Boonville, California. Whenever someone mentions this sleepy little town, nestled in the heart of Mendocino County, it is hard for the conversation not to turn to the yearly gathering put on by Anderson Valley Brewing Company. 2010 marked the 14th year of the fest and over the years a trip to the event has become an almost a right-of-passage for CA beer-geeks, earning it the moniker of legendary.
Thursday
There are many reasons a person can enjoy their job, but no matter what you do for a living, the ‘perks’ are the cherry on top of ANY dessert. One of the perks that is given to brewers (and their guest) every year is the opportunity to camp on the AVBC property for the weekend of the fest… but if you ask REAL nice, you can come up a day before the crowds and camp under the stars with only the sounds of a few other campers in the distance to break the silence- something we miss out on in Southern California.
*Campsite Beers- [On Tap] Newport Beach Brewing Co Steam Beer & Tustin Brewing Co. Double Pilsner [Bottles] Crispin Cider Artisanal Reserve Honey Crisp & The Saint… check these out when the hit OC stores this month- The Saint was fermented using Chimay yeast!
Friday
This is the day that the rest of the brewing community descends into the valley to lay claim to their little patch of land for the duration. One of these colonists annexed a piece of property directly across from us and upon planting his flag for the world to see, my interest was instantly peaked. ratebeer. The flag-planter was Mario Rubio, the advanced guard for Hop Press- a collection of beer writers from around the world dedicated to bringing us news on everything beer. After some introductions and a couple of beers, he invited us to join him & the rest of the Hop Press crew for a bottle-share later that night.
Another bonus about the AVBC is that it houses a Frisbee Golf course that covers almost the entire property- something we never pass up. After filling beers from the jockey-box and grabbing discs, we headed out to get in a round of golf before all the campers made it impossible to play all 18 holes again. Somewhere around hole 16 we lost Max & Dave from Uncommon Brewers, but when they reemerged they produced a game that could be played in spite of the campers- Bocce Ball. Normally I would explain the game for those not familiar with it, but we didn’t end up playing the traditional version… we played Jockey Bocce. Jockey Bocce involves the throwing of a marker (in this case an old baseball) and trying to get it closest to another campsite’s jockey-box that has kegs attached. The object is still to get your grapefruit sized ball as close to the marker as possible. but this time after each round you get to sample beers that don’t typically make it into the festival. Once glasses are refilled, the person closest to the marker tosses it toward the next location of liquid happiness and the fun starts all over again. :)
With the arrival of the ratebeer army came kegs of great beer from the likes of Moonlight Brewing & Bison and from every car came a flood of bottles from all over the world. I have a list of everything that I tried that night, but in going over my notes, I am noticing that at some point they stop making sense, so I’m going to just throw out a ‘thank you’ everyone I met from Hop Press and give the rest of you a list my favorites from the eve:
Mad River Double Dread
Bell’s Batch 9,000 Ale
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co Nor Easter
Ithaca Beer Co Excelsior! Brute
Boulevard Brewing Co Collaboration #1
Anderson Valley Brewing Co 7 Year Port Barrel
Goose Island Matilda
*Campsite Beers- [On Tap] Back Street Brewery Tripper & Uncommon Brewers’ new sour beer. This went so fast, I didn’t even get the name of this nicely tart ale. It was so much like drinking a mimosa, I was hoping there was going to be some left for Sunday morning breakfast! [Cans] Uncommon Brewing Siamese Twin Ale [Bottles] AVBC IPA & Amber
Saturday- Fest Day
To the naked eye, this year was like any other year. But this time the reigns of AVBC are not in the hands of it’s founder Ken Allen, they are held fast by a new handler- HMB Holding’s CEO, Trey White. Trey is a 15 year veteran of the beer industry and has plans to revitalize the current line-up, as well as expand the offerings of the brewery to include a selection of seasonal beers. The only real evidence of the changes to come where the barrel aged sour and a dark IPA pilot batches on the tasting room’s beer board, but other than that the fest ran as smooth as ever with plenty of great beers for every pallet.
I must apologize (again), my notes become unlegible about 8 beers in so I’ll pass on the ‘cliff notes’ to you because after I returned to camp everything is a bit fuzzy…
Firestone/Walker Parabola
Ballast Point Sea Monster [Bourbon Barrel Aged/Nitro Dispensed]
6 Rivers Raspberry Lambic
Russian River Consecration
Lagunitas Little Sumthin’ Wild
*Campsite Beers- [Bottle] Lockdown Brewing Co Stony Bar Scotch Ale I am not sure who brought this beer but there was a six pack on our table of beers so I drank one and liked it.
Sunday
This is the day where you say your good-byes to the folks you’ve met, throw out all your trash, put your recyclables in the proper (brewery provided) bins and gather up all your belongings to make the trek back to civilization. Wish I had more, but Sunday is all about getting everything together so you can hop in the car and find the closest shower!
—-
When I started making my annual plans to head North, a buddy of mine asked me ‘What makes it so legendary?’ and I had no definite answer. No definite answer that I could put my finger on… that was until this year’s trip began. It was then that I realized that no matter what, you will always come away from the experience with a story or two you can tell your friends and THAT is what makes it legendary!
Exhibit ‘A’: Last year.
Exhibit ‘B’: This year. Ask me about the ENTIRE trip next time you run into me and I’ll tell you a story…
Beware The Hoparazzi
