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2014 GABF Appearances
Great American Beer FestivalThursday, October 2nd – Saturday, October 4thThe Lost Abbey - Booth D8Port Brewing - Booth T20 The Great American Beer Fest: A How To
Vodcast #38 GABF Happenings
Before we ventured to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival this year we announced that our fellow Saint, Abbey, had gone missing.
We announced there would be a reward for the person to follow his tracks and catch him at his final destination. Thanks to the help of Michael Kearns, and several more, he was found. This video pertains some of his whereabouts and his finding, as well as our success that followed later at the GABF awards ceremony. Vodcast #38 GABF Happenings from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
The Hunt for Abbey Begins at GABF
And so the Hunt for our Lost Abbey begins!
Clue 1:"@findabbey starts with a photo of him & a check-in to make you unbearably blue"
For game rules, check the Hunt homepage. (And remember to include @findabbey in your tweets!)
Vodcast #35 The Hunt For Lost Abbey At GABF
Abbot (aka: "Abbey") has run off to Denver and now he's lost. Help us find where he's hiding at the Great American Beer Festival and you could win free beer, Lost Abbey wearables and even your own Ultimate Box Set collection
If you are in Denver for The Great American Beer Festival 2012, visit www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com/hunt to learn how to play.
Play The Hunt for "Lost Abbey" at GABF
The Game's afoot! Click here to follow along
Abbot (aka: "Abbey") has run off to Denver and now he's lost. Help us find where he's hiding at the Great American Beer Festival and you could win free beer, Lost Abbey wearables and even your own Ultimate Box Set collection.
If you're going to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver this October, we've got some extracurricular activities to help you explore Denver's craft beer scene and even win some cool Lost Abbey stuff, including a complete Ultimate Box Set collection!
The Game: A live version of "Where's Waldo"
Abbot the Monk (we call him "Abbey") can't wait for the Great American Beer Festival to start, so he's heading out a few days early to explore Denver and its thriving craft beer scene. The problem is, Abbey's terrible with directions (and maybe enjoys the pubs a bit too much), so he's bound to get lost. We need your help to find him before it's time to go home on Sunday, October 14.Abbey will be issuing clues as to his location in downtown Denver. We need you to follow his trail and track him down. If you do, you can win lots of great stuff including some free beer, Lost Abbey wearables, and the Grand Prize, one of the super limited (there's only 500), "Ultimate Box Set" barrel-aged beer collections.
How to play:
Using a series of clues, you're going to trace Abbey's footsteps through downtown Denver. Go to each spot where Abbey's been -- there's a total of 7 – and you'll ultimately be lead to Abbey himself. Along the way you'll have a chance to win a number of prizes, but if you're the first to find him on Saturday afternoon, October 13, you'll win the Grand Prize!The steps:
- You'll need some technology: A mobile phone or iPad/Tablet, a Twitter Account and a FourSquare Account
- Follow @findabbey on Twitter and "friend" him on FourSquare
- Beginning Thursday, October 11 at 12 noon Mountain Time, Abbey will broadcast a clue as to his location. Figure out where he is, go there and check-in on Foursquare. (Make sure to "Tweet" your check-in and include @findabbey.) If you happen to run into Abbey (we'll tweet some clues as to what he looks like), you can win an instant prize.
- After your check-in you'll receive another clue as to Abbey's next location. Figure out where that is, go there and check-in again.
- Ultimately, you'll need to check-in at a total of seven locations. The seventh – and final – location will be Abbey's final stop. If you're the first to find him and show that you've checked-in at all seven locations, you'll win your own Ultimate Box Set collection.
The Rules:
- You must follow @findabbey on Twitter and friend him on Foursquare (this is how we track and verify the check-ins)
- For the smaller prizes you can check-in at as many or as few locations as you like. If you catch Abbey there, you can win free beer, t-shirts and other Lost Abbey schwag. To win the Grand Prize, however, you must check-in at all seven locations on Foursquare. (This will be verified.)
- Feel free to enlist the help of others (either at GABF or on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, etc.) to solve the clues – but you must physically check-in at each location to win.
- Play as fast or as slow as you like. Game play begins on Thursday, October 11, but it doesn't end until Saturday, October 13. (All the locations are within walking distance around downtown Denver.)
- On Saturday afternoon, Abbey will be at the final location. Check-in at all seven locations and be the first to find him, and you win the Grand Prize*.
- You have to be 21 years or older to win.
Follow along even if you're not playing!
Even if you're not attending GABF or playing the game, you can still follow the player's progress on the web. We'll be posting the check-ins and results on the Lost Abbey website here:http://www.lostabbeydev.wpengine.com/hunt-for-abbey-2012/You can also follow along on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus. Look for the hashtag #findabbey.* The Ultimate Box Set collection
Vodcast #35 The Hunt For Lost Abbey At GABF from The Lost Abbey on Vimeo.
Video: A Quick Visit to the 2011 Great American Beer Festival
No more than a couple weeks ago we made a trip to Denver, Colorado for the 2011 Great American Beer Festival. Here is a small snip it of our journey.More GABF videos soon to come.
