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– IMBC 18 Review | Cameron Steward and Sarah Steward
Indy Sick-Man Beer Con
IMBC 18 Review by Cameron Steward and Sarah Steward
Anyone who knows me or actually happens to read these annual IMBC reviews I write will be fully aware of how much I love this festival. I was there from the start, man! 7 years going strong. Never missed a one! But then I caught that 24-hour bug and spent most of Saturday morning worshipping the porcelain god. I mean come on!! I hadn’t been ill in a year and today was my Christmas day. Except were this actually Santa’s birthday I would have stayed in bed. So I threw back a couple of Co-codamol and by some miracle managed to drag myself to the ever-beautiful Victoria Baths and start sensibly with a delicious Square Root Lemonade, hoping that I could face something more beery next… That moment never came. I couldn’t even last two hours… As such, I admitted defeat and walked home – not even able to face a taxi ride for fear of redecorating the interior.
So my wife has been kind enough to share her experience with me, that in the spirit of Indy Man I will share with you. I hope you enjoy…
I’m in the market for low percentage beers today. I don’t clear 5 ft. by much, was pregnant for 9 months and have been breastfeeding for 11. Essentially, that means I get drunk on half a pint of 5% beer and I don’t want to get much past tipsy. I’m a huge fan of the session beer movement, and the more recent trend for below 3% table beers. It’s inclusive. And IMBC has always felt inclusive, championing both the ridiculous 13% stouts alongside more easy drinkers for the likes of me.
Entering Victoria baths, we are greeted by the sight of Mario (sans Luigi – off plumbing I’d imagine) tinkering with some cables. I do not see what those cables are for, but a precedent for fun is set. I’m a tea lover at heart and I can’t think of a better way to start the session than with Brodie’s Earl Grey and Seville Orange IPA. After all, it’s only 10 minutes past 11am.
Now I’m definitely not one to stand in the way of technological advances and I do admire the IMBC app for its great design and functionality but I find myself relying on the old fashioned way of just looking and listening out for beers. It’s always a guarantee that someone somewhere will try something that everyone else just has to get. This inevitably leads me to Cloudwater and as you may recall my height and predisposition towards lower strength beers, Cloudwater Small BBC Citra is a stunner!
One thing I would really enjoy, but I don’t see a lot of (as I said before, I don’t have the app, so I’ve probably missed out on some, which is my own fault) is a lower percentage stout. There are countless imperial stouts, and they sound amazing, but I know full well I’ll take two sips and be a goner. I know of a few lower percentage stouts, one by Buxton (Rednik, my husband reliably informs me), but every time I swing by the queue is out of the door. Everyone else clearly knows how amazing Buxton are too… I mean who can resist that soft serve?
One new fun thing this year is a free, Berlin-style photo booth in the Verdant room. This is clearly a popular attraction, although the fast-moving queues prove it to be a well-thought-out one too. A few silly faces later, I head back for another wander.
I never stray to much from the tried and tested path, allowing me to appreciate a non-hazy Mosaic Pale by The Kernel and something similar from Siren – I forget the name cos I’m not as bigger geek as my husband.
Overall it’s another winner and despite a few issues with queuing and lack of seating you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be back next year. Hopefully with my husband back in action too.
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– Magnify Tap Takeover | 18/10/18
MAGNIFY BREWING TAP TAKEOVER
Thursday 18th October 2018 | midday – midnight
New Jersey’s Magnify make their debut appearance at Port Street Beer House with a bang. We’ll have many Magnify kegs pouring and cans in the fridges.
Starting line-up from the selection below on keg…
Vine Shine IPA | 6.5% flagship IPA
brewed with a blend of American hops, predominately Simcoe
Grand Illusion | 8% Coconut Vanilla Milkshake Imperial IPA brewed with oats and lactose and hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Motueka. We also added large quantities of both coconut and vanilla to this beer. Creamy, sweet, tropical.
Lurching Towards the Stars – 8.5% Triple Dry Hopped Imperial IPA
Based off of Lurching Towards the Moon and Lurching Towards the Sun. We dry hopped this beer 3 times with Waimea, Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe and Columbus.
