by Brian Wall
Little Elm joined the ranks of the craft beer movement last weekend, June 14, when the first Brew and Que happened. While it was a little warm, there was a pleasant enough breeze off the lake and some shade in certain spots close enough to the bands to enjoy the day. The park offered adequate parking and volleyball courts for some exercise. A standard playground rounded it out for the parents that visited the fest.
The food at the fest was a great variety of barbeque, street tacos, Cajun and others. The only downside to the food vendors were the supplies on hand. A few vendors ran out of food only a few hours into the six hour fest. This can be expected from a first year event when the amount of attendees is underestimated.
The beer was on par for craft beer. A few breweries had not been sampled before and a select few beers had eluded my tastings so far but this fest allowed for those shortcomings to be remedied. There were no rarities brewed for this fest but this fest was more of a nice park visitation coupled with good food, good beer and good music. I must admit that the one band that claimed Deep Ellum’s Neato Bandito an “imperial stout” seemed to be slightly confused.
So, while many beers were sampled there were a few that stood out. The first one is the Ace Premium Ciders Pineapple Cider. This cider gave a sweet nose and good blend of cider sweetness with pineapple flavor but without the acidity that normally accompanies pineapple. The cider was by far one the best sampled out of most ciders drunk and seems to be an elusive flavor as I have never encountered it locally. If you enjoy pineapple and ciders, make this your primary goal.
Ommegang Brewery is another standout with the Fleur de Houblon. This is the summer brew and showed with a nice, light flavoring touched with some citrus, clove notes. This beer is easy enough on flavor and light enough in body to be able to enjoy on a hot day. This beer does boast an ABV of 6.8% so be cautious of how many get downed during that hot day.
While it has been out for a few weeks, Deep Ellum’s Neato Bandito, a Mexican lager and not an imperial stout, was a nice enough beer. It brought back a couple memories of Cancun and drinking beer on the beach. The only addition that would be nice to have added might be a drop or two of lime juice, if you prefer your Mexican lager with that addition. Even so, Deep Ellum continues to give us good, drinkable beers in an assortment for every taste.
The final beverage that stands out is the root beer, non-alcoholic, that was sampled from Little Elm Brewing. A sweet, very chilled root beer that hit the spot on such a hot day. While they did not have any beers to sample at the fest, the root beer was excellent. I look forward to the beers when they are in full production and public offering.
While this was not your typical beer fest, it was still a great day to enjoy some beer samples in an outdoor setting. The addition of strollers, toddlers and small non-drinkers was a bit awkward, it still added to the experience. The fest gave full pint glasses with the Little Elm Beer and Que emblem on it and allowed for twelve samples of beer. Extra samples were allowed to be purchased.
This upcoming Saturday, June 21, there will be another beer fest- Lewisville’s Best Little Brewfest. There is a large amount of breweries making an appearance and if you have no plans for the day, consider going. Great beer to all. Slàinte.
