Live blogging the Great Taste of The Midwest Beerfest!

Welcome to the 28th annual Great Taste Of The Midwest with over 1000 amazing Midwestern microbrews from 160+ breweries around the Midwest. On tap each brewer has brought their most popular beers along with some of their most interesting. Many breweries have timed taps for one-off barrels of especially rare beers.

The first thing you are handed upon entrance is a tasting mug with this year's great taste logo:

I will be drinking approximately this much beer. And apparently farting a lot.

The second thing you are handed is the program tome; A 122 page pamphlet which is still a better love story then Twilight. This was immediately placed into a pocket and made me limp the rest of the day.

My first beer of the evening is a Founders All-day IPA. I figure that this would be a fitting starter beer. Great hop profile, smooth easy drink. This would indeed be a great session IPA. Not bitter enough or strong enough to knock you on your ass. I also tried their Timed Tap Backwoods Barrel aged Abby Ale. Deep rich caramel and fruity notes, heavily smoked and malted wheat. Whew this is a strong one!

I guess we have to go find a friend at the Great Dane tent. Oo one dollar soft pretzles! Better grab one of those and an imperial IPA it's a pretty simple double IPA. Nothing to write home about, I'll just chug it and get a Velvet hammer. Now that's a good bock. Soo bock-y.

Cindy isn't here. She's pouring at One Barrel. One Barrel is tasty. WHY is it way over there? Why? OO we need to stop at New Holland! They ahve a pool of babyruths! Nom Nom NOm foodblog foodblog foodblog heady chocolate with hints of peanuts caramel and NOUGAT. MM New Holland Gin Barrel aged Belgian IPA? Don't mind if you do!I can taste the Ginnyness! so yummy! Belgian yeasts aromaticals with ginny aromaticals! So genius! BABYRUUUUTH. Oak aged Mad hatter IPA? Now thats the ticket!

Cindy is fun. hello Une Annee. MAYA PREMIÈRE IMPERIAL BELGIAN IPA. Besht beer ever. Period. What's grain of paradise?

BACONONASTICK!!!

Ale Asylum 2 year aged Kink: mm belgian abby ale. ) Love these guys they make such good Bedlam. We SHOULD GO to their taproom I think, I think it's at the airport.

Why can't we make the ground stop swaying?

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That's enough live from the Great Taste... After that it's most illegible and entirely embarrassing. Let me put it this way, at this point we were 1 hour into a 5 hour Beer tasting.

I had some other great beers like the Kuhnhenn Dripa, double rice IPA great balance of bitter and malt and amazingly well dry hopped. Their Creme Brulee Stout was amazing if you are looking for a dessert because it tastes just like a creme brulee.

I wasn't very impressed with Toppling Goliath's Golden Nugget IPA. Their Psudo Sue was better, single hopped with Citra hops; it packed a real wollop and let you fully explore the complexities of the Citra hop.

3 Floyds was another standout in my mind, their Zombie dust is always one of my favorites, an American IPA with a very complex and enjoyable hop profile. Their "Big Titty" Sour beer is probably the first sour beer that I have really understood and started to enjoy (Argus Friday night tap takeover.)

The real stand out to me was the Rookie Brewery Une Annee. Their Maya Reserve and Maya were both stunningly complex and delicious Belgian style IPAs. Thick and creamy texture brewed with Grains of Paradise which (I now know) is a West African spice with hints of both citrus and pepper. They are a Chicago nanobrewery and this was their first year at The Great Taste. I will most definitely be visiting them in Chicago the next time I am there.

I remember eating some pork sandwich and deciding that I was going to open a taco stand for the next Great Taste. And I remember eating the most salty grilled/smoked bacon ever.

If you missed the Great Taste of the Midwest this year I would highly suggest making plans to buy tickets next year. They are sold in May for about 2 hours until they sell out. $60 and 100% worth it.

-NOM!