DDH Babysitter IPA | 4.2% IPA
Double dry hopped with Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe and Centennial. This beer has the exact same amount of hops per barrel as our mid range DDH IPAs, but comes in a more crushable format. Sometimes we all have to be responsible but still want some DDH goodness.
Thrill of the Chase | 8% Imperial IPA.
We dry hopped this beer with Citra, Simcoe, Mandarina Bavaria and Cascade.
New Car Smell | 6.7% DDH IPA
We just got the first shipment from our first ever Nelson Sauvin hop contract. To celebrate we decided to take this year’s crop of Nelson for a test drive with this double dry hopped IPA. Brewed with massive amounts of Nelson and a touch of Simcoe and Calypso.
Intergalactic Event | 6.5% IPA
Based on Maine Event IPA. Maine Event is brewed and dry hopped with Citra and Simcoe. We used the same recipe for Intergalactic Event, but swapped all the Simcoe in the whirlpool and first dry hop for Galaxy. We then dry hopped it a second time with another hefty dose of Galaxy.
Search with Peach and Apricot | 5.5% oak fermented saison with brettanomyces and conditioned on peach and apricot.
Read Receipts | 7% Sour IPA
Collab with Barreled Souls. Brewed with lactose and conditioned on raspberries and vanilla. We dry hopped this beer with Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic.
DDH Headaches | 8.2% Double IPA
We first brewed Headaches during our first expansion for all those headaches that come with the territory. As we add personnel and more stainless in the next month to squeeze out a little more beer out of our humble little brewery, we figured this was a good time to re-brew this old favorite with the DDH treatment.
Infinite Oil | 9% Imperial IPA
This is a mash up between Infinite Verbiage and Peak Oil, two of our favorites. Mosaic, Topaz, Apollo hop oil in the whirlpool and dry hopped with Mosaic, Ella, Amarillo, Galaxy and Apollo hop oil. A seriously intense hop experience.
Through the Use of Technology | 11% Imperial Stout
with Maraschino cherries, vanilla, coconut and hazelnut
Hoptrastophe! | 8% Imperial IPA
Triple DH Imperial IPA brewed with El Dorado, Citra cryo and Topaz in the kettle and dry hopped with 3 layered additions of Nelson, Motueka, Waimea, Galaxy and Citra cryo.
French Toast | This is a breakfast inspired DIPA, brewed with oats, maple syrup, lactose and cinnamon and dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado. The result is a complex unity of flavors that taste like your favorite weekend breakfast.
COME THROUGH FOR THE REAL THING!
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– Pühaste Tap Takeover | 16th August 2018
PÜHASTE TAP TAKEOVER
Thursday 16th August 2018
Midday-Midnight
Free Entry
Port Street Beer House
Estonian brewery Pühaste join us for the very first time at Port Street. Originally having cuckoo brewed at their friends Põjhala from 2014, Pühaste opened up their own brewery in 2016 and have been making waves ever since.
Beer list coming soon…
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– Vibrant Forest Tap Takeover 9th August 2018
VIBRANT FOREST TAP TAKEOVER
Thursday 9th August 2018
Midday-Midnight
Port Street Beer House
We are excited to welcome Vibrant Forest to Port Street for their tap takeover debut.
Vibrant Forest are a small microbrewery nestled on the edge of the New Forest National Park, Lymington. Their passion is to brew beers full of exceptional flavour. Every style and every beer they create is designed to bring forth a grand adventure in flavour. Whether it be from cask, keg or bottle, they want their beers to excite the palate and stimulate the taste buds. I’ll drink to that!
Vibrant Forest’s beers are unfined and vegan friendly.
Line up…
CASK
Summerlands | 3.5% Session IPA
Black Forest | 4.9% Porter
Metropolis | 6% Black IPA
Summit | 5% Single Hop Pale
Citra | 5% Single Hop Pale
KEG
Kaleidoscope | 6.5% West Coast IPA
Pupa | 4.5% New England Pale
Gyroscope | 8.5% DIPA
Viridis | 7.3% Raspberry & Rhubarb Sour
Kick-Start | 5.7% Oat & Coffee Stout
Black Oktober | 9% Imperial Stout
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Facebook event page HERE.