A Good Bye Tasting

A little while back I was invited to attend a good bye tasting event for a fellow beer blogger, Hipster Brewfus, by Mark of Relic Brewing. My buddy, The Enlightened Pint(Damon), had thought of having a little going away deal for Hipster and Mark totally stepped up and made it happen, securing the shop next to the brewery as the gathering place. Already some very noble stuff going on, right? Yes! So, it was decided that Tuesday, August 14 at 6:30 p.m. would be the date and time which brings me to last night. Well, rewind a second. First I had to get the okay from my wife. Thank you babe! Always have to make sure it is okay with her ya' know!



Going into Tuesday night I had only met or knew 3 of the guys who would be there. Damon, Mark and I had met Steve a day earlier at Willowbrook. As for the rest of the guys, I believe the majority of them I had seen somewhere on twitter or other beer pages. I knew it would be a bunch of guys like me who are hardcore about their beer so I was completely pumped for a great night! When I got there I saw these guys,

drinking these beers,

and I was like,

haha. I mean, I knew there was going to be some good brews there but I was thoroughly impressed with the top notch brews that were there. Here's the rundown on what beers were brought:
2006 Brooklyn Monster, The Bruery Fruet, CCB Guava Grove, Mystic Descendant, Surly Coffee Bender, SA Infinium, Alchemist Heady Topper, Firestone Wookey Jack, Nogne Imperial Stout, Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree, Terrapin Wake-n-Bake, Boulevard Stingo, Maine Lunch, RR/SN Brux, Back East Imperial Stout, Jack's Abby Hoponius Union, DFH Miles Davis, New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red, Brooklyn Black Ops, PT Our Finest Regards, Nebraska Black Betty BA, Panil Barriquee 2006, Boulevard Saison Brett, Harviestoun Ola Dub 30 year, Scaldis Prestige, DFH 120, 21st Amendment Monk's Blood, Boulevard Sixth Glass, Allagash Curieux, GD Espresso Oak Yeti, Maine Thank You Allan and last but not least, and one I was really impressed with, Relic's Queen Anne Porter which I ticked right before I walked out because I didn't even know it was there and for the 2 ounces I had I was very impressed and look forward to having a full pour soon. That's a lot of amazing beer.
   While it is a bummer that Hipster Brewfus will be moving out of state, especially after I just met the guy and got to see what a cool dude he is, it was a special night for me to meet so many guys, and one woman, that are as passionate about craft beer as I am right here in Connecticut. While our distribution here in CT for out of state brewers is not up to par with NY and MA, our local scene seems to be growing steadily and that is a great great thing to see. I know of a few different breweries that either have opened or are opening soon and that is super encouraging to see. And with meeting some awesome guys like I met last night, that I didn't even know,  I believe the sky is the limit for the landscape of the CT craft beer scene. So, while I may seem to be rambling in this post(I had to be up for work at 3:30 a.m. for work this morning, the morning after drinking insane beers) my point is that last night was awesome. While I never lost the fire, an even bigger fire was lit inside me last night to continue to follow my passion for craft beer. I usually enjoy most of my bottles by myself due to a crazy schedule and being with guys like myself last night made me feel a bond I haven't felt for a while. I am going to make it a point from now on and I'd suggest any readers that can identify with me right now, make it a point to get together occasionally or find a group that gets together and enjoy some great craft brews and enjoy the awesome conversation and camaraderie that comes with connecting to other beer lovers. Hipster Brewfus, I wish you all the best on your journey and hope to hear great things from you in the future!

Cheers!
Pope