Beerfest 2011

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Ahhhh...beer. As Benjamin Franklin so majestically stated oh so long ago, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." To celebrate this divine beverage, Atlantic City hosted its 6th annual Beerfest this weekend. The event has garnered support from the bigger players in the industry, like Anheuser Busch, but the real thrill is sampling the numerous American microbreweries that proudly display their craft in one of the state's largest collections and for five childhood friends the terms could not be simpler...sample away!

The festivities started Saturday afternoon. Everyone tied up all the loose ends of our ever increasingly busy lives and by noon we were on our way. While I cannot remember the last time "the gang" was all together at the same time, we didn't seem to miss a beat. The car ride down consisted of the age old "airing of the sports grievances," which seems to arise whenever we get together. To be fair though, when you stick five equally passionate fans of separate sports franchises together in a car ride for three hours, emotions are going to flare. While the others would never admit it, I know the truth and it is ok. When they are ready to be blown away by electrifying football, us Giants fans will welcome them with open arms.

Aside from a short pit stop at Roy Rogers, we arrived in Atlantic City seamlessly. We were staying at the Showboat Casino, which is on the lower end of the spectrum as far as amenities is concerned; but affordability was a strong factor in the search for lodging. The room had a hint of smoke smell and its age was visible, but otherwise was clean and served its purpose well. We freshened up, stretched our legs, and with time to kill hit the casino floor.

Our first stop was Blackjack, a favorite of my friend Rob M. While he always seems to come up a big winner at the tables, the rest of us did not experience his luck. I personally blame Rob D for his mush of a deck cut, but I only took a fifty dollar hit so I cannot complain too much. Seeing how we were getting housed, we cut our losses and left the table. In the process I ran into my family, who was also down for the weekend. My father decided to join the boys and we all headed for the craps tables...ding round two!

Craps was a battle for the ages. We walked in on a hot roll, but afterward, the table seemed to be cooling off. My father had a respectable roll, but as he pass the dice to me, I saw the depleted stacks of my friends and I knew something needed to be done. Then I proceeded to roll the most epic run of my craps career. I was unstoppable. It was getting close to the time to leave but I was on a heater, and everyone knows you never walk away from a heater. When I finally crapped out the majority of us were back to even or up...just in time for the main event!

The Beerfest, while not as crazy as years passed, was still a good time. The iconic bagpipers kicked off the session marching us straight into the convention center floor. We got to enjoy some good brews...and some bad ones. There were some decent porters but my favorite of the night was a Maple Syrup brew from The Smuttynose Brewery. It had a unique flavor that I never tasted before. While I don't think it would be a good "social" beer it would compliment certain dishes nicely and got extra points for originality. The biggest loser of the night was the Snoop Dog Beer. If you thought Colt 45 could not get any worse...well...you thought wrong. If you are going to go that route, which I highly suggest you didn't, I would go with the purple flavor as it was the only one that was halfway decent. After a we had our fill of beer (which is an oxymoron in itself) we made our way back to the casino for some food at the House of Blues and more gambling.

Overall it was a fun weekend. We drank some good beer, won some money, and got some well deserved rest and relaxation. We are all getting older and slowly our lives are heading in different directions. It was great to go back in time to "those days" when we were playing stick ball on a carefree summer afternoon, even if it was just for a weekend but unfortunately it is time to get back to reality...a reality with less beer.

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