Performing at the third annual Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival on July 12 – 14, 2013 were Fresh Hops, a band from Indiana that got the beer lovers up and dancing.
The third annual Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival at Lutsen’s Caribou Highlands was another successful event. Even with the All Pints North Beer Festival taking place the same weekend in Duluth, the crowds were ‘hopped up’ at Lutsen Mountain.
The full-barrel weekend package limited to 150 people makes this beer festival much more than just a beer festival. In addition to all the various brews, it also shows off the excellent cuisine served up by the Caribou Highlands chefs. The full-barrel packages were sold out long before the weekend began, while the Saturday Beer Festival was open to hundreds more.
The full-barrel weekend included two-nights lodging; Brewers’ Reception Friday evening with scrumptious appetizers, meeting the brewers and early sampling of their brews; Bloody Mary breakfast Saturday morning; and the Beer Festival brew-sampling Saturday afternoon with burgers & brats.
The Brewers’ Reception included such mouth-watering appetizers as Strange Brew Fondue with Fresh Pretzels, Duck Comfit Salad, Bacon Wrapped Chorizo, Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms, Cherry Smoked St. Louis Ribs, Blackened Walleye Cakes, Pale Ale Clams & Linguini, and Stout Drenched Oysters. The dessert table included beer-influenced Chocolate Truffles, Oatmeal Stout Cookies and Chocolate Dipped Bacon.
Above: In addition to excellent food and superb beer, there are a lot of fun folks attending the beer festival, with appropriate attire!
The Bloody Mary breakfast had a full buffet of biscuits and gravy, apple fritter pancakes, bacon, sausage, potatoes, scrambled egg dishes, and even an omelet station. All topped off with a variety of vegetables for your spiced or regular Bloody Mary.
The beer festival for all began on Saturday at 3 o’clock sharp. Master Brewers were on the grounds pouring and the band, Fresh Hops from Indiana, began playing. Crowds moved in onto the tented tennis court to visit 14 stations with brewers from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. There were over 50 different beers for sampling. Some of the familiar brewer’s names were Fitger’s, Schell’s, Surly, Summit, and Bell’s.
Left: Attendees voted on their favorite beer. This year’s winner was Bell’s Wedding Ale, which received this unique award.
After several hours of sampling, ballots were gathered to determine the favorite brew. Bell’s Wedding Ale took top honors, followed by Duluth’s Lake Superior Brewing Company with their Golden Wheat and Ely’s Boathouse again coming in third with their Off Kilter. The music continued throughout Saturday evening, and the crowd really liked the Fresh Hops and their amazing fiddler, so they have been booked to next year’s Hopped Up Caribou Beer Festival 2014.
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