Brew at the Zoo (and Wine, Too)

Went to the Denver 2007 Brew at the Zoo last night — Margie and I, meeting Stan there.  Compared to last year …

1. There was more food, more food booths, and we intentionally ate more early on.  Some yummy bits from Chedd’s, Cherry Cricket, and a few others.  While a few places had closed by the time we left, enough others were still going strong that there was no reason to leave hungry. 
2. Less dessert, though.  The center kiosk that did desserts doubled up with the mocktails/alternate drinks, meaning fewer nibbles out, in a more concentrated area. 
3. The beer area was as full (and crowded) as ever. I found fewer “extremes” — only one beer seemed undrinkable (and Margie was the lucky one to get it — “Ew, it’s sticking to the roof of my mouth:), and there were some nice finds from places like Twisted Pines.  I was gratified to see as many of my regulars represented there, was appalled to see how many labels are under the Anheuser-Busch hegemony (though with further reading, some appear to be just distribution deals)  tried a number of new things, and overall had a good beer time.
4. Tried only one wine — “Napa Valley,” but nothing that seemed particularly Napa-like.  Not that the wine was any great shakes.
5. I did drink a perfectly dreadful “Mojito-in-a-Bottle” (“No flavors or smells found in nature!”) from the A-B booth.
6. As I was wandering off to get Margie something, I wandered by the Jim Bean booth — and found they were pouring the tasty African cream liqueur, Amarula, that everyone had raved over at the fondue party.  They filled half of Margie’s mug with it.
7. A fair amount of swag — lots of coasters, quite a number of tattoos (Margie started a personal collection), a couple of beer openers, match books, and, um, a Flying Dog condom (“It’s Better than Being Neutered!”).

Overall, a pleasant evening — good food, very good (and not-so-good) beer, good company.