2018 Big Beers Belgians & Barleywines Pour List

Perhaps I’ve become a bit spoiled, or maybe even a little jaded, but its become few and far between that I’ll get downright giddy when it comes to the prospect of attending a beer event. However each year, there’s one event that rivals the level of excitement experienced on Christmas morning as a kid, Big Beers Belgians & Barleywines.

Over the years, Big Beers has grown to become one of the country’s premier holistic beer festivals. Stemming from organizers Laura and Bill Lodge’s passionate approach toward curating the best talent, while also going above and beyond in ensuring the best attendee experience, Big Beers has come to capture the essence of what it takes to throw the ultimate beer lover’s weekend, ranging from a star-studded cast of brewers, to an elite level lineup of beers, intimate brewers dinners, premier educational seminars, other extracirriculars like beer & yoga & a cigar pairing session, all to the backdrop of some of the most stunning mountain vistas and world-class skiing resort.

Explore a More In-Depth Preview of the 2018 Big Beers Belgians & Barleywines Festival

This year’s Big Beer Festival will once again feature elite level talent, as evidenced by the preliminary pour list that has already been released. Initial standouts include the long-awaited return of Black Project’s Cat Sabbath, a 21% Double Imperial Stout, that has been retired since Black Project evolved from their origins as Former Future Brewing. Cat Sabbath will be featured alongside CYGNUS and STARGATE, both of which can’t be missed either. Casey Brewing will be bringing their trifecta of highly touted Farmhouse Ales in Jammy, Leaner and Supreme Clientele, Cerebral’s Barrel-Aged Work from Home makes a grand re-appearance alongside Here be Monsters and Safe Word. Fremont is bringing the house with all things Bourbon Barrel-Aged from Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb, to Brew 2000 Barleywine, to Barrel-Aged Unicorn Tears, to The Rusty Nail and more. Modern Times will also bring a number of rare gems including One Million Tomorrows a Barrel-Aged Funky Sour with blueberries and raspberries, Devil’s Teeth and Monster’s Park: Mexican Hot Chocolate.

Grab Your Tickets to the 2018 Big Beers Belgians and Barleywines Festival

Goose Island, which always likes to show off at Big Beers will bring Reserve Bourbon County Stout. Jester King will sport their SPON Three Year, a blend of three vintages of spontaneously fermented Lambic-style ale and in a similar vein, TRVE Brewing will have their instant classic in Wavering Radiant, a one-year old, unblended American Young Spontaneous Ale. Amalgam Brewing, this year’s breakout spinoff from Powder Keg’s Phillip Joyce and Eric Schmidt will bring a bevy of their recent releases such as Ascension and Composition #1, that have helped catapult them instantly on the local wild/sour radar, as well as a few upcoming sneak peeks, most notably Handpicked: Danube Cherry, a beautiful Solera Golden Sour refermented on handpicked Danube Cherries from the Western Slope. River North Brewing will weigh in with their entire 17%+ ABV Vicennial Series. Side Project will make a splash in their Big Beers debut with Beer: Barrel: Time 2017, Bière du Pays Blend #6 and more. Our East Coast team is buzzing about Tröegs who will be shipping out Mad Elf Grand Cru, which has already gotten our high acclaim this holiday season.

We can’t forget Boston Beer aka Sam Adams, who will bust out a 29% Utopias Aged on Cherries. Comrade Brewing will feature a Coconut version of their Quit Stalin Russian Imperial Stout. And finally WeldWerks Brewing, which in previous interviews credits Big Beers for making the push needed to convince Neil and Colin to launch their brewery, will bring the house with four Achromatic variants, and three takes on their Medianoche including Cherry Truffle Medianoche, Single Barrel S’mores Medianoche and Rum Double Barrel Medianoche among their 12 beers pouring at the fest.

But enough of our hot takes there’s plenty more to get excited about, the full 2018 Big Beers Belgians and Barleywines Pour List can be found below. Tickets are still available for next Saturday’s Commerical Tasting, so grab one and say hi to the PorchDrinking team while you’re up there:

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