The beauty of any beer fest is the opportunity to explore an incredible plethora of craft beers—some new, some rare, some favorites—all easily available at your fingertips. While we hold Historic Kennett’s Brewfest on a pedestal in comparison to other area-wide festivals, the 365 days between each fall event could fly by faster.
Each year, our beer-loving hearts eagerly await our next afternoon-long opportunity to sip through the area’s latest and greatest hopped releases, itching to discover what we’ll soon consider the next best beer to hit our local drinking turf. However, after 15 successful years of Kennett Square-based beer festivals, a brilliant idea was spawned—in brewfest off-season, why not offer a second tasting, appropriately themed the “Winterfest.”
This younger brother to Kennett Brewfest made its public appearance on Feb. 23, on an ice-cold Saturday afternoon—rain included. But, like any beer connoisseur would agree, chilly temperatures and unfavorable weather will not stop you from hitting the tasting scene—and this mindset was surely the theme at this first-ever event.
At 12:30 p.m. sharp, crowds flooded underneath a series of white tents stationed along South Broad Street. Lines quickly formed for the 35+ brewery stations, each pouring a double draft lineup (some equipped with four taps) of their signature releases. With just under four hours of sampling time, our Town Dish team was sure to not make a rookie’s mistake by sipping too many, too quick. Instead, our expert attack was this: scout out the breweries we were dying to try first, and then work our way through the rest of the fest’s inventory.
With a serious 30+ samples under our belts (okay, okay—maybe we fall in-between the rookie and the expert status), we’ve lined up our top picks below as tasted at Kennett Winterfest’s first annual event.
Hill Farmstead Brewery‘s Harlan IPA
Free Will Brewing Company‘s Coffee Oatmeal Brown Ale
It’s always refreshing to spy a coffee-infused beer that’s not a porter or a stout. For this Perkasie-brewed release, delightful whiffs of java immediately smack you on the nose. The full-bodied beauty’s bitter java characteristics are balanced out by the honeyed notes of molasses, which makes this low-carb brown one I’d regularly revisit.
Kennett Brewing Company‘s 1934 Kidd XXX
The highly-anticipated brewery coming soon to Kennett offered a four-deep sneak peek of their “extraordinary offerings” at Saturday’s fest. Of the lineup, which included a Scotch ale, a coffee oatmeal stout and an extra-hopped wheat, I favored the historic-style English ale. Pronounced in feisty bitter tannins and memorable with its sweet bread finish, this strong Burton ale left me eager for this local brewing company to debut. This traditional English ale is worth seeking out!
Clown Shoes‘ Blaecorn Unidragon Imperial Smoked Russian Stout
With a monstrous name comes a beast of beer. Weighing in at 12.5% ABV, the opaque black beer pours an attractive, light mocha head and touts a bouquet of dark roasted malts, hops and cocoa. The well-balanced taste is a continuation of the aroma—unsweetened chocolate notes up front with roasted malts and coffee on the back. The beer’s moderate hopping and hints of smoke add another level of complexity to the release, and surprisingly mask the booziness of it being a high-octane beer.
Brasserie Dupont‘s Avec Les Bons Voeux
Thanks to the great taste of Kennett’s Waywood Beverage, I was able to have a Belgium beer respite at the southern Chester County fest. This spicy, high-carb ale has found its home in my personal top 10 for the last few years due to its smooth texture and vibrant citrus identity. The peppery, funky finish repetitively draws me back into its cloudy golden symphony and helps to disguise its high-in-alcohol tag (weighs in at 9.5% ABV).
Neshaminy Creek Brewing‘s Neshaminator Honey Weizenbock
As one of the longest running recipes the Neshaminy-based brewers have done, it’s clear that they put heart and soul into brewing this Weizenbock, a style they think is overlooked entirely too often (I agree!). Smooth and full-bodied, this take on a German wheat bock sticks to traditions with Hallertau and Tettnanger hops, while keeping it fresh with the incorporation of orange blossom honey. Easy-to-drink and packed with sweet malty goodness, this release is able to nod to the classics while still reinventing the way we approach the standard bock style.
Honorable mentions go to: Twin Lakes’ firkin of Tweeds Tavern Stout with roasted pumpkin, roasted orange peel and honey; Stillwater’s Cellar Door, McKenzie Brew House’s Clark Kent Super Saison, Round Guys’ Sour Tripel and DuClaw’s Sweet Baby Jesus, a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. The fest’s full beer list is available for viewing here.
Sad you missed this? Don’t fret—start saving October 5, 2013 for the 16th Annual Kennett Brewfest. Details here.
