Last year it was nearly perfect.  The festival is held at Union Station in Los Angeles, and therefore takes driving out of the equation.  Jump on a train to Los Angeles, take a few steps to the site of the festival (the courtyard of Union Station), sample craft beers to your heart’s content, and then get back on the train for home.  Last year the organization was good, and there was an outstanding turnout of vendors.

This year the event started on a bad note, although it had nothing to do with the event.  Metrolink decided it would be a good weekend to shut down all the trains.  I seldom have the opportunity to take public transportation, but I have to ask, how can public transportation ever become a viable alternative for the masses if riders can’t be certain it will be available?  Fortunately I found seats on Amtrak, so we were still able to take a train to the event.

The train was scheduled to arrive 15 minutes after the start of the event at 12:15.  I saw that as a feature, not a glitch, because that would provide sufficient time for everyone to get into the event and we would not need to wait in line.  However, when we arrived, there was still a substantial line.  No problem.  We went to a café in the train station and had a small nosh in order to kill some time.  Fifteen minutes later we returned to the line to find it running the entire length of the train station, down one side of the station, and around a corner into the parking garage.

I walked to the front of the line to see what was going on, and saw the problem.  In all, about 1500 people attended the festival.  There were a number of people assisting with the admission process, some handing out wristbands and other handing out the glasses (which were real glass this year), but there were just two women checking the tickets.  And as I watched, as each person approached with their ticket in hand (usually a self-printed ticket with a barcode that needed to be scanned), in every case I observed the two women had no idea how to deal with whatever it was they were facing.  As a result of this bottle neck, some people waited up to an hour and a half to get into the event.

The festival was supposed to go from noon to 4:00 p.m., but in the end the last of the line was not admitted until 1:30.  Two and a half hours was still plenty of time to sample all the beers, but that’s not the issue.  By then, two of the three seminars that were being held were already over.  Further, although many food trucks were promised, there were only three, and that lead to waits of another 30 minutes to get food.  So, if you went to the festival thinking you would sample beers for a little while, relax with some food and then sample some more beers, that was not really feasible.

I go into so much detail hoping that someone related to the festival will realize how badly they performed and do better next year.  It does not take an efficiency expert to understand that if you are going to be admitting 1500 people at the same time, you need a large number of people to quickly process them. I witnessed many people voicing their displeasure to the organizers, who attempted to blame it on a fire inspection.  They claimed that the fire inspector had delayed the start so that the grounds could be checked.  But that only begs the question, how did that happen?  And the delay and disorganization I witnessed had nothing to do with the Fire Marshal; there were just too few people assigned to ticket taking.

Click on this photo for a nice panoramic view of the courtyard (and look for the half a person — looks painful):

Once inside, the experience was good, aside from the lack of food trucks (and no bands!).  There was a large number of vendors, pouring some very tasty brew.  But there are many beer fests to be had, and because of the lack of organization, there is no reason to attend this one again.

For a much more favorable, behind the scenes review, check out Dale Conjurski’s review here.  He’ll put up with anything for beer.  (That’s him in the top photo, dutifully serving up some fine Steelhead beers.)

Last year also concluded at Irvine Lake and the Blues Festival, and I don’t know if it was because of the shade or the bands were just better, but I really enjoyed the music much more this year. They were all impressive, but I especially liked Mama Pearl, Shari Puorto, and 2000 Pounds of Blues.

The ride was about 60 miles total this year, all police escorted with no stops. I never get tired of blowing through all the red lights on Pacific Coast Highway, while enjoying the view of the ocean.

I mounted a camcorder just above my headlight to capture the ride. Here is the entire 60-mile ride, compressed down to about three minutes:

The organizers announced today that there are a limited number of VIP tickets available, which get you a shady spot to sit at Irvine Lake, lunch, discounted drinks and a t-shirt.

This is a great ride for a good cause.  For details, go here.

Two years ago, the ride terminated at a shopping mall, with a few booths and only Taco Bell food to eat.  The ride was great but the destination stank.  This year it was done in conjunction with the Irvine Lakes Blues Festival, so the finish was much more enjoyable since the riders had access to all the merchandise, food and beer offered in conjunction with that function, as well as the motorcycle stuff.  A great blues group called Larry Horne and Small Change was playing while I was there.

