Beer Bloggers Conference Takeaways

The Beer Bloggers Conference is a three-day whirlwind of drinking, talking about blogging, drinking, talking about beer, drinking, occasionally sleeping, eating, and drinking some more. A lot of the conference is about blogging and behind the scenes crap that I won’t bore you with. However there were a few things you may care about. First off I want to introduce you to an app that I’m very excited about.

SipSnapp

The team behind this app was at a small trade show. When they described the app I was pessimistic but when they showed me the app I was wowed. It’s a pretty simple idea that I can’t believe hasn’t been pulled off before. Here’s the pitch, you ever find yourself at a new restaurant in a new town with a bunch of new beers you’ve never heard of? Sadly, the staff at many restaurants aren’t well versed in their beers and can’t help guide you. If you try looking up each beer on your phone yourself you’ll be spending valuable minutes while your company gets pissed off. This where SipSnapp comes in.

You take a picture of the menu, size it up so it just shows the beers and boom! SipSnapp pulls in all the beers from Ratebeer and shows you the beer and the rating. Ok, you’re thinking sure but this is going to take a few minutes right? Nope! Took all of 5 seconds to pull in the ratings for 15 or so beers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What sucks about this app, for me and the majority of the world, is that it’s currently iOS only. Fellow Android users are going to have to wait till around December. Head to the iTunes App Store, follow them on Twitter @SipSnapp or like them on Facebook

Sam Adams KMF Grand Cru

KMF Grand Cru is a very limited new beer from Sam Adams that the other Beer Bloggers and I had an opportunity to taste at the conference. First off here is Sam Adams blurb about this beer:

On August 23rd, the Samuel Adams brewers released a small batch version called Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru that’s been uniquely aged for two years in the Barrel Room at the Boston Brewery. A touch of Belgian candi sugar has been added to balance the beer’s tart acidity and lend a smoothness and sweetness to the finish.

Personally I found it delicious and it is my favorite Sam Adams product so far. It had a nice zesty tartness that brought a slight pucker but was blended with a tiny sweetness and a decent body. Sam Adams has been expanding exploration of styles with their 750 ml Barrel Room Collection series; many folks forget that Veloren was one of the first craft goses to come out. That exploration is making me hope that KMF Grand Cru doesn’t get tossed into the Sam Adam’s dust bin of history along with millenium and Triple Bock.

The KMF Grand Cru is an extremely limited release that’s only publicly available on draft in the follow cities for short periods of time:

New York, NY: 9/22/2014 – 9/28/2014
Denver, CO: 9/29/2014 – 10/5/2014
Cleveland, OH: 10/6/2014 – 10/12/2014
Dallas, TX: 10/13/2014 – 10/19/2014
Philadelphia, PA: 10/20/2014 – 10/26/2014
Washington DC: 10/20/2014 – 10/26/2014
Chicago, IL: 11/3/2014 – 11/9/2014
San Francisco, CA: 11/10/2014 – 11/16/2014
San Diego, CA: 11/10/2014 – 11/16/2014
Seattle, WA: 11/17/2014 – 11/23/2014

Most importantly here is that there will be another city added that you can vote on so go vote for Cincinnati here!

Stone World Bistro Liberty Station

Last time I was in San Diego we had to venture 45 minutes outside of town to visit Stone in Escondido. It is truly a magical place. It’s like the adult Disney land of beer. Luckily you no longer have to journey so far out-of-town. Stone has opened a new World Bistro about 10 minutes away from downtown. Stone World Bistro Liberty Station is like a tiny version of the one in Escondido. Similar awesome outdoor area, large restaurant, amazing beer, everything in the Stone experience just closer. I thoroughly appreciate them having us out for dinner and rare beers.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I paid a reduced admission to the Beer Bloggers Conference with the stipulation that I write at least two posts about the conference, this is one of them. To our readers, and any companies interested in sending me stuff, giving me free stuff impacts the review in only 2 ways. That I WILL review it and that and I WILL write a blog post about it. Giving me free stuff does not guarantee you a favorable review or that I will tell everyone to go buy it.