Monday, July 30, 2012

Beerfest 2012

Haven't been to Toronto's Festival of Beer (Twitter: @TOBeerFestival & Facebook: TOBeerFestival) since it moved to Exhibition Place and this year I was lucky enough to get media passes which allow us to choose to go any given date (Friday 27th-Sunday 29th) and we went on Saturday which tickets was sold out weeks ahead. The pass also gave us access to the Media Lounge where we got 2 complimentary sampling tickets each and food are served throughout the day with free WIFI access.









It's nice to have access to the Media Lounge where we could grab a seat and get out of the huge crowd out there


I have also included some Instagram (follow me at kiki_BFF) pictures that I tweeted throughout that day (^_^)


 Nice beer mug, I still remember a few years ago where the sampling cup was plastic =P



~ The 1st thing we were given was a pin w/ hastag of the day #BeerMe and the event twitter handle @TOBeerFestival reminding you to tweet (^_^)
~ Some of the free goodies from the media lounge: mini Tobasco (♥ it, so cute), Sahving Oil and some dental piks ;)
~ Beau's have been handing out these visors and I think it was the best advertisement ever since everyone have there eyes on it and was looking for it everywhere
 ~ And just by re-tweeting, I got a free t-short from Wellington Brewery (@WellingtonBrew)


First thing first, we head to grab some tokens (although you can pay by cash for food, you'll need to buy tokens for all the beer) and went in search of some food... . need to eat before doing some intense beer sampling (^_^) 

 The 3D bottle catch my eyes right away which make this our first stop, you can rub the belly for good luck ;)  It was an extremely light and easy drinking lager but falls flat flavor wise




 We tried one of each, the Lobster Taco was a bit bland and this is my 2nd time having their Lobster Roll, it's as creamy sweet as I remember and love the slightly toasted super moist, soft and slightly sweet bun. ($5/ea)


I recently went to The Feasting Room for their all duck dinner (post to come) and although everything was delish, I was a bit disappointed in their super mini portion. Here at $5 a sandwich seem such a deal to sample what they have to offer....



 Ox Heart Philly Cheese Steak and Suckling Pig Sandwich $5/ea
The Pig roasting there look so good but I was actually a bit disappointed in the final product with was a bit tasteless but we both love the Ox Heart which was a lot more flavorful with just the right texture. 


A rather strong lager with strong malt and grain flavor



 Huge line up for the Steam Whistle (@SteamWhistle) box hat and heard some people waiting in line for over 2 hours which we skip since I didn't feel silly enough for one =P


We end up getting 2 of our favorites, the Pale Ale and the Amber (my fave) and you could take a look at my post here
 Will need to go back with some friends to order that "one metre beer", it's just so epic ;)


Jack Daniel's ready-to-drink pre mixed Lemonade & Cola Cold No7
I personally am not a fan of JD, so not fare for me to judge....


We tried both the JD Lemonade and the Margarita and both was very corbonated and sweet, not really our thing :(

Tried their wine here which was rather good, now they have their own beer which I was even better



 Keep6 Imports


It's one of my fave Canadian Brewery (Montreal) and I tried the Corne du Diable that day. It was an Pale Ale with a strong hop aroma and had a sharp bitterness malty flavor which I totally love. I find that I love stronger flavor, slightly bitter beer but these type of beer are meant for sampling rather than drinking in large quantity (more than one bottle)


Ok i know this is beerfest but this was my go to booth, I have been looking for them since I arrived (I am more of a foodie than a beer drinker after all) and we order all 4 items from their menu =P
#RebelWithoutAKitchen



 Diablo Chicken 
~ pulled chicken w/ coleslaw

The SGT Slather
~ pulled pork in bacon infused sauce, creamy guacamole & bacon chips 
This was our fave, love the sauce and the bacon chip which added some texture

The Kingzilla 
~ root beer braied beef short ribs w/ kimchi
 The braised short ribs was so moist and flavorful and love the contrast with the crunchy spicy kimchi

Bacon Special : Alabama Tailgater 
~ beef carpaccio stuffed w/ cheddar and peppers then wrap in bacon
This was the best thing ever, even better than the sandwiches and perfect with beer :)



Got to support Local Craft Beer, if you miss this year Beerfest, there's still a smaller Craft Beer Festival at Steam Whistle on Aug 11th & 12th


Local Toronto Brewery







Get sprayed by cute girls and get free beef jerky... what else can you ask for on a hot day =P







Oyster Boy ~ I just can't say no to Oysters ;)



Love how active they are on twitter, even during Beerfest and with an RT I won a t-shirt :)



 Duggan's Brewery #9 IPA is one of our fave craft beer that readily available at LCBO


My fave local brewery, I even love their slogan "Normal is Weird" (^_^)
They had a lot of special brews available during the beerfest; like the Chocolate Birthday cake, Tutti Fruitti, Stereo-Vision and also some of their classic like Antigravity, Hoptical Illusion (my fave), Netherworld just to name a few...




At 1 token for 1/2 and 2 tokens for full glass, we end up trying quite a few : 

Stereo-Vision
Co-co-nutz ~ Ben's fave w/ nutty flavor
Antigravity
Lemonade
Barel of Monkeys (love this one, normally not a fruity beer person but love the tropical fruit flavor here which was rather refreshing after all the bitter beer)





Live on the Bandshell ~ live show throughout the day


 There's also a few Food Trucks :


Fresh Maple Beef Bacon Donut


K-Song Taco (@KSongTaco)
Finally got to try this pop-up Korean taco shop


 They had 3 choice : Beef, Fish and Veggie (tofu) at $5 each
Although it was yummy, I was a bit disappointed since everything is the same from the sauce to the topping (kimchi, cucumber salad, bean sprout salad and caramel crunch)



Love the Circus theme here and the poster says,  Marvel at Bizarre Acts of Brewing Excellence


A mermaid at hand for you to marvel, take pictures with and maybe carry home ;)


 We resisted on getting our fave like the Lemon Tea (fave beer for summer) or Organic Lager.
Even the Coffee Porter is one of our favorite which have a surprisingly strong coffee flavor...
We end up trying one that we never had before, Cobblestone Stone but both of us didn't like it (>_<)


Handing out those visors are probbaly the best advertisement of the day and also great way to attract people to your booth :)



One of my fave treat is Nicklebrook 's Green Apple Beer Float which I got quite a few friends hooked and I remember it was at Beerfest a few years ago that I first tried it... In ♥ since !!!
This time I went ahead and tried the Maple Porter Floats which I found a bit too sweet together with the sweet Vanilla ice cream... I will stick with the Green Apple Beer ;)




There was even Cigar for sale, Ben just couldn't resit and had to grab one before we leave


Verdict :
Wish I got a 2 day pass since there wasn't really time to explore and we got really full with all the food and beer which is super filling compare to other alcohol 
I missed out quite a few that I like (for ex: Spearhead and Innis & Gunn)
I'm hoping that we will be invited back next year (^_^)
 See everyone at the Craft Beer Festival on Aug 11th & 12th ?!

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