest will introduce three new Massachusetts breweries including Bay State Beer Company from Leicester, Battle Road Brewing Company from Ipswich and Webster's own Kretschmann Brewing Company. Worcester's Wormtown Brewing will also return to the festival joining other Massachusetts Breweries including Wachusett Brewing Company, Notch Brewery, Blue Hills Brewing Company as well as Harpoon and Samuel Adams. The other New England states will also be well represented at Summer Brewfest. Olde Burneside Brewing of Connecticut, Long Trail Brewing, Travelers Beer Co. and Magic Hat out of Vermont,Shipyard Brewing Company and Sea Dog Brewing Company of Maine, Red Hook of New Hampshire and Narragansett Brewing Company in Rhode Island are all returning to the festival. In addition, beer lovers can try samples from all corners of the country from Chicago's Goose IslandBrewing Company and Hawaii's Kona Brewing Company to Widmer Brothers Brewing of Oregon,Ithaca Beer Company of New York, Shock Top an Anheuser Busch product, Sierra Nevada fromCalifornia, Boulevard Brewing Company out of Kansas City, Blue Moon Brewing of Colorado,Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company of Wisconsin. Malt beverages Woodchuck Hard Cider andAngry Orchard Hard Cider will also be part of this year's event. Providing culinary accompaniment will be Webster's Bistro Eighty Ate's and Sturbridge's BT's Smokehouse. Friendly Liquors will be at the offering a wide selection of fine cigars. Overdrive, one of Central Massachusetts premiere cover bands will provide the musical backdrop to Brewfest. Games will dot the beachfront providing the perfect day on the Lake. Tickets for Summer Brewfest at Indian Ranch are $30. Designated Driver tickets are also available for just $5. Tickets are available online at www.indianranch.com or by visiting the Indian Ranch box office. Summer Brewfest is a 21+ event. Indian Ranch, less than an hour's drive from Boston, Providence and Springfield, is located at 200 Gore Road in Webster, MA. For more information, visit www.indianranch.com.

Drink Craft Beer Summerfest

This past weekend was another successful Drink Craft Beer festival. The Summerfest, a Celebration of Farmhouse Ale, was the inaugural event for DCB last year, which has spawned a series of quarterly festivals throughout the year. Organizers Jeff Wharton and Devon Regan (and crew) do a great job compiling a lineup of New England craft brewers, which is obviously something we love!

Last Friday’s event was great! There were several new breweries pouring for the first time, such as Urban Farm Fermentory, Battle Road Brewing Co., Foolproof Brewing Co., Two Roads Brewing Co., RiverwalkBrewing Co., and Trillium Brewing Co. 

In addition, the Drink Craft Beer crew set up great food vendors, like Q’s Nuts and Union Sq. Donuts both out of Somerville, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese (a Boston Food Truck), and Grillo’s Pickles in Inman Sq.

One of the cool parts about the Drink Craft Beer Festivals at Space 57 at the Revere Hotel, is that they have a giant projector screen with live tweets from brewers and guests! It picks up Twitter #hashtags and allows them to be viewed on the giant screen. Well, while the delicious farmhouse ales were being sampled, a celebrity Twitter picture came up on the board:

Former Boston Bruins and new Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrew Ference was in attendance with a buddy of his. Now, I didn’t see the pic/Tweet, but I heard that Ference was in the house. I told Helder from Backlash about it, and hoped to run into him during the event. It wasn’t until later where I went to grab a beer, turned around, and came a few feet from practically walking right into him.

Photo courtesy of: Mike Johnson/Festpics

Some of the standout beers from the evening were Welkin Ringer ESB from Mystic Brewery, Wakerobin from Trillium, and Night ShiftBrewing’s Arnie (Fest Beer), which is an Arnold Palmer inspired beer blended with Kombucha from Urban Farm Fermentory. Notch Brewing also had a keg of their Brett Saison, which was pretty funky!

Of course, while I was nerding out by checking in beers on Untappd (@BrewEngland for users), Mike Duhgus from Festpics snapped a beauty!

If you haven’t been to one of the Drink Craft Beer festivals, definitely check out their next festival. They always feature a great line up of brewers, the food is always great, and the space makes for an intimate and enjoyable event!

