THE Ultimate Beer Bout @ Tribes Alehouse – Mokena, Illinois

‎“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”— Oliver Wendell Holmes

Creativity is a BIG deal in the world of Craft Beer. I am not just talking about the breweries and their beer recipes, beer names or awesome labels. There are beer tastings, beer pairings, beer festivals and tons of creative beer blogs. Let us also mention beer books, beer ratings and beer lists. Now ladies and gentlemen, we have our first official beer bout! That is right; this creative event blew our socks off. (Good thing too, because we were wearing sandals and we know that is not cool.)

This event was a head to head match between the #1 rated brewery 2010 on Ratebeer.com ( Three Floyds of Munster, Indiana) and the #1 rated brewery 2010 on BeerAdvocate.com (Stone Brewing Company of Escondido, California ).

When I first heard about the Ultimate Beer Bout, I thought it was going to be a set pairing with all of the different styles of beer paired together i.e. pale ales vs. pale ales, stout vs. stout. This was even better! Here is how it went….

The event opened at 10 a.m. with breakfast, but I am more of a lunch guy so we ended up getting there a little after eleven. (Bad, bad move, my friend) It was a packed house long before the event began.

When we entered, we were given our tasting glass, fourteen poker chips and a scoring card. It was a simple process to start with and from there it got better. (Yet, slightly complex with a hint of alcohol and nachos.)

Our poker chips were red and blue, each were numbered one through seven. When the event started, we were to hand the #1 red chip to the bartender or server for the first beer from Three Floyds, and then we were to hand the #1 blue chip for our first beer from Stone Brewing and so on. Here is where the fun began. Instead of having a firm list of what beers were going head to head, each representative from their respective brewery would take turns leading the round. This meant that the Three Floyds rep chose what beer he wanted to start with and then the Stone rep could counter that beer with any beer he wanted. A dynamic set-up led to some great matchups! You never knew what was coming next.

After a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, the event began. The bell rang and the boxing ring girls made their way around with the round cards.

The Ultimate Beer Bout #1 – Tribes Alehouse 2010 from Dirt Cooper on Vimeo.

As each beer was announced for the round, there were loud cheers from the crowd. Everyone was into the event. (I am sure that alcohol had a little to do with it, but this event was electric.) It was like being at a real fight! The brewery reps were into it, as well. They announced the beers as if they were developing a strategy based on Machiavelli or Sun-Tzu. (Or maybe a Bruce Lee action sequence. Or even a part of the Road Runner / Wile E. Coyote sequences. **That crazy coyote**)

Listing of the Rounds: (Selected by the Breweries themselves)

This event was not for the light hearted and a designated driver was definitely in order, but with that being said, I am not sure that I can ever attend a regular beer-tasting event again. This was craft beer in a dynamic, exciting environment. This event brought us into the world of craft beer with everyone in the room. We were all involved in the judging, tasting and final outcome. Except for the beer, I think I was in a Disney Movie for adults.

As I wandered around the room, I spoke with as many people as I could. It was great to hear them discuss how they would have tactically moved through the event. It was armchair quarterbacking for beer geeks. This is our version of fantasy football. (Obviously, I cannot speak highly enough of this event.)

I want to thank the Tribes Alehouse, their staff, Stone Brewing and Three Floyds Brewing Company for putting on such a great event!

P.S. Three Floyds was the winner of this match… I feel a rematch coming on.

Tags: Beer, Illinois, Tap Room