It is easy to write an Invitational recap. Talk about the heat. Talk about your favorite beers. Talk about the lines. Talk about how well this event is run and voila, word count is hit.
I will instead focus on a different tack…
Each FWIBF is safe, structured and similar. That may seem like faint praise but it is not. I know that everything will run smoothly. They will be ready with information weeks before the event, they will follow up, badges will be handed out, the BBQ will start on time and the festival, well, the festival will have too much. I would like to spend three days going through the beers.
What is great is that there are the in-between times where you can explore Paso Robles and you had best explore it because for a smaller, out of the way town, there is a lot of beverages to check out and food to eat. I have my own schedule of visiting Silva Brewing, Twisted and Glazed Donuts and Tin City but you can do the new Field of Light exhibit now or hit up Templeton and their quaint Main Street. Or head to the other side of the 101 and all the wineries there. Firestone also has a morning after wine brunch to ease you back into Sunday and to be able to talk about the beers from the day before.
This year, my wife and I stayed in an airstream trailer outside of town that overlooked a vineyard and had a friendly pit bull named Ladybug along with chickens and rabbits and a beautiful night sky. Next year, I might stay in a different part of town (if I go of course, let’s not get ahead of ourselves). Who knows, I might go up next year even if I don’t go to the festival. I might head north just to visit all the breweries that I can’t get to like Tent City or in SLO.
As far as the festival itself, it is all just nitpicking but I have come up with some quick greater than – less than notes from the 28+ samples that I tasted on the day.
Great Leap from China > Balter from Australia
Green Cheek booth display = Alvarado Street booth display
Side Project line > Garage Project line (due to The Bruery doing ½ of the beer presentation of one Garage Project beer)
Pils as Festival collab beer > barrel-aged collab
Not following my own set festival rules because I am easily distracted > following my own set festival rules
Oh, and my favorite brewery was Rare Barrel. They have seriously dialed into my taste buds. Sadly, I did not like the two Hair of the Dog beers that I sampled even though I was really pumped for them to be there. I also missed Sante Adairus and Russian River which is very, very bad of me.