Sloss Fest 2015 - Yeah, We Went For The Beer

So, I don't know if you guys noticed it last weekend, but it was hot. Really hot. High temperatures were near 100 and heat indexes climbed way above that. It was miserable. The simple act of walking out of the house, to the car, caused me to sweat. It was hot... But it was time for Sloss Fest! Nothing, not even the sweltering heat, would keep me or the thousands of other people away from Birmingham's historic landmark, Sloss Furnaces.

Saturday morning, after a quick stop by Seasick Records, we were off to Sloss. Our bags were packed with sunscreen, water bottles, granola bars, sweat rags and of course our cameras. We were ready! Unfortunately, one of things we were not ready for, was the parking situation. Once we found the correct lot to park in, we were hit with the $15.00 parking fee. I'm not sure what I expected, but the fee seemed a little high. That being said, it was a small price to pay for the experience that was to come. After checking in and getting our media wristbands, it was time for a beer.

 

Of course, we here at Bham Beer Buzz, go to awesome music festivals for the beer. Yeah, we were excited about most of the bands performing, but the TrimTab/Starr Hill collaboration was our main reason for attending. You all know about the brewery in Lakeview... Harris, Will and company have done an excellent job in making TrimTab an essential part of our city. One thing you might not have known is that Will spent some time, not to long ago, in Virginia with the guys at Starr Hill. They were creating a brew just for Sloss Fest. The result, a Summer Pale Ale called Siren of Sloss. This beer, a freaking Pale Ale, was the main reason I was at the festival.
 

Starr Hill is a brewery new to Birmingham, but they are definitely not a new brewery. They're in the midst of establishing a larger market, and thought that Alabama was a good fit for their beers. Well, they were right. Our relationship with Starr Hill started at the Magic City Brewfest, another awesome event at Sloss. We got lucky and met their Alabama/Tennessee rep, Willie. After talking to Willie for a little while, it was easy to see that Starr Hill was a brewery we wanted to get to know. He in turn, hooked us up with Starr Hill's marketing manager, and we were added to their "Beer Influencers" list. After sampling a few of the year around offerings, and talking to their awesome social media person Allie, we knew this collaboration was going to be special.

 

Siren of Sloss, as I mentioned before is a Summer Pale Ale. It's a single hop beer, brewed with honey and Belgian yeast. The Calypso hops work perfectly with the honey and yeast combo. This was a ridiculously refreshing Pale Ale with just enough body and bitterness to be a great, year around drinker. Unfortunately, due to Alabama laws, TrimTab could not serve this one in their taproom. Even though they helped make this beer, it wasn't produce at their facility. Boo on Alabama beer laws... but that's all besides the point. In addition to the Pale Ale, we had the pleasure of drinking a couple other Starr Hill limited series.

Debut #3, Cherry Witbier and Debut #4, a Czech Keller Pils, were both on point! The Cherry Wit was a perfect match for the hot weather. It had just enough cherry tartness to keep things interesting, but it was refreshing enough to keep you wanting more. And I did, I wanted a lot more. Now, I'm not a Pils fan. This Keller Pils was pretty enjoyable though. It was much more flavorful and the mouthfeel was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Starr Hill's beer is good, really good. I love the fact that they got together with our buddies at TrimTab, but I'm a little bummed that an Alabama brewery didn't have their logo plastered all over the festival. 

I'm not an expert in organizing an event like this, hell, I wouldn't even know where to start. So I know money, of course, is probably a big reason why one of "our" breweries wasn't the poster child of the event. But still I'm sad. The inaugural Sloss Fest, held in one of Alabama's most famous landmarks, should be a festival celebrating our city if not our state. The whole thing was great, don't get me wrong. I'll definitely be stoked for next year, but a little more Alabama would be a great touch. 

We went to Sloss Fest for the beer, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the great bands that were playing. Jeremy, the Bham Beer Buzz photographer, had his work cut out for him. For two days, he was like a chicken with it's head cut off, running from one stage to the next. Even with the crazy temperatures, he managed to take some really good band photos. Scroll down this blog, you'll see where I've posted some of my favorites. 

Sloss Fest was a success. There are a few things that need to be changed, but that's expected. This was, after all, the first one. If you didn't make it, you missed out. If you did make it, you already know how great it was. Until next year!