American Craft Beer Week 2010Welcome to the start of another great American Craft Beer Week! Unfortunately, it seems Connecticut is a bit light on the offerings this year – the Brewery Event calendar shows just one entry for the Constitution State – Willimantic Brewing Company’s tapping of their Dry Hopped 2010 Cask Barleywine on Wednesday, May 19th 2010 (7:00 PM). Willimantic will also be brewing up a batch of their Working Man’s Wheat in honor of ACBW.

All hope is not lost, however – we also have the 16th Annual Connecticut Craft Brewers’ Festival in Naugatuck on May 22nd, 2010. Check out my Examiner article on the festival for all the pertinent details. Unfortunately, I will be out of the state that weekend, but you should try and attend if you can – they have a great lineup of breweries and it should be a great time.

I’ve reached out to a few of the state’s brewpubs and breweries to see if they have anything special planned – I’ll be sure to post any details when I receive them. In the meantime, if you know of any other Connecticut beer happenings this week, drop me a line!

Today, I wrote an Examiner article on ACBW. I’ll be profiling a different craft beer each day of the week, and today’s was Harpoon’s UFO White. I really enjoy Harpoon’s beers, and this take on a Belgian Witbier is no exception. Want to recommend a beer for me to try during the rest of the week? Drop me a comment!

Also, don’t forget to sign your Declaration of Beer Independence! This week is a great time to talk up our national microbrews and support your local brewers!

Well, so far it’s not shaping up to be a great beer weekend. First off, found out just a smidge too late about the 14th Annual CT Craft Brewers’ Beer Festival to attend. Live music, 40 breweries and brewpubs represented, over 135 beers poured…doesn’t sound like fun at all. It was today from 5-8:30PM in Naugatuck, CT – I heard about it around 1PM, but I would’ve had to rearrange the whole weekend and cancel the dog’s vet appointment to go. Muttered “C’est la vie!” and moved on.

I was getting over that disappointment when I learned I had also missed the 25th Annual Springfest at the Beach, held last night in New London, CT! Chili cook-off, live music, 30 microbreweries represented, over 100 beers poured. WTF??? I need a secretary or something… (If anyone went to either event, drop me a line – I’d love to hear how they were).

To top it all off, my brew session planned for tomorrow (a clone of Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat) is being threatened by a forecast of rain all day.  Yes, the stars have aligned to prevent me from achieving beer nirvana this weekend.

On a positive note, I picked up a third keg today, so I can rack my new batch of Engine 97 out of primary – it’s a bit overdue. Also got another 6 gallon carboy, since it’s time to rack the Sangiovese again – can’t wait to taste a sample. Finally, picked up a can of Oregon Blackberry puree to use for a future batch of wheat beer or pale ale.

It still stings, though.

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