MaltBlog

Cooperstown November Fest - Beer Tasting

On Saturday November 15, brother Al and I attended the first annual (hopefully!) Cooperstown November Fest's beer tasting. The event was held at the Otesaga Hotel, in the ballroom. The Otesaga is an enormous brick resort hotel, built in 1909. Its grounds are on the shores of Otesego Lake, the "Glimmerglass" of James Fenimore Cooper. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: visit Cooperstown if you haven't already. The village is picturesque, well-maintained, and full of interesting museums. They actually have registered the trademark America's Most Perfect Village.

When we arrived, about 40 minutes after the announced start of the event, only about 15 people were there tasting. As the day wore on, few people left but more steadily arrived. By the time we left -- around 5:30 PM -- there were at least 50 people enjoying the beer and food.

The description of the event, made known to me by sister Trese, promised sixty American and European beers, and an opportunity to converse with the brewmasters. What Al and I found was indeed about sixty beers, though for a malt aficionado like me the selections were a bit disappointing. Anheuser-Busch was there with much of its line of popular beers, including the new Accel low-carbohydrate beer from Michelob. A-B also had available three varieties of the Red Hook brand that it distributes. One variety was called "Sunrye", a beer brewed with rye that's described in their literature as a "light refreshing summer beer." That it was - very light and with the crispness I like in a rye beer. It was a bit too light for my taste -- lacking enough rye -- but I'll pick up a six pack next summer thanks to this event.

Other very common beers were being poured, many of them mass-marketed lagers such as Rolling Rock, Labatt's, and relatively common imports like Bass (England), Boddington's (England), Carlsberg (Denmark), Stella Artois (Belgium), St. Pauli Girl (Germany), and Pilsner Urquell (Czech Republic). Al and I wondered where we might find Tuborg Gold. I enjoyed an Urquell (easily my favorite Pilsner) and sampled Boddington's in honor of my wife Aimee - it's her favorite "normal" beer.

We were quite happy to find both Ommegang and Cooperstown Brewing Company pouring their beers (see photo of Eric from Ommegang gently pouring me a glass). Some beer was also available from Saranac, and Sam Adams lager was available.

I don't think any of the people pouring were actually the brewmasters. Apparently the previous day's activities were dedicated to food service managers who could come to learn more about the beers. The servers on Saturday seemed to be marketing reps from the breweries or their distributors.

Part of the event included hors d'oeuvres prepared and served by the Otesaga staff. The selection of cheeses, fruit, and vegetables was quite good, and waiters busily walked through the room with hot appetizers such as mini pizzas and chicken satay.

It was a good event, though there weren't as good a variety of unusual beers as I prefer. Still, if they have the event next year I'll certainly try to attend!

Guinness is good for you!

According to a study done by Wisconsin University researchers, Guinness -- but not other beers they tested -- diminishes blood clotting and can reduce the risk of heart attack in people with narrow (hardened) arteries!

See this link for more information:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3266819.stm

And remember, Guinness has the same calories by volume as skim milk and it's high in iron. Really!

Cooperstown November Fest

The Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown is hosting a "November Fest" this weekend, November 14-15. Here's an excerpt from their web site:

On Friday evening, November 14 and all day Saturday, November 15 the 1st Annual Cooperstown November Fest continues in the Main Dining Room of The Hotel. Meet the Brewmasters, sample the finest American and European beers, and savor delicious hors d'oeuvres and foods from The Otesaga’s gourmet kitchens. Finally, dance until midnight to live music in The Templeton Lounge.

If there are any beer enthusiasts out there planning to go, let me know (leave a comment by clicking "Comments" below) and we'll have a Maltblog photo-op!

For more information, see the Otesaga's calendar.