The Beer Search Party has landed in Reno. And was met at the airport in grand style. Time to recap what the good folks at Canfest lined up for me.
I arrived in Reno after a turbulent flight from Burbank but things got much better. There was a limo driver with my name waiting to whisk me downtown after that luxury, I met Doug from Buckbean accidentally and he gave me a quick tour of where to drink in Reno including the great beer and wine shop, Craft. I had a New Zealand beer in honor of Brett and Jermaine then walked a block to Silver Peak Brewing and had lunch and a DIPA.
Due to long lines from multiple wedding parties, I snagged my room at Circus Circus and chilled before trying to wend my way through the casino maze and the beer dinner.
Addendum: After getting my 7th floor room, I wound my way through the casino to Brew Brothers to sample one of their ales. I went back to the the DIPA well and came up with mediocre. Did not hop up my palate. But I did get to beer chat with some fellow beer lovers.
Then it was on to the beer dinner and awards. It was a really good set of pairings with past award winning beers. All plated elegantly. The best was the desert. A Hawaiian pudding with pineapple that worked wonders with the Maui Big Swell IPA.
Even better was sitting with Peter Estaniel, a fellow beer blogger from the Bay-ish area and the guys from Snake River Brewing (who won best in show for their IPA).
FYI – There will be a full pictorial wrap-up when I get home.