Denver 2011 and GABF Entries Part one
Ladies and Gentlemen,It's September 29th which means that the GABF officially opens later today. This is the first GABF in 15 years that I will not be attending as Sydney's new sister Lexi Morgan Arthur was born on Tuesday at 2:35pm. All are doing well and I am sure Lexi is dreaming about her first Duck Duck Gooze as we speak.Each year before heading off to Denver, we the brewers at Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey sit down and appraise the entries we are sending (essentially we open one sample bottle held back from each bottling for the comp). This year we are entering 14 beers (6 Port Brewing and 8 Lost Abbey beers). Word on the street is that over 350 breweries registered more then 4,000 beers in the comp. I also see there are 176 judges slated to make the determination which beers are medal worthy. Normally I relish the opportunity to be one of those judges. But at 4,000 beers man they have the work cut out for them!I'm sure many of you (like me) are curious how our beers will do. Let's take an inside look at the beers we're sending and the categories they'll be judged in. Since there are less Port Brewing Beers, we'll start there.Panzer Pilsner - Category 13 Other Strong Ales and LagersYou may recall that Panzer received a Silver Medal in this same category last year. We weren't enamored with the batch last year and while this one is good, it's hard to know just what the judges will want in this category. Rarely does it seem that beers consistently win in this category so we'll hang our hopes elsewhere.Hot Rocks Lager - Category 15 Indigenous BeersHot Rocks was literally on fire last year. It won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup and a bronze at the Great American Beer Festival. It was a great validation for our brewers that this beer "rocks." The category gets a new name this year but it's still a game of this beer is out of category and awesome! We love this batch of Hot Rocks but it may be a bit too bitter to stand up to the judges scrutiny.Churchill's Finest Hour - Category 22 Wood and Barrel Aged Strong StoutFrom one of the most hotly contested categories at the festival comes our stealth entry. The only Port Brewing Beer not being poured on the festival floor, Churchill's Finest Hour Imperial Stout has a layered texture we don't normally see in our barrel beers (Older, Angel's and Santa's). There is a higher residual extract as well which means the beer has great silky body. While I would love to see this beer do well for multiple reasons, it's one of the most contested categories at the fest.Wipeout IPA - Category 51 American Style IPAYou really have to love a category that shows no signs of getting smaller. Last year, Ernest took it home for Pizza Port San Clemente in ridiculous fashion. While Wipeout remains our best selling beer, it rarely gets invited out of the first round and onto the next flight of tables. We don't care. It's brewed the way we want to drink it and most assuredly the way we always want to drink it. Bottle smelled and tasted fantastic. But again, one of the toughest category there is. Not liking our chances here.Mongo IPA - Category 51 American Style IPAWe're guilty of entering a beer down here. At just over 8.0% ABV Mongo is a true tweener. It's really not big enough to stand out in Double IPA land so we'll take a stab here. Love the body on this beer and the aroma is pretty spot on as well. Mongo may not do well at GABF but don't be surprised if the Alpha King Challenge finds a love for this our 2nd best selling beer.Hop 15 - Category 52 American Style Double IPAEvery year we brew a batch of this mean beer and send it off to the judging table. Some years it excels others not so much. A 3 time medal winner at the GABF and multiple Podium dweller at Alpha King, Hop 15 is a awesome expression of what hops can do for you. Bottles tasted great on Monday. Not sure there won't be 70+ beers in the category but we like the beer to do well.This wraps up our beers on the Port Brewing side. As the Abbey ones are a bit more distinctive, we'll wait until tomorrow at around 1pm to release the tasting notes as to ensure that we don't divulge too much about our beers and the categories they are in.
Special Hours for National Homebrewers Conference
The AHA National Homebrewers Conference arrives in San Diego next week, so we're extending our tasting room hours and rolling out the red carpet for all our fellow brewers coming to town!
Extended Hours
Mon - Thurs (June 13 - 16) - 12pm to 6pm Fri (June 17) - 12pm to 9pm Sat (June 18) - 12pm to 7pm Sun (June 19) - 12pm to 6pmGroup Information
If you're planning on dropping by the brewery during NHC week and you've got a group of 6 or more, please give Terri our Tasting Room Manager a heads-up via email or phone call. Email: terri@lostabbey.com, Tel: (760) 920-6121. (We're not a huge operation, so if she knows you're coming she can make the proper scheduling arrangements and ensure you're well taken care of during your pilgrimage to the Abbey.)
La Cruda (Back in Mak) Porter On Tap / Video Premiere
In addition to the extended Tasting Room hours, we'll also be tapping kegs of La Cruda (aka "Back in Mak" when it's on draft) Porter, a special reunion beer brewed especially for NHC attendees.Friday night will also include the premiere of a video short on the story behind this beer and it's brew again for the first time in 15 years.
Father's Day Special - Buy Dad a Pint, He Keeps the Pint Glass
Sunday, June 19 isn't just the last day of NHC week, it's also Father's Day! And because we can't think of a better way to celebrate fatherhood than with a beer, if you come into the tasting room Sunday and buy dad a pint, dad gets to keep the Port Brewing Logo pint glass as a bonus. A great way to finish a great week even if you aren't a homebrewer, wouldn't you agree?