Our intrepid beer drinker at the Extreme Beer Fest

BeerAdvocate held their annual Extreme Beer Fest in Boston this past weekend, and I was lucky enough to go. It was a hard-fought battle to taste as many mind-bending beer variations as my palate and stomach could tolerate in three short hours.

An extreme beer is a beer that pushes the boundaries of brewing. Beers with copious dimensions of flavor, wild ingredients, incredible brewing techniques, and downright strange concepts are the best extreme beers.

The fest was developed to encourage innovation. Boy, did it succeed. I tried beers that I didn't think were possible:

A Stone "Belgo-Barleywine" 2010 version of Old Guardian that was so intense on my tongue that I could barely finish my scant 2oz sample.
A brew by Wormtown with no hops (!) and no spices, that was created in only the 36 hours before the event (!!) and started its carbonation only once it left the brewery to arrive at the fest (!!!). It was actually damn good, too. Smooth, warm, pleasant, with a light fizziness like week-old seltzer.
Pliny the Elder, one of the best beers in the world (indeed, up there with demigods like Duvel). I hesitate to say more, so I leave it to the brewers:

http://www.russianriverbrewing.com/web/brews/plinytheelder.html

Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries
created the botanical name for hops, "Lupus salictarius", meaning wolf
among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a
wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, Humulus lupulus,
was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who
continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed
during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

8.0%ABV, 1.071 O.G

Gold Medal, 2006 World Beer Cup (Double IPA Category)
Gold Medal, 2005 GABF (Double IPA Category)
Bronze Medal, 2004 GABF (Double IPA Category)

Ommegang's Nestle-Quik-style chocolate indulgence
A beer that tried to imitate Key Lime Pie
Several beers by the sponsor, Dogfish Head, that utilized a fantabulous new technique called Randalling. This method involves adding a chamber in the tap line just before it reaches the glass. The beer passes through this chamber, which is filled with flavor-adding ingredients. In one case, espresso beans added a smooth, chocolatey silkiness to their World Wide Stout. In another, a Belgian wit (white) beer passed through orange peels. They had, in all seriousness, some of the best beers I have ever had the privilege to taste. I am in awe of their brewmastery.
and many more.

I was sad at my inability to try more of these delectable liquid delights.

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