I'm a big fan of craft beer festivals but I can say that the Nashville market is maybe a little saturated with them. I only say this because I've been to several in the past two years and each one has pretty much the same players and the festivals all seem to run the same way. Having said that...I still really enjoy craft beer festivals.
The Predators festival was great and obviously folks planned the event well. Being early August in Nashville, an indoor event was a good call.
To be clear, the term of the day was "Bourbon Barrel-Aged." EVERYONE seems to be offering this style of beer as a special or even have it in their line-up. I can't say I disagree with their decision, however there are clear winners and losers. Saturday's offerings ranged from too-oakey to too-bourboney to just right. I'd have to say my favorite barrel aged was Turtle Anarchy's Barrel Aged Portly Stout. It was quite well balanced and had just the right amount of Bourbon / Oak / Vanilla / Booze as a Barrel-Aged Stout should.
My favorite beer of the day goes to Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Stout. Which WOWED everyone around us with it's silky smooth sweetness. It truly is like drinking liquid Creme Brulee.
My partners in crime were Mike Noonan a/k/a Big Papa and his personal trainer Daniel. Papa is a fellow homebrewer of "Breaking Brewery" fame and of course his M.O. is to not do anything small. We certainly had a great day and enjoyed the VIP area which had Broadway Brewhouse grub and a few Belgain brews.
All in all, it was a well-done festival and I hope to attend next year.
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