We started the night at J Gumbo's where Mike DeWeese had some very nice vintage beers for sampling. The two that the group tried were both Gales Prize Old Ales; one was a 1999 aged in a Brandy Cask and the other was the 97 version. The 99 tasted like raisins and whiskey to me and the 97 tasted like butterscotch.
J. Gumbos (formerly Badaboomz)Next up was Rock Bottom. The Brickway Brown was on special for $2.00 a pint and they also had a Cask edition of their ESB. The crowd is large, but there was no telling who was there for the pub crawl and who wasn't.
Rock BottomThe third pub of the evening was Alcatraz, where Omar let us know that the special beers available were a bourbon stout, Half Moon's Pale Ale, and the Microbrew Festival 80 shilling ReplicAle. Omar said the bourbon stout was done in a 50 gallon batch in his friend's garage and stored on Knob Creek whiskey-soaked chips for 5 months. A very tasty brew, indeed. Omar also let us know about an upcoming brew next month made with Kolsch yeast and hop plugs. So look for that mid to late August.
Alcatraz. Prisoners coming.The last pub on our list, Ram, had many beers on tap. I want to say at least 10, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as I could tell. The Total Disorder Porter I had was a nice finish to the evening.
Ram. Home of the Buttface (not pictured).Next up: B+ART at Big Car, and the Brewmaster's Dinner at Opti Park