NH Governor Signs New Bar Law

Man...sometimes I really miss living in New Hampshire. Sure, it takes at least 30 minutes to get places, and their idea of a traffic jam is a five minute delay from the off ramp to Granite Street, but still. You've got to love it!

Governor Maggie Hassan signed a new law yesterday pushing back the last call from 1am to 2am. Granted, it's up to the local governing body, but still. This is a pretty impressive measurement. 

Now, if Massachusetts could get something like this, or say...maybe a true Happy Hour, that would be great! In fact, I'd rather have Happy Hour than a later last call - after all, I'm not 25 years old and don't tend to stay up to the wee hours of the morning anymore. It also doesn't encourage me to drink more, it encourages me to save more money!

However, I could totally get behind a Happy Hour. Sarah and I spent four days up in New Hampshire last week. We went to Happy Hour at Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester, each got three beers and an appetizer, and the bill came to $21. That really made us happy! In Massachusetts, establishments consider 1/2 priced appetizers their Happy Hour, which is kinda pathetic.

Live Free or Die!

Really? We're Talking About This Again!?

Ugh...

Seriously? Is it becoming that time again...where breweries are releasing beer in the wrong season and there's another rant by me on this platform? I know, it's here to stay and I probably shouldn't mention anything, but holy shit this is just irritating.

My good friend Dan is obsessed with everything pumpkin. Pumpkin beer, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin everything. I don't blame him though. The dude buys a case of Southern Tier's Pumking (which for the record is a f'n awesome beer) and enjoys it year round. Sarah also makes a ridiculous pumpkin soup. However, Dan posted on Facebook today that Weyerbacher, who claims their "...beer is more pumpkin-y than yours," will be releasing their Imperial Pumpkin on Friday July 12th.

Now, I get it. I really do. I was a business major in college and I see sales and their practices on a daily basis. Breweries are a business and they are out to make money, some for shareholders, all for stakeholders, and they're always trying to get the edge on the market. But, it seems every year beers are being released earlier and earlier and usually it's most notable with the "fall beers."

There are two HUGE culprits for seasonal shift: Industry Leaders and consumers. The industry leaders push their high selling products to market earlier each season looking to get the edge. And it's not just "fall beers" - the Spring seasonal are released in December, the Summer beer is available in April, and before you know it the Winter beers are going to hit the market in September. Consumers only further this by demanding the product and are there to buy the beer once available.

The whole thing boggles my mind. I mean, it shouldn't because this is clearly not the first time I've posted about this. I will, however, try to make it my last one.

Again, to read an eloquent explanation of seasonal shift, please visit the Notch Brewing website and read brewer Chris Lohring's post "The Death of Seasonal Beers."

Trio of Festival Sessions This Weekend!

This is just a friendly reminder that the Drink Craft Beer Summerfest kicks off Friday night at Space 57 at the Revere Hotel, and continues on Saturday with two sessions!

Tickets are $50, and are still available in limited quantities for all sessions. Click here to purchase your tickets!

Also, WGBH Boston follows up their Funfest (for kids) with their inaugural Beer Fest at their studios in Boston. This single session is being held on Saturday from 7 - 10pm.

Tickets are $40 for Members and $50 for non-members. Click here for tickets!

Cambridge 5K Race Series

Working closely with Slumbrew over the course of the past year, Sarah and I discovered one of the coolest combinations of sport and craft beer – the Cambridge 5K Race Series. As of right now, they have a total of five races over the course of the calendar year; the Freedom Run (East Cambridge, MA - May), Sasquatch (Fells Reservation/Stone Zoo, Stoneham, MA - July), Big BadWolf (Ipswich, MA – September), Oktoberfest (Kendal Sq. Cambridge, MA – October), and Yulefest (Harvard Sq. Cambridge, MA – December).

These races are special for craft beer lovers. First, they get some exercise. Second of all, and probably the best part, is that participants have fun. Racers are encouraged, and rewarded, for dressing up in their best costumes, based on the theme of the race. Paired with this great run, comes the after parties – which if you haven’t participated in one of these runs, are quite epic. In fact, the Cambridge 5K pairs up with local craft brewers to pour what can only be called a shit load of beer to racers.

Slumbrew, Notch Brewing, Baxter Brewing Co., Pretty ThingsBeer & Ale Project, Cambridge Brewing Company, Night Shift Brewing, Ipswich Ale Brewery, and Clown Shoes have all been or will all be race sponsors, pouring their beer for thirsty and sweaty costumed racers. In fact, both Slumbrew and Notch have put together some pretty sizable and serious(ly fun) racing teams!

