Find Beer Bliss at Beervana

In the Fall Guide, I made this bold statement about Beervana Fest: “It’s not open to debate. It’s simply the best local beer event.” Need proof? Here it is:

Location: On October 16 from 6:30-10pm, the seventh annual fest will be held at Rhodes-On-the-Pawtuxet at 60 Rhodes Place in Cranston, a splendid and century-old space that truly enhances the world-class beer gathering. And this year, Beervana will expand to Rhodes’ balcony, which means more beer!

Edification: Beervana promises “Craft Beer Enlightenment,” which is delivered via sublime sampling, of course, and educational seminars. This year’s speakers are Sam Calagione, the esteemed founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales (he also spoke at the first Beervana; ask him how Dogfish almost got established in Rhode Island) and Mike Gerhart, the brewmaster at Otter Creek who honed his chops at Dogfish Head and brought new liquid glory to the Vermont brewery. You’ll learn a lot from these guys and get to taste their beers while doing so. And you can glean insights and get info at every table. The folks pouring your samples are brewers, owners and distributors who are proud to share and spread the passion for their creations.

Curation: Okay, okay — let’s get to the beer. At most fests, brewers share their core offerings and a few tables boast a special offering. At Beervana, the bulk of the list is bursting with rarities, exclusives and new-to-the-state brews, representing virtually every style. And hats off to the Beervana dynamic duo, Julians co-owner Brian Oakley and Nikki‘s Liquors co-owner Mike Iannazzi, for outdoing themselves every year. And this year there’s even more to absorb. At press time, 45 breweries were confirmed (more TBA), and more than 200 beers will be in the house, which leads to some daunting math and some challenging decisions. Even with unlimited — and responsible — sipping and a designated driver and/or cab and/or Uber lined up, you can only sample about one-sixth of the tantalizing treats (computation based on 32 two-ounce pours, aka four pints; your mileage may vary). So do your homework. The complete beer list will be released a week or so before the fest (it will be at my Bottles & Cans blog: bottlescansclaphands.wordpress.com). Absorb it and get a game plan, but go with the flow. Chat up your fellow attendees in the lines and see which beers are generating must-try buzz.

Let’s dig into those 45 breweries. There are notable Beervana first-timers, including Against the Grain, Beer’d Brewing (you’ll make regular trips to Stonington once you taste their fare), Evil Twin, Mikkeller, Rodenbach, and Tributary (helmed by Tod Mott, who concocted the legendary Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout at Portsmouth Brewery). Ten locals will be repping RI: Bucket, Crooked Current, Foolproof, Grey Sail, Newport Storm, Proclamation, Ravenous, Revival, Trinity and Whaler’s, and brewmasters Dave Witham of Proclamation and Josh Letourneau of Grey Sail will whip up a special collaboration brew. And there will be more wondrous pours from Allagash, Ballast Point, Cantillon, De Molen, Founders, Goose Island, Jack’s Abby, Kazematten, Lagunitas, OEC, Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada, Smuttlabs, St. Bernardus, Stone, Two Roads, Victory . . . Good luck with that game plan!

Advocation: On the Beervana thread at Beer Advocate, the site’s co-founder, Jason Alström, opined, “Seriously … one of the best beer fests I’ve been to.” And Jason has been to most of them and helms two great annual Beer Advocate events in Boston. The man knoweth of what he speaks.

Summation: Beervana is simply the best local beer event and the best local beer event bargain of the year. Some lesser fests cost more than this one. Tickets are available at beervanafest.com. And don’t hesitate: it will sell out in advance. If you’ve never been to Beervana (and why not?), you should reward yourself and experience beer ecstasy.

For more beer news, hit my blog, bottlescansclaphands.wordpress.com and follow @BottlesCansRI.