As for the ride, it followed the same route as last year, starting at the Santa Ana Auto Mall, going up the 55 to the 22, down to the Pacific Coast Highway for about a 20 mile ride along the ocean, then up Jamboree and over to Irvine Lake.  I had an epiphany and loaded an iPhone app called RunKeeper while I was waiting for the ride to start, to record the route we took.  The entire route, time and pace can be found here.  What’s really depressing, however, is that the program thinks I was riding a bicycle, and reports that for my 56.14 mile ride, at an average speed of 30.57 mph, I only burned 1500 calories.  I knew there was a reason I don’t ride a bike.

The ride is completely police escorted, and once it starts you never stop.  The Santa Ana Police Department did a great job stopping traffic at all the lights.

Another great beer festival at Irvine Lake.  The second annual (hopefully) Orange County Beer Festival was held on May 15 instead of August like the previous year, and that resulted in much cooler weather.

I went with a friend and two designated drivers (always good to have a backup at an event like this in case one succumbs), and we arrived almost an hour early.  Very good plan, since we avoided the traffic and the lines, and had a chance to eat before they opened the booths.  In the pictures below you’ll see the place was really packed, but there was never a significant wait of more than, say, thirty seconds at any of the booths.  On the food front, the organizers did a much better job this year, offering three food vendors serving really outstanding choices.

In a perfect world I would probably take some notes on the beers as I sample them, but there is just too many booths to hit in the three hours.  I settled for picking up literature on the standouts so I could remember them later.  Some of my favorites were from the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery (Long Beach), the Cismontane Brewing Company (Rancho Santa Margarita), Bierbitzch’s always refreshing Golden Pilsner (they always have great merchandise too), Tibet Brewing and their Lhasa Beer, and my favorite of them all, the new Duvel Green.

One major criticism of the beer fest is the traffic leaving the event.  We sat in the traffic leaving the parking lot for 45 minutes and never moved.  I finally had to see what could possibly be going on, and walked to the exit.  The traffic on the road was so crowded, that none of the cars could get an opening to pull out.  I helped stop traffic on the main road to get the traffic flowing out of the parking lot, and then other “civilians” from the festival joined in and we put together an impromptu traffic system, blocking traffic for a minute at a time to let the cars exit.  Had we not done this, everyone would still be sitting in the parking lot.  A special commendation goes to a woman from Bierbitzch (or who may simply have been wearing a Bierbitzch t-shirt) for stepping up and getting really aggressive with the slow-moving drivers.

The point of the story is, the organizers must hire traffic cops for the event.  And get more porta-potties.  Lots of people drinking lots of  beer.  Do the math, then multiply by ten.

I took a complete lap of the festival with my flip camera running. It’s noisy and jerky, but you’ll certainly get a sense of the party atmosphere.

Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet, Magnum (6.0″ x 50)

I went to my humidor with no particular stick or style in mind, but was drawn to the A.J. Fernandez Sol Cubano, primarily due to the look of it.  It’s a beefy stick, dark and oily, with a metallic band that practically glows.  A punch turned out to be the perfect cutting tool, leaving a nice opening with no stragglers due to the triple cap.

The cigar is constructed with Cuban-seed Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos, wrapped in an oily wrapper grown in Ecuador, yielding a complex, medium to full-body taste of pepper, spice and a hint of chocolate.  The burn was perfect, with no relights.  My initial thought was that I would be characterizing this cigar as a fine, everyday cigar, perfect for the golf course where it would provide little distraction, but it grew more and more complex as I smoked it.  The Sol Cubano Cuban Cabinet deserves your attention so it can be properly savored.  A great smoke, rating it a 9.1, and a real bargain at less than $5 a stick.

Tire Bite Golden Ale

The Flying Dog Brewery in Denver Colorado is fast becoming one of my favorite breweries.  Its In Heat Wheat took the honors against seven other contenders in our recent hefeweizen shoot-out, and tonight its Tire Bite Golden Ale was a great surprise.

Tire Bite Golden Ale is brewed as a Kölsch-style beer.  Technically, Kölsch is a German beer specialty, brewed in Cologne, Germany. It is a clear beer with a bright straw-yellow hue, and it has a prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness. It is less bitter than the standard German lager beer, Pilsner.  Kölsch beers are top-fermented at a relatively warm temperature (55 to 70°F) and then cold-conditioned, or lagered. This manner of fermentation links Kölsch with some other beer styles of central northern Europe, such as the Altbiers of northern Germany and the Netherlands.  (Thank you Wikipedia.)

