James III gorges at the Russian River Beer Revival and BBQ Cook-Off.
Russian River Beer Revival
and BBQ Cook-Off report
Submitted by James
III
What can I say about this event that the name does
not say
for itself? I
know,
how about, "With a combination of Northern
California's best microbrews, flavor
exploding BBQ, local jam-bands and the lazy and wonderfully swimmable
Russian
River, the 5th Annual Russian
River Beer Revival and BBQ Cook-Off
(hereafter known by the somewhat unweildy acronym of 5ARRBRBBQC) may not
have been heaven on earth, but it was definately a
religious experience."
The 5ARRBRBBQC provided one of the most complete beerfest packages this delegate has ever seen. First off, consider the beer. Most of N. California's heavy hitters made the fest, including Lagunitas, Anderson Valley and Moonlight, each of which brought their finest brews; true testaments to the elixir of life that is beer.
Now maybe you know about CA brews and
maybe you are still
one of the uninitiated drinking beers with blue mountains on the side
or frost
lined quackery (I realize those are from the same beer, but I mean come
on
Coors, no
one cares about the insides of your cans). If you are the
latter, then
remember that CA beers trend dark and hoppy, not light and urinesque.
That being said, let us move on to the point where the 5ARRBRBBQC really came into its own: the BBQ. I'm sorry, did I say BBQ? I meant to say BBQ Cook-Off.
I make the distinction because at the usual beerfest, BBQ simply means there's a booth where you can get ribs. Maybe they are okay, maybe it's the greatest thing you have ever had, but it's just a booth. (Physicists have proven that BBQ cannot be anything less than good; it's actually impossible.)
A BBQ Cook-Off means that there is not a single booth, but many, all vying for a piece of glory. At the 5ARRBRBBQC there were 27 BBQ teams, all of whom brought their A-game. While this sounds like a slice of fried gold, consider the following.
I am pretty used to paying my $30 for entrance to a beerfest, then drinking as many samples as my poor stomach can handle. It's a constant struggle to balance this drinking with sobriety, but I do it for my duties as a beer delegate require me to.
When you add the third variable of unlimited BBQ built into the price of the Beer Revival ticket though, the very precise and delicate balance is upset.
Moral of that story: eat less tri-tip, hot wings, ribs, macaroni salad
and
oysters and drink more beer, or drink less beer and eat more tri-tip,
hot
wings, ribs and oysters and drink less beer.
Tough call, I know. Especially since the brewery has a full bar on site and shots are $3. I only wished I had lived across the street, not two hours away.
The final piece of 5ARRBRBBQC's allure easily came in the form of the Russian River itself. The back wall of the event was the bank of the river. One could drink, drink, eat, drink, drink, eat, eat and then jump in the river.
Once that person had swam to his heart's content, he could easily come right back into the Beer Revival without any issues. No waiting in line, no talking to some bouncer guy; just a smooth transition back into 5ARRBRBBQC's hedonistic embrace.
Moral of the story: there is nothing better to do in August in Sonoma County than commune with the supernatural (today, the part of the supernatural will be played by: ribs and beer) than the 5th Annual Russian River Beer Revival and BBQ Cook-off.
GET INVOLVED!
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