Boise Beer Fest (Review?)

Well. Well, well, well. First of all, kudos where kudos are due. Congratulations Boise on making a festival that is finally worthy of the afore mentioned title. Now, let me begin with two primary observations.

1) Nice job on the handling of the pricing index. Your "best deal" including the mug and 17 tokens was perfect to cover the hopped cravings of my Sara and myself. A suggestion to whom-so-ever would dare to indulge in the $20 special on their own may very well have included a $10 delivery charge to drop you off at your origin after drinking yourself into a stupor.

2) The other finding was that given the nature of the name, I was surprised to find that out of the 100 or so beers to be tasted, I only found about 5 that I had never had before. The good news: I had a couple of beers that I subsequently enjoyed and am looking forward to having again. The bad: Where the hell is all of the new summer brews that the breweries brag about let alone the tongue tantalizing promises of the fall hop harvest where true-blue beer lovers are gifted their annual requiem of oo's and ah's?

Alas; I enjoyed my first tour of the Boise Festival but in retrospect I am first given ponder to what a true festival-de-brue should entail. I submit the following. We were overheated at a mild 85 degrees today. Enjoying a beer should not be misconstrued as chugging down a cold one because I am so flippin' hot! That is what beer in a can is for. (or water, your choice.) Next, let's do this right. The passage of the common beer drinker and beer lover seems to follow a relatively modern trend although it began with the origin of beer itself. Beer was originally brewed during the harvest. The harvest of barley and hops. This constitutes a brewing cycle that starts around late August and early September. The result? A tasty brew arriving post fermentated early to mid October. Can anyone say "Oktoberfest?" I guess that is where my heart lies is with the breweries that understand it. Every fall a handful of these masters begin the ritual of brewing the newest, greatest , most tasty, malted beverages our taste buds can allow and call it their "seasonal." Bravo to the great modern brew-dogs of our generation. You understand why we huddle in masses at our favorite co-op or brew shop awaiting your fresh-hopped ales. Thank you for your relentless pursuit of perfection realizing that freshly brewed batch hits your pallet you are already considering your changes to improve your work of art for the following season. Thank you for not giving in to the conception that bigger is better and subsequently your quality must suffer. Your small gracious following of true beer lovers will never fall off the wagon.