Kölsch beers are meant to be crisp and light, with a slight hop edge.  That may be why they sometimes lack respect because they are not particularly complex.  Instead, drinking a Tire Bite Golden Ale is akin to biting into a green apple, with a crisp, dry not sweet presentation.  Reviewing this beer as a true Kölsch, it fares very well, with a deserved 8.7 on The Morris Scale.  The beer has tremendous drinkability.  The next time you think you are in the mood for something like a Coors light to pair up with burgers or hot dogs, reach for one of these instead.

P.S.  I bid a very sad farewell to Paul Chappron, a friend of some 30 years.  He lived his life serving his country, first in the military and then for 20 years as a police officer in Tucson, Arizona.  His big, loving heart gave out on him at way too young an age.  You will be missed brother.

Last year’s Beerfest was held on a very hot August 30, so I’m hoping the new date of May 15, 2010 (that’s a Saturday) will make the experience a little cooler.  There will likely be around 50 breweries represented, all giving unlimited pours (four ounces at a time), so be sure to arrange for transportation so you don’t have to skip any of the samples.  Last year they offered a $15 designated driver ticket price.

Admission is $40, and you can buy tickets here.  If you wait until a little closer to the event date, you can probably pick up some discount tickets for $25.  Just don’t wait too long, because it will probably sell out.

You see the classic example of CCD every time you go to a large shopping mall, especially around Christmas time. You are forced to park miles from the mall, while dozens of handicapped parking spaces near every entrance go unused. That many handicapped spots make no sense whatsoever, but long ago in some legislative session a conversation took place that went something like this:

“I am a compassionate person who cares about the handicapped, and I therefore propose that we pass a law that reserves a parking spot close to the entrance so they will not need to travel so far in their wheelchairs.”

“I too am compassionate, but more so than you. I propose that we force businesses to reserve two handicapped spots near the entrance.”

“Your suggestions are sound, gentle persons, but you do not have the level of compassion that I possess, or you would see that a mere two parking spots is not nearly sufficient. I propose that every business be forced to set aside five percent of the available parking spaces for the wheelchair bound.”

“Your compassion is impressive indeed, kind sir, but if you possessed my much higher level of compassion you would understand that handicapped persons are not limited to those in wheelchairs. I propose that doctors be permitted to declare that anyone is handicapped, and that ten percent of all spaces should be reserved for their use, and that anyone that uses such a spot who is not handicapped, should be assessed a large fine.”

And so it went.

CCD was in full effect last year when Congress decided that the Food and Drug Administration would regulate tobacco products. In passing the new law, Congress added many CCD provisions, including a regulation that made it illegal for tobacco companies to use any color or graphics in their advertising. You see, Joe Camel was voluntarily discarded years ago since it was decided a cool camel in a leather jacket would encourage young boys to smoke. But the legislators are more compassionate than that, and decided that any pictures or color might have the same effect. U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley in Kentucky ruled late Monday that those marketing restrictions violate the tobacco companies’ free speech rights.

In a fun twist, now that the FDA is regulating cigarettes, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. had also argued that it must be permitted to say that its cigarettes are “FDA Approved.” The FDA screamed, but Judge McKinley ruled the FDA must let companies say it has approved their products. Congress; can you say “hoisted on your own petard?”

Thankfully, when thumbing through a copy of Cigar Aficionado, we will still be able to see the beautiful cigars in the ads, and will not be limited to black and white text.

In the US Open Beer Championship, as reported on BeerInfo.com, the Out of Bounds Stout ranked number one out of all the stouts tasted.  Here is the complete list of the top ten stouts (but what happened to number 4?):   

1. Out of Bounds Stout, Avery Brewing – Colorado

2. August Schell Stout, August Schell Brewing – Minnesota
3. Milk of Amnesia, Maui Brewing – Hawaii
5. Sweetwater Happy Ending, Sweetwater Brewing – Georgia
6. Pikes Stout, Pikes Place Brewing – Washington
7. Zonkers Stout, Snake River Brewing – Wyoming
8. Obsidian Stout, Deschutes Brewing – Oregon
9. Sierra Nevada Stout, Sierra Nevada Brewing – California
10. Shakespeare Stout, Rogue Ales – Oregon