I had my own beer festival....

And didn't take any pictures! Last night we had some friends from college over to have our own version of the Great American Beer Festival. We've been to the GABF 3 times in the past, and for those who aren't familiar, it's a giant ruckus with breweries from all over the country pouring one oz. samples of their products. The Denver Convention Center gets so packed with people, they line up 12 across and the line goes all the way around the Convention Center for 2 days of beer drinking debauchery. It's a good time, but it's getting to be too big, too loud, and too crowded for our aging tastes. What can I say, we're getting old. So instead, this year we decided to have our own version. I went to a liquor store near us that lets you buy individual beers and mix and match your own six packs, so I found 24 different beers we'd never tried, or had tried and liked, and asked everyone to grab a six pack or a bomber of something they liked or wanted to try. Our friends S&B just got back from the real thing Oktoberfest in Germany so they brought their faves from there. Let's just say that this morning we have a LOT of leftover beer, so we'll obviously have to have some more fun next weekend.

For food we went German style and grilled up some brats in the afternoon, then let them cook in beer and sauerkraut for 6 hours. They were delicious (but my stomach is none too sure about them this morning). We also had some homemade beer cheese soup, that would have been helped greatly by some croutons, but hey, lesson learned. I did buy a bunch of those super pretzels, but we didn't make a single one and now the freezer is packed to capacity plus some. The food was really tasty though!

Overall, I think the party was a great idea, and next year, look for an evite early. I think this could catch on!