Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010

Warm up with winterfest

We're all back to work after the holidays, and let's be honest - the holidays weren't entirely restful and peaceful, were they?

That's exactly why the inaugural WinterFest Oyster Roast at The Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base is the right thing to do from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Working folks and festivals go together like chilly weather and the darker beers that will dominate WinterFest.

"A festival can arise only out of the foundation of a life whose ordinary shape is given by the working day," wrote Josef Pieper, a German philosopher who thought festivals were just as worthy of discussion as love and death. "An idle-rich class of do-nothings are hard put ... to even amuse themselves, let alone celebrate a festival."

Take that, Paris Hilton.

Besides getting back to work after the holidays, the bitter cold of recent days might be enough reason to gather together in a heated setting for some warm food. Just in case the recent extra-chilly weather lingers, Winter Fest organizer Mike Shank of Festival Promotions has reserved a heated, 40-foot by 100-foot tent with sides. The tent will be situated in Valor Park, the same location as other recent beer festivals produced by Shank's company. Gordon Biersch Restaurant Brewery, a brew pub located a few paces from Valor Park, will be serving oysters and chicken bog, along with a selection of soups from a catering company, Shank said.

But for many fest-goers, the highlight will be the 40-plus beers slated for WinterFest. Although the advance list is subject to change, most of the WinterFest beers will be served in 12-ounce bottles, while a few will come in larger bottles or in cups via draft. Prices for servings of each will range from a bar fly's $3 to a connoisseur's $12 (unless you're Paris Hilton, in which case $12 might be the bar fly's price).

The beer selections, on balance, are darker in color and higher in alcohol. These are brews tested and proven for the colder weather - for example, Myrtle Beach's own seasonal Dark Star Porter from New South Brewing Co., which is hearty enough for shorter days.

The list, which is the result of Shank's work with several local and regional distributers, includes several nationally and internationally acclaimed brews.

Three other fest brews - Clipper City's Heavy Seas Winter Storm, He'Brew Jewbelation, and Bell's Expedition Stout - were chosen for last month's "12 Beers of Christmas" at Boulevard Woodgrill in the Washington, D.C., area.

Joey Redner, beer critic for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, recently hailed four other seasonal beers on the WinterFest list - Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Delirium Noel, Gouden Carolus Noel, and Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome - as some of the best available.

If you find a beer at the fest that you really like, there's good news. Several of the brews are available for retail purchase at inside The Market Common's Piggly Wiggly, a sponsor of Winter Fest. Piggly Wiggly recently began offering growlers, or 64-ounce jugs, of several beers inside the store. For WinterFest, the cost of the growler itself, normally priced at $5 unfilled, will be on sale for $4 each. The price for filling the growlers ranges from $12-$18 depending on the beer.

With that much good beer, no doubt, someone will accuse you of merely wanting to drink. Remind them that it's not just an excuse to chow down and gulp deeply. It's a festival, with food and live music (the PotatoHeads and the Paul Grimshaw Duo) on tap, too. Something Paris Hilton can never know.

Contact Colin Burch at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his blog at maltyhops.blogspot.com .