Snallygaster 2023


On October 14 I went with my friend Lori to the Snallygaster festival in downtown Washington D.C. She had been to it once before but I'd never been because it's held way downtown, which would necessitate Ubering or getting a hotel, both of which would be expensive. Lori volunteered to drive, as she is more responsible than I am at beer festivals (i.e., she doesn't get plastered).

Getting there was a bit of a challenge, not just because of the city traffic, but also because half the garages were closed, so it took a while to find parking. It was raining when we got in the festival line, but fortunately we were able to stand under a tent. The early entry folks had been drinking since noon, but we common folks with general admission tickets had to wait. Finally we were let in at 2:00.

There were thousands of people. Lines at some of the popular breweries, such as Cantillon, were long, but we developed a system where I would get beers at breweries with short lines and share them with Lori while she stood in line. Some breweries that we expected to have long lines, such as Rodenbach and Lost Abbey, didn't. A few breweries, sich as Fiden's and Trillium, were out of beer, or at least their best beer, by the time we got to them. The rain was fairly light and sporadic so it didn't put a damper on things.

Here are the beers we collectively sampled (I had them all and Lori had almost all):

  1. Homage - Peach, White and Green (barrel-aged saison)
  2. Homage - The Flower Called Nowhere (farmhouse ale)
  3. Lambiek Fabriek - Brett-elle (lambic)
  4. Cantillon - 2004 Iris (lambic)
  5. Cantillon - 2023 Nath (fruit lambic)
  6. Mindful - My Own Secret Place (barrel-aged farmhouse ale)
  7. Cushwa - Cush City (hazy DIPA)
  8. 3 Fonteinen - Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston 2017/2018 Blend No. 25
  9. 3 Fonteinen - Oude Geuze Geturfd 2019/20 Blend No. 61 (sherry barrel-aged)
  10. Tilquin - Oude Geuze: Cuvée Paul
  11. Tilquin - Oude Geuze: Cuvée Jean-Paul
  12. Tilquin - Oude Geuze: Cuvée Marie-Catherine
  13. Stillwater - Starcleaners (12% ABV blend of bourbon and sherry barrel-aged imperial stout and barleywine)
  14. De Struise - Clash of the Titans 2018: Grand Reserva (12.6% ABV wine and sherry barrel-aged barleywine)
  15. De Struise - Pannepot (10% ABV Belgian strong dark ale)
  16. everywhere - Can We Find Ourselves Alone? (14.2% BBA imperial stout)
  17. Bottle Logic - Fuzzy Logic (hazy IPA with peaches)
  18. Brew Gentlemen - Kabuto (hazy DIPA)
  19. Brew Gentlemen - IX (13.7% ABV BBA imperial stout)
  20. The Seed: A Living Beer Project - A World Without End (mixed culture saison with spent berries)
  21. Rodenbach - Classic
  22. Rodenbach - Grand Cru
  23. Carton - Plus One (wine barrel-aged mixed fermentation ale with raspberries)
  24. De la Senne - Taras Boulba (Belgian blonde)
  25. De la Senne - Zennegash (dry-hopped witbier) (collaboration with Allagash)
  26. Lost Abbey - Peach Afternoon (barrel-aged sour with Masumoto peaches and peach tea)
  27. Verzet - Oud Bruin
  28. Verzet - Space Cadet (witbier)
  29. Magnanimous - Dark World (12% ABV BBA imperial stout with vanilla beans and cocoa nibs)
  30. Magnanimous - Juice Lord and Savior (hazy DIPA)
  31. Monkish - Coconut Space Brownie (excellent 12% ABV imperial stout with cookies, brownies, coconut, vanilla, and milk sugar)
  32. Monkish - Mettle Window (hazy DIPA) (collaboration with Trillium)
  33. Mast Landing - October Sun (hazy IPA)
  34. Mast Landing - BBA Imperial Gunner's Daughter (14% ABV BBA imperial sweet stout)
  35. Pen Druid - Spontaneous Vinis (spontaneous ale with wine grapes)
  36. Sante Adairius - Rising Affect (gin barrel-aged saison with rye)
  37. Sante Adairius - Saison Bernice (mixed fermentation saison)
  38. TRVE - Lord of Broken Things (saison)
  39. TRVE - Volcanic Siege (Nordic pale ale)
  40. Weldwerks - Juicy Bits (hazy IPA)
  41. Mikerphone - Ride the Dragon (hazy DIPA)
  42. Burial - Until it Ceases to Be (hazy DIPA)
  43. Dancing Gnome - Nobody's Monkey (imperial stout)
  44. Dancing Gnome - Nobody's Robot (hazy DIPA)
  45. Xul - Ivy (hazy DIPA)
  46. Tripping Animals - Wolves of the Storm (hazy DIPA)
  47. De Ranke - Guldenberg (triple)
  48. Blaugies - La Bière Darbyste (saison with fig juice)
  49. Sapwood Cellars - Barrel Threads 2023 (12.6% ABV BBA imperial stout)
  50. Resident Culture - Dances With Bubs (IPA)
  51. Other Half - Chonk-ibal (rum barrel-aged fruited sour)
  52. Other Half - DC 3rd Anniversary Imperial IPA (10% ABV hazy TIPA) (smelled like weed)
  53. Imprint - Coconut Pecan Bars (12% ABV imperial stout with toasted coconut and roasted pecans)
  54. Imprint - Barrel Aged Gluttony (14% ABV BBA imperial stout with Blue Mountain coffee beans, toasted coconut, and vanilla beans)
  55. Imprint - Galactic Syringe (hazy DIPA)
  56. Imprint - Seven Deadly Sins (14% ABV BBA rocky road imperial stout with walnuts, almonds, cacao nibs, and marshmallow)
  57. Finback - Moss (hazy DIPA)
  58. Finback - Coconut Drip (11.5% ABV imperial stout with coconut, peanut butter, coffee, and vanilla)
  59. Commonwealth - Superluminal (IPA)
  60. Right Proper - 99% True (IPA)
  61. Ȯlōgy - Irrefutable Logic: Nutty List (12% ABV BBA imperial stout with coconut, vanilla beans, walnuts, and hazelnuts)
  62. Ȯlōgy - Wafting Whiffs (hazy DIPA)
  63. Orchestrated - Lightning in a Bottle (10.5% ABV hazy TIPA)
  64. Bearded Iris - Homestyle (hazy IPA)

I don't remember much after that (actually I don't remember much after about the 42nd beer), but Lori got us back to her place safely. I'm told that I managed to make it inside, eat some food, and hit the hay fairly early.

Here are some photos from the event.