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by Collette Orquiz
In a city that praises and guzzles down a depressingly impressive amount of light beer, one Fiesta event gives San Antonians a chance to refine their palates, or at least a higher alcohol content to get that buzz going.
Craft Beer Fiesta, hosted by GLI Distributing and coordinated by Puro Pinche, and held at VFW Post 76, better known as The Outpost. They featured 27 beers, all available to taste for $1 a piece. These weren’t pitiful tasting cups either, but decently sized to accommodate the fact they you may try all of them.
The family-friendly event featured live music by Blackbird Sing and The Revival, food and fun. The bands mostly played covers, but honestly the best part about the music was seeing the lead singer of the southern rock-n-roll outfit, The Heroine, switch it up and sing gospel blues-rock. A sight to see for sure, especially because he’s strolling around in lace-up boots and what appeared to be a leather jacket, on, in my opinion, a hot, and disgustingly humid day.
As far as brews go, there were a number available to sip, be it Texas locals such as Busted Sandal and Shiner, to Bridgeport, Boulevard, Samuel Adams, Ballast Point, to overseas breweries such as Kronenbourg and Rodenbach.
My personal favorite was Bridgeport’s Trilogy. I was drawn in by the ominous white ‘1’ on the black draft handle, and had to give it a try. It’s a crystal dry-hopped pale ale, that was ridiculously smooth and flavorful. It’s bright and malty, with a medium hop taste, meaning it’s just bitter enough, but not so much that you feel like you’re drinking a pine tree. I later found out, that I’ve actually already tasted this beer, no wonder I loved it.
The best thing I heard throughout the afternoon was about the Belgian ale, Rodenbach’s Classic. It’s essentially a sour, a little tart and vinegary, but seriously good. My friend Priscilla said that it was “delicious, (but) smells like wine vomit, not that I’m expert.” Not exactly what you want to hear about a beer, am I right? But trust me, once you get over the weird smell, you’ll be hooked (I had two samples).
Overall, the event was pretty awesome. It definitely could have used some more seating, along with some extra umbrellas for shade… Don’t you people know that people drinking beer get sunburn faster?
Disclaimer: This was my first ever Fiesta event.
