Hops Spring Eternal: Dispatches from the East Nashville Beer Festival

Beer festivals always leave me wary. You can have a great time, or you can wade through 20-minute lines only to find an empty tap when your turn arrives.  Too many times, these festival turn into masses of blackout drunks. At the 2010 Montana Beer Festival in Bozeman, lines took 10 to 15 minutes to reach the beer. A late-night beer session around a fire on the snowy night saved that evening.

Not so for the East Nashville Beer Festival. In its second year, the festival hummed along like a well-oiled machine. Rarely did any station have more than a few people in line, even when the special releases came out. Once 1 p.m. struck, the voluminous lines that surrounded the fenced parkland dwindled to nothing in 10 minutes. Nancy and I arrived just before 1 p.m. and barely waited at all.

I won’t run down everything we drank. Plenty of mediocre brews hid among the gems. But we poured them out and did our best to forget. Too many good and sometimes great craft brews flowed beneath the tents.

Wild Heaven poured Eschaton, a Belgian-style Quadruple aged on pinot noir oak chips. The difference between chips and actual barrel ageing was infinitesimal in this majestic, ruby-brown ale. They embellish the dark fruits and molasses typical to Quads with cherry, vanilla from the oak chips and even hints of raspberry and light fruits. Complex even for a Quad, Eschaton was dangerously drinkable. This Georgian start-up will not open its brewery until 2013, but should generate strong attention with such unique brews. Nashville brewers occupied a large minority of booths.

Yazoo Brewing earned a prime spot for its cask-heavy display. The Sly Rye Porter with Cocoa Nibs developed a seductive streak far removed from the mainline Sly Rye. The chocolate backdrop worked well in collision with the porter's rye.

Indianapolis' Flat 12 Bierwerks opened a great rye revelation, its Big Black Dog 68. This rye stout produced rich, textured layers of spicy tobacco and molasses. The roasted character helps Big Black Dog built to 68 IBUs. This original pleased with every pour.

The local Black Abbey has an unmistakable heavy metal vibe. With the brewery still in fundraising mode and without a physical location, they presented three beers, including West Coast Wheat. Poured from a cask, this wheat ale bore the undeniable citrus of West Coast hop varieties.

Louisville's Rivertown Brewery poured a magnificent Blueberry Lager, one of the day's most sessionable brews. I harbor a soft spot for blueberry-based beers. In the 80-degree temperatures, the aggressively tart blueberry flavor mingled effortlessly with the amber lager. Others caught on; by the time we circled back to Rivertown, the Blueberry Lager tap disappeared. Their citrus-laden Wit also fit the profile of a summer quencher.

We could not stay strictly domestic. Some liquor rep friends from Alexei's Wine & Spirits poured the latest from St. Feuillen, including a dynamite Grand Cru. This strong blond ale spiced with coriander has a strong lemon body. After a bad experience with a bottle spoiled by metal influence, St. Feuillen Saison improved immensely. Poured from a smaller bottle, the saison is much maltier than the Grand Cru, with a dirty orange character different from the day's other saisons. 

At several tents near the food vendors, local homebrewers showed startling ingenuity. The Music City Brewers boasted a Saison de Brux, a  Belgian farmhouse style that uses brettanomyces, furthering its complexity.. Another entry that challenged perceptions was an American pale ale infused with hot peppers. The pepper served as a perfect antagonistic for the hops, giving both characteristics room to operate.

Among these rare homemade libations, we tasted a Spanish cedar IPA and a brown sour ale aged in a Russian River barrels. Hardly mouth-puckering, the mild sour flashes notes of molasses, cherries, and chocolate. Musty tones of cider, vinegar and even Worcestershire sauce also held court.

Trouble came to stay after we sampled a sterling barleywine from Napa Smith. Red and dark fruits dominated this elegant beast that relegates hops to the backdrop.

At 3 p.m., Nebraska Brewing Co. started popping 750 mL bottles of its Melange a Trois, a Belgian-style golden aged in Chardonnay barrels. Melange has stirs of vanilla in its blonde body and some tartness indicating brett or lactobacillus lurking in those barrels. In 10 minutes or less they blew through a case. It had more wine character than most beers would dare; Nebraska Brewing went there, and we should be glad they did.

We already familiarized ourselves with Nebraska's offerings. I forced Nancy to take a beeline there once we entered the gates. Lucky Bucket appeared first, so we went with their lively Saison, a new addition worth remembering in summer. The lemon and spice combination sparkled with hints of cracked grains and a few fingers of coriander.

We stuck with the Cornhusker State, starting with Nebraska's Infinite Wit, a subtly complex Belgian style with tones of pineapple, lemon and even melon (cantaloupe, honeydew)circulating in its cloudy body. It set a high-water mark by which we would judge all other wheat ales.Throughout the festival, we returned to sample Brunette (a lively nut brown ale), HopGod (a  Belgian Tripel/American IPA hybrid rich with passion fruit, hop citrus and bitter spiciness) and Cardinal Pale Ale (classic American pale ale with just enough hop to keep the taste buds curious). HopGod was a story in contrasts, its gentle flavors running into hoppy outbursts. Somehow it stay balanced.

By 4 p.m., I had hit the saturation point, and my tasting notes had grown largely illegible. We sampled through East Nashville's new neighboring breweries, Fat Bottom and Broadcast, but any meaningful words will have to wait for a taproom excursion.

Cruising the " no reentry" signs,  the festival ended for us. Through its sophomore outing, the East Nashville Beer Festival has built a strong tradition, one suitable for beer-nerds and casual drinkers. They could invite the same brewers next year and still please the palates of repeat visitors.