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After a fun filled trip during opening weekend of the Food & Wine Festival, as well as both successfully completing the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, Patrick and I decided to thoroughly reward ourselves with a complete beer tasting at both the Brewer's Collection Booth and the Craft Beers Booth.

With the Brewer's Booth complete (minus the allusive Kolsch), we set our sights on the final booth of the adventure.  Obviously we're posting reviews in reverse order...the Brewer's Booth post will hopefully be posted in the near future (yes, hopefully before Food & Wine Festival ends!).

Looking at the list, we realized it wasn't as "crafty" as we had hoped, but we knew Scott had also mentioned that on here earlier when he did his original post about Food & Wine.   Since Blue Moon and Sierra Nevada could be found around every corner, we decided to bypass those and ordered two samplers that contained the remaining 6 beers.

Also in the mix was my Kona Pipeline Porter from the Hawaii booth....

[caption id="attachment_4052" align="aligncenter" width="570" caption="What a pretty rainbow of beer"][/caption]

And our thoughts on all of these?  Here you go.....

From Left to Right...

Kona Pipeline Porter (from Hawaii booth)

~Jenn:  I'm a huge coffee fan, and this reminded me of a few of the coffee porters I've had in the past.  Smooth with a hint of coffee/chocolate.  Not too heavy whatsoever.  Wouldn't mind a pint or two!

~Patrick: Disclaimer, I am not a coffee drinker at all, so I usually don't go for coffee beers. Jenn picked this one up at the Hawaii booth right before we hit up the Craft beers. I was surprised that the coffee flavor was not overpowering. It was really easy to drink with just the right amount of coffee flavor for me. I wouldn't mind drinking this one again.

Full Sail IPA

~Jenn:  As a fair warning...I am NOT an IPA fan.  This reiterated that.  Way too hoppy and woody for me.   However the fellow runner that started talking to us when he saw our collection said he thought it was amazing.  To each his own. :)

~Patrick: I too am not an IPA fan. I've tried several different kinds, but can never find one I like. So this one for me was my least favorite out of all we tried. Wouldn't try this one again.

Abita - Purple Haze

~Jenn:  A beer I've had previously and I was excited to get it again.  Slightly fruity but not overpowering at all.

~Patrick: I've had this beer before, but it was quite a while ago. So was quite surprised when I gave it a try this time. It was different than I remembered. I enjoyed the subtle fruit flavor. Definitely not as strong as the Leinenkugel's (which is a good thing).

Red Hook Pilsner

~Patrick: This beer wasn't great and it wasn't horrible. It was one of those beers that aren't memorable. Pretty much like all other Pilsners with nothing unique about it.

~Jenn: Um, yeah.  What Patrick said.  I honestly can't remember this one.  I remember commenting that it was nothing special.

Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss

~Jenn:  Woah...I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't drinking carbonated Hawaiian Punch.  This really shouldn't even be classified as a beer.  Way too sweet, no beer flavor whatsoever, and just meh.  It reminded me of the Purple Haze with a LOT more syrup or something in it.  Our friend Keith though, who doesn't drink whatsoever, enjoyed this.  He finished it up for us when Patrick and I couldn't take anymore.  So for all those non-beer drinkers?  Try this one!

~Patrick: "I'd like some beer with my fruit please! " This one didn't taste like beer at all. It tasted very syrupy but I can definitely see how it would appeal to those who don't typically like beer.

Key West Sunset Ale

~Patrick: This one was OK. A very drinkable beer, but wouldn't be my first choice. Honestly, can't remember much about this one, other than "not horrible"

~Jenn: Ditto what Patrick said.  "Not horrible" was definitely our go-to phrase!

Widmer Hefeweizen

~Patrick: I'm a big Hefeweizen fan. I've had this one before and wasn't disappointed. Had the right amount wheat and fruity flavor. It tasted the same as the bottled version that's probably at your local beer store.  Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

~Jenn:  So yeah, apparently Patrick and I have the same taste in beers.  Love Hefeweizen's and hate IPA's.  So no surprise that I really enjoyed this one too.   I have had this one before as well.  Not my favorite hefe but definitely enjoyed it!

Also at booth but not tried (click links to view past Beers & Ears Reviews):

Sierra Nevada

Blue Moon

[caption id="attachment_4053" align="aligncenter" width="570" caption="Success!!!"][/caption]