The First CTT Tweetup

Saturdays are when I would typically recap my visit to Celebration Town Tavern that week and perhaps preview the beers to be discussed in a few days.  Today will only be slightly different in that this will serve as part one of two posts looking back on the great first Tweetup that was held at CTT on Thursday (2/25).

The official sign for the first official event.

Traffic was good to us and we were able to arrive early enough to see the final portion of the set up that evening being done by @icejunkies, @beer99club, and members of @thebrewcrewteam.  Sure I could go with actual names, but we were at a Tweetup after all.

A bit of information before diving in.

Part of the event was a free tasting flight of beers to be voted on for addition to the draft list.  If you remember, the four beer to be voted on were:

• Oberon Ale (Bell’s Brewery)
• Orange Blossom Pilsner (Thomas Creek Brewery via CFL)
• Brown Ale (Brooklyn Brewery)
• Hazed & Infused (Boulder Beer)

The four contenders

After sampling, my ranking of those selections was:

1. Hazed & Infused
2. Orange Blossom Pilsner
3. Brown Ale
4. Oberon Ale

I suppose I should at least briefly explain myself.  The Oberon was the clear last place finisher for me, certainly not my favorite Bell’s product.  Wheat heavy beers are growing on me, but I am not all the way there yet.  It is probably accurate for me to say that the OBP and Brown Ale were 2 and 2A for me.  The OBP is nice, but I think of it as a beer I would want to drink while outdoors in the hot sun somewhere, not at a bar.  The Brown Ale is fine and all, but it is just a style that never stands out to me as something special.  So Hazed and Infused is the winner for me as a beer that I would sit down at a bar and order/drink.  Granted I tend to lean in a hoppier direction on many occasions, but still I stand by my decision.

However, there was a fifth beer to enter the fray (via the generosity of @TomtheBeerguy) that was not on the official ballot.  I think the Toasted Coconut Porter that he provided samples of very easily could have taken first place in the vote.  Perhaps it will find its way on an official beer ballot at a future CTT Tweetup?

Handing out some samples of TCP.

The official results of the vote will be released as portion of part two in a few days, but in the mean time do any of you want to let me know what your vote would be out of those four?

Taking a moment to talk beer with @willspot

There is quite a bit of good video to share as well (via the efforts of The Wife), so be sure to check back for part two in a few days for that and to meet (by name and face) some of the folks who made it out that night!