Ocean State Beer Fest 2019

This past Sunday was the fifth annual Ocean State Beer Fest and it was an absolute blast. I attended with my girlfriend and we spent the festival talking with the different brewers and their staff about their offerings and what they had coming up. Now last year I had a very in depth review about best beer, best brewery, most unique, and biggest surprise but this year was a bit different because I was not able to check in most of the beers I had as I spent most of the afternoon relaxing and talking with others. However, here are some thoughts about the event as a whole.

- Taproot continues to be one of the most underrated breweries in the state. All of their offerings were simply exceptional and their variety was good too. Their Double IPA with New Zealand hops was both hoppy and a refreshingly crisp and clean finish and the ESB was surprisingly light with a nice malty finish. While getting out to Middletown is a pain I will be heading that way more frequently.

- While the separate cask room was a really cool idea I wish that each brewery had their cask with them. I know that the big pull this year since it was the fifth anniversary was cask/barrel aged beers and they were very good I just wish they were with each brewery.

- Big and I mean B-I-G props to LineSider Brewery for not bringing an IPA to the event. While I absolutely love IPAs it was quite refreshing. Their Blonde ale was one of the best I had ever had and their stout was the best of the day.

- Grey Sail is a lovely brewery with an awesome taproom and fun location but it was definitely too small for something this size. It did make things very cozy and allowed for more interaction between patrons it was much different than last year's wide open spaces.

- Not to leave them out but props to Buttonwoods Brewery for offering a brand new beer, Providence Brewing Company for continuing their interesting and awesome offerings, Proclamation for bringing so many different options, and Tilted Barn for bringing 'Seek The Wild' which was a special treat... that lasted for maybe 15 minutes.

- Lastly I visited Smug, Shazdion, Crooked Current, and Long Live and very much enjoyed their offerings (Ghost of Summer was one of the best beers of the day). While I wish Crooked brought another beer or two they brought my two favorites and that made me very happy. Also that I really need to get to Smug, Shazdion, and Ragged Island much, much, more frequently.

Ocean State Beer Fest was a great time and I will be attending again next year and I cannot wait for next year.