Unfortunately, I broke both of my ankles (separate times) and have limited running ability. But, I may just be able to pull off a 5K. This would DEFINITELY be my choice, as they just seem like so much fun. Until then, I’ll do my part to help out by doing what I do best – pouring beer!

Check out the Cambridge 5K website to see how you can get involved in their races and also the brewing company’s Facebook pages to see how you can join the fun and perhaps register for one of their racing teams!

Tis the Season for Beer Festivals!

A few weeks ago I received an email from Men’s Health Magazine, listing the Top Six MUST ATTEND Summer Beer Festivals around the country. It got me thinking…what would be some great summer beer festivals around New England? Well, this is what we have found!

May 31^st & June 1^st  Boston, MA: Beer Advocate’s American Craft Beer Festival (ACBF)

Obviously, this event took place several weeks ago, but it is the largest craft beer festival on the East Coast and the second largest festival in the country. Featuring over 150 of the country’s finest craft brewers pouring over 500 beers, this festival is truly insane. Friday’s session had approximately 3,800 guests, with both Saturday sessions housing 5,000 incredibly passionate and thirsty beer lovers.

Spotlight Breweries: DC Brau, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Tree House Brewing

July 12th & 13th Boston, MA: Drink Craft Beer Summerfest

Held at Space 57 at the Revere Hotel in downtown Boston, Jeff & Devon at Drink Craft Beer host a celebration of farmhouse ales for the second time (Summer fest in 2012 was their first ever fest). The cool thing about the DCB Fests is that they have a theme, and ask the participating New England breweries and brewing companies to bring or brew a specific beer based on the festival's theme. The brewery list is limited to 25 booths and tickets are limited, which cuts down on overcrowding and makes for a highly enjoyable festival.

Spotlight Breweries: Urban Farm Fermentory, Portico Brewing Co., Foolproof Brewing Co.

July 13th Boston, MA: WGBH Craft Beer Festival

Beer Festivals have been pretty successful in raising funds for great causes. So Boston's own public television and radio station WGBH seems like a logical choice to host a beer festival! They're also working hard to promote and educate supporters on the world of craft beers created throughout New England!

Spotlight Breweries: Baxter Brewing Co., Newburyport Brewing Co., Slumbrew

July 19^th & 20^th Burlington, VT: Vermont Brewers Festival

Set on the shore of Lake Champlain in beautiful Burlington, VT, this annual festival features an incredible amount of small, local, Vermont breweries many people outside of the state probably have never heard of such as: Fiddlehead Brewing Company, Whetstone Station, Kingdom Brewing, and Grateful Hands Brewing. However, there are some Vermont staples such as the Vermont Pub & Brewery, Harpoon, Longtrail, Otter Creek and more!

Spotlight Breweries: Hill Farmstead Brewery, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, The Alchemist

July 26^th & 27^th Hooksett, NH: Southern New Hampshire Brewers Fest

Believe it or not, my hometown has a brewery…a pretty damn good one too in White Birch Brewing. Bill Herlicka is a mad scientist of sorts when it comes to brewing beer. He features a great variety of styles, from sours, to black ales, to short batches. This year’s Brewers Fest will be the 3^rd Annual event, which takes place on the White Birch Brewery grounds. Featuring 22 (mostly) regional and national craft brewers from Earth Eagle Brewings, Martha’s Exchange, Milly’s Tavern, The Prodigal Brewery, Stone Brewing, and many more, this is a great summertime festival.

Spotlight Breweries: White Birch Brewing, Smuttynose Brewing Co., Throwback Brewery

August 30^th Boston, MA: Mass Brewers Guild Festival

Undoubtedly one of the best festivals all season! Set on the concourse of the Seaport World Trade Center, the MA Brewers Guild Fest features just about every brewery and brewing company currently in the Guild. The past two years have been picture perfect weather, with Boston’s Financial District as the backdrop to this incredible event. Proceeds from ticket sales help bolster the Guild, which promotes and protects the interest of craft brewers in Massachusetts. Sadly, this marks the end of the summer season, but is truly a great event taking place over Labor Day weekend.

Spotlight Breweries: Slumbrew, Backlash Beer Co., Trillium Brewing