Casino Connection Atlantic City

Not Your Old Man’s Brewski

And you thought wine lovers were snobs! Welcome to the Atlantic City Beer Festival, where connoisseurs are just as picky about their pilsners.

by Joseph Harrison

Man, do people love beer. Jon Henderson knows it, but he had no idea how much.

Beer is as much part of American culture as Grandma’s apple pie. If you have any doubts, all you have to do is step one foot into the Atlantic City Convention Center on March 8 and 9.

The Convention Center, site of this year’s Atlantic City Beer Festival, will be wall-to-wall beer—and beer lovers. Last year’s festival drew more than 9,000 people, and Henderson, organizer of the event with his partners, Unsuited Entertainment, believes this year will be even bigger.

“Saturday night is always mayhem,” Henderson said. “We think we can get about 12,000 this year.”

He’s not just throwing out a number. Last year, only 350 advance tickets had sold a month before the show. This year, beer aficionados snapped up more than 2,000 advance tickets.

Focusing on craft beer—not the mass-produced, commercially driven beers—“The Celebration of the Suds” will feature more than 75 beer companies and nearly 300 types of beer—about 120 more than last year.

Some of the companies are Carlsberg, Asahi, Slyfox, Troegs, Victory, Ommegang, Flying Fish and Blackdog. Nearly every type of beer will be offered, including ciders from Magner, Original Sin and Blackthorn.

“We have a very important relationship with the beer companies, because we don’t look at this festival as just one weekend a year,” Henderson says. “We create a program so you know what is being poured for you. You are given information about the beers and you can rate the beers. And we also tell you where you can get the beers.

“Joe Canal’s, for example, is making a point to carry 90 percent of the beers poured at the festival. So everyone makes out. The beer lover gets to experience more options and find out where to get them. And the beer makers are finding new customers.”

In addition to entertainment from bands like Celtic rockers Birnam Wood, there will be a Guitar Hero III platform where players can rock out.

“I think one thing that separates us from many other beer festivals is our willingness to add culture. We want to make this more of an entertainment experience than just about beer consumption. Sure, the whole purpose is to learn and enjoy craft beer, but there’s other things you can do, too.”

There will also be more food.

“We had a big demand for more food variety,” Henderson says. “Aramark will still be there, doing a great job, but there will also be some more options, like sausage and peppers. The Convention Center has really done a great job working with us. This is an event we want to make annual for 60, 70 years or whatever. Working with them makes life so much easier.”

Don’t forget to chat up the brewmasters, he says. “They love to talk about their beers and educate people. It’s a place where beer snobs will certainly have fun, but it’s a place for regular beer lovers to expand their horizons.”

While beers like Ommegang and Smuttynose may make the less-enlightened drinker scratch his head, there are some familiar brands like Sam Adams, Blue Moon, Red Stripe, Guinness, Harp, Sierra Nevada and Long Trail.

“Even with some of the more mainstream beers, we try to do something special,” Henderson says. “For example, we are one of the few festivals that offers Sam Adams Utopias. We had it three years in a row now. That’s a great opportunity.”

Old favorites like Magic Hat, Abita, Rogue, Allagash and Ipswich will also return, and Henderson is really thrilled that Left Hand and Founders—two very popular beers in the craft beer community—will make their New Jersey debut at the festival.

“I love Belgian whites,” Henderson says. “But I am all over the map. I can talk all day about what I love. If you come to my house, my refrigerator always has 10 different kinds of beer. Lancaster Brewing Company has such a great variety of beers. The Brooklyn Brewery is phenomenal. I can say something good about every one.”

The festival received sponsorship from Harrah’s, where Henderson works.

“They not only supported us financially, but they offered an unbelievable room rate ($129 to $159) that sold out,” he says. “We sold something like 400 rooms. They stepped up for a lot of people who now won’t have to drive outside of the city.”

Harrah’s is also jumping on the beer bandwagon, offering a beer dinner on Friday, March 7, with Dogfish Head creator and founder Sam Calagione. It will be open to the public at Harrah’s The Steak House.

One thing Henderson and his partners are very conscious of is the fact that some people come to get hammered.

“Attracting Joe Schmo, who wants to come in and get drunk, is inevitable,” Henderson says. “You just hope the cat comes with a designated driver or took a bus or train.”

Unsuited is so serious about not attracting “Joe Schmo,” it raised ticket prices to $35 in advance, $45 at the door.

“We wanted to weed the people out who look at it as an all-you-can-drink, let’s-get-drunk kind of night,” Henderson says. “It’s about the tasting experience, not about getting drunk.”

As in the past, a $5 designated driver ticket is available. Those ticket holders are given a different bracelet and cannot drink alcoholic beverages (soft drinks from Pepsi will be available). The ticket also includes free parking at the Convention Center.

Beer makers are very aware to not pour more than 2 ounces in the 6-ounce sample glass given festival-goers.

“Overpouring is such a common mistake at most beer festivals,” Henderson says. “Before you know it, everyone is walking around drunk and not experiencing what the festival is all about.”

Henderson and his partners are finding the beer business to be quite lucrative. In its third year, the Celebration of the Suds is so big, Unsuited Entertainment is taking this puppy on the road, expanding to three more cities this year with aspirations to offer one a month across the nation. Unsuited already has an October festival in Cleveland and is close to securing others in Hollywood, Florida, and Phoenix in November and December, respectively.

“When we started this, I saw something special in the first year… we knew it would get bigger,” Henderson says. “Atlantic City is such a growing market and there are opportunities for events like this to thrive. The beer festival is the only event that grew last year at the Convention Center. Everything else dipped, including the Tattoo Show we do. So it shows you that we have something here.”

Unsuited is partnering with Draft magazine, a top beer publication, for the festivals.

“Together we can really develop these festivals and build craft beer throughout the United States,” Henderson says. “We are going to go to markets that do not have existing beer festivals. We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

Henderson says the future of craft beer still has a way to go.

“We are finding many craft beer drinkers to be even more passionate than wine drinkers. The craft market has not peaked yet. There is a lot of growth happening, and we hope to be part of that.”

The ABCs of Beer

Between Bel gian whites, pale ales, hard ciders and Scottish ales, you might be a little confused. Here’s some help.

Between Bel gian whites, pale ales, hard ciders and Scottish ales, you might be a little confused. Here’s some help.

 

Between Bel gian whites, pale ales, hard ciders and Scottish ales, you might be a little confused. Here’s some help.

Ale. English beer with a strong and slightly bitter taste.

American Pilsner. Maize increases perceived sweetness.

Barley Wine. A strong ale with alcohol content of 9 percent to 13 percent.

Belgian Ale. Golden to deep amber. Sometimes slightly acidic.

Belgian White. Medium or full-bodied with a high alcoholic character.

Brown Ale. Lower in alcohol than porter, medium to full-body flavor.

Ciders. Produced by the fermentation of apple juices.

English Style Pale Ale. Not pale but gold or copper-colored and dry.

India Pale Ale. Intense hop flavor with medium maltiness and body.

Lager. High carbonation and light color, though some are dark.

Porter and Stout. Dark beers made with roasted malts or barley.

Scottish Ale. Very malty, full-bodied, lightly hopped brews.

Wheat Beer. Characterized by a banana or vanilla aftertaste.