The Factory - Drink Good Beerfest

On Saturday September22nd – Tapped In SoCal tapped in to the Factory in Long Beach for the Drink Good Beerfest.  It was a hot day in Long Beach, the fest was held in the Factory’s asphalt parking lot, and water was an extra $2 per bottle – but with over 30 California breweries in attendance and a liberal provision of drink tickets, the Drink Good Beerfest proved to be a great opening kick-off to LA Beer Week for LB residents.

A number of breweries brought their A-game to the fest – here are a few highlights:

Bootleggers – Knuckle Sandwich DIPA 

After living in Southern California for about four months, I finally had the pleasure to try the infamous Knuckle Sandwich.  This monster is a big, citrusy, sweet DIPA with a nice bitter hop kick at the end.  Forget knuckle sandwich, drinking this beer is like getting drilled in the face by a Randy Johnson fastball – if Randy Johnson threw oranges, grapefruits and tangerines.

Strand - Berliner Weiss

Tart, refreshing and effervescent – perfect for a warm summer afternoon, bbq or just about anything.  This beer delivers a ton of taste in a very sessionable drink – Rich and the guys at Strand have added another great beer to their already stellar resume.

Epic – Imperial Pumpkin Porter

This beer begins with a nice smokey, roasted and malty kick and finishes smooth with an amazing pumpkin infusion.  Not like other  pumpkin beers where the pumpkin taste is forced into the beer and tastes a little on the unnatural side – this is just roasted, smokey, smooth awesomeness – perfect for the turning of the leaves.

Avery – The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest

Quite simply, this is the best oktoberfest I have tried in my entire life.  Oh what? It’s nearly 11 percent ABV? Yeah, that’s right, nearly 11 percent.  The guys from Boulder, CO who have mastered the art of making giant beers drinkable have delivered again with an enormous malt profile, with an excellent caramel and molasses finish. 

Kneedeep – Hoptologist DIPA

A really nice DIPA – big hits of pine and citrus right off the top, with a sweet and balanced finish.  This beer really is everything that is great about a DIPA – big flavor, big ABV and a smooth sweet finish.  Add another winner to the Kneedeep line-up.

Cismontane – Black’s Nocturne Imperial Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Cismontane was the big winner of the day.  Brewer Evan injected hand squeazed cantaloupe juice directly into a keg of Citizen and delivered a great barleywine, but the star of the show was Black’s Nocturne.  This beer is definitely not for the faint of heart – the giant bourbon taste is balanced out by the sweet raisin, molasses and coffee flavors at the back end.  Wow – what a great beer - but it will definitely sneak up on you after a couple...even 4 oz. pours.

There were certainly quite a few more noteworthy beers at the brewfest including Strand’s Imperial Stout, a great selection from Hanger 24 and of course a full line-up of amazing Stone beers – Sublimely Self-Righteous with Espreesso was amazing - and also the inaugural tapping of a Ohana Brewing.  With the hot weather, the nearly unlimited drink tickets, and the amazing line-up of great California beers – a good time was had by all – the Factory Drink Good Beerfest is definitely a must do for beer southland beer lovers.