#CBC17 Day One (Monday) Events, Experiences, and Overall Thoughts
I feel weird starting this blog post off with an intro like “today was an interesting day”, but to be completely honest with you, it was. CBC17 was my first CBC and I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. I think that I’m writing that it was day 1, but it was really day 0 where everyone registers and sets up and then goes to the welcome reception.
Check-In was smooth as hell, and the swag bag that we were given was pretty awesome. The only downfall of the swag bag was I didn’t know that it was coming and didn’t prepare for it (aka I carried it around all day.
After registering I walked around and just took in the scenes of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Sure, I was only on the first floor, but it’s a pretty gorgeous space. They really did a nice job prepping for CBC.
Visit Loudoun — the LoCo Ale Trail
I was given a special beer tour courtesy of Loudoun County where we visited 4 breweries and the United State’s first official Delirium Cafe.
Adroit Theory
Well, well, well I found a place that likes big beers as much as I do. This place was really enjoyable and I believe it was my favorite place we visited.
Vanish
Vanish was easily the brewery with the best vibe. It was incredibly chill in there even with two busloads of CBC attendees. The staff was nice and were working their butts off.
The other neat thing about Vanish is that they also have a hop farm on premise, so we got to tour some of the equipment that goes into harvesting the precious and bitter-giving hops.
Lost Rhino
This place oozes history, it’s also the only place on the list that I’ve heard of all the way in Buffalo. They have great branding that really transcends their distribution footprint. The tour we were given was chock-full of interesting facts about where they came from and what they are hoping to do. As a self-proclaimed beer geek, I really enjoyed their tour.
Old Ox
Old Ox is prepared to do so much more. They have a really nice sized facility (that you wouldn’t expect when you first see it). And I think that they are scheduled to start doing more and more distribution soon.
The talk we had with the owners (the son did most of the talking, but mom and dad were there to make sure he didn’t get too off topic). He talked a lot about the Loudoun area and how he was the chairman of the Loudon Brewers Association (I believe that’s what he called it, but correct me if I’m wrong).
Loudoun LoCo Ale Trail Thoughts
The entire region was gorgeous, it reminded me a lot of where I grew up and was raised (but with much bigger houses). I think that if you are visiting Northern VA you should check some of these places out. There are a lot of breweries open now (20) with 5 more on the way. We only saw a fraction of those, but I think that this region will have more and more to offer as the years go by.
Welcome Reception
The Brewers Associate really rolled out the red carpet for the CBC17 attendees. I only went to one of the two venues because I was incredibly spent from the day, but the National History Museum was amazing. It will be one of the most memorable things I’ve done – enjoying food and beer as I walked around the museum taking in all of the sites.
Overall
This is going to be a long week. I need to hydrate more. I need to make plans so that I know what I’m doing for the rest of the week. I’m writing this after being up half the night regretting not hydrating enough. Today, I will soldier on and I hope to visit with a ton of people at the BrewExpo and take in some of the classes